Have A Great Retirement

So it is Friday and while I received many Reader Posts about the new Heroes of the Storm Battleground, Legion Lore, and some random Civilization VI information. I felt I still owed something to Chris Metzen for the time he has put into the games I love. With that in mind I was reading through the forums and found a post by WarlordPL on the Heroes of the Storm forums which really speaks to the common gamer who was touch by him so have a read.

Well,

I'm one of those 'far' person you touched virtually. (Since I live in Canada and never got the chance to go to a BlizzCon and meet you in person). 

But I must say I grew up with those game you started to work on. I started with Warcraft 2, (When I was 14 here) and was playing over a 56k modem that took the phone line when I wanted to play 'via TCP' back in those days.... I am now 33. I guess times goes by for everyone...

Hmm... wait did Lost Vikings was before WC2 ? Because I also remember this very fun puzzle game on PC.

Well, back to you, I wish you all the happy 'slow' time with your family and friends. (And I'm sure you'll keep in touch with your close friends at Blizz too ;-) as a 'partial time' consultant over a beer on a Friday night once in a while.

Anyway, thanks for all the game, the lores and what you have given to those franchises. (I remember reading the small bribe of lore in the Warcraft 2 game manual and I think I remember your name once in a while).

Well, thanks for this heartly farewell, best of the retirement for you!

I think that says it all don't you think? Have a great weekend.

A Farwell

First of all if you have not read Chris Metzen's Farewell here it is.

I had just turned twenty years old when I started working at Blizzard. Seems like a lifetime ago. Guess it was. Those first few years were the start of a very grand adventure for me, one that would take me around the world, introduce me to thousands of wonderful geeks just like me—and ultimately shape the course of my adult life.

Of course when I started, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I had no idea how to make games or build entertainment products.…

But I had an insatiable passion for ideas. For stories. For heroes.

My only real training before joining Blizzard was the long-running D&D campaign I had with my closest friends—Sam, Mike P., Daniel, and Mikey C. (you know who you are, boys…HAMRO!). Building ideas—vast worldscapes, characters, and plotlines with my friends was my first great love. I lived for it. It was a safe space amid the tension and change of some rough teenage years. The grand refuge of D&D was a glorious meeting of minds and imaginations where I felt I truly belonged. 

It was a space where friendship and imagination were inextricably linked. 

The sharing of ideas on the fly, the crazy, unexpected turns other players would take—it stretched our imaginations in ways we’d never have dreamt of on our own. I loved how roleplaying through adventures taught us so much about each other—and, more often than not, ourselves. Imagining together helped us make sense of the crazy world we were growing up in. It made us stronger together. 

I wouldn’t really understand the depth of it for many years, but I had learned an important truth from my friends back then: 

Creativity is relational. 

Looking back at my years at Blizzard, I see now how profoundly this idea has shaped my career. I see how profoundly my friends and coworkers at Blizzard have shaped me as a person. 

For nearly twenty-three years I’ve had the very distinct privilege of shaping worlds and building games with the brightest creative minds in entertainment. I’ve walked with giants (and stood on some giants’ shoulders, too). 

In short, I’ve had the time of my life. 

I pretty much had the coolest job ever—but the truth is, sometimes it was really hard. Building games with dozens of brilliant, passionate alpha-geeks with their own red-hot instincts and perspectives can be pretty tricky. Coming to consensus about certain design decisions, story motifs, or courses of art direction takes a lot of communication, patience, and “give and take.” It stretches you. Sometimes it wasn’t all that pretty. But engaging with your teammates and collaborating through the potential quagmire of all that creative tension is where the real magic happens. 

It’s not just the decisions you come to—or even the final shape of the product you craft.… It’s bigger than that—and infinitely more important. True collaboration builds trust—and trust is the basis of all lasting relationships. With trust you build more than just a great product. 

You build a TRIBE…that can build anything. 

A family of craftsmen.

That’s what Blizzard has been for me. My second family, through all of life’s ups and downs, it’s always been there. The great, geeky backdrop of my life. I don’t just mean “the job” or even the creative mission—but the people. The people who over and over lifted me up, believed in me—and pushed me to find my potential as both an artist and as a leader all these years. 

To my Blizzard brothers and sisters…I wish I had the words.

Everything just sounds…trite. 

All I can think of is…

You helped me believe in myself and achieve every one of my wildest dreams. 
I am forever grateful to you. 

I love you all with everything I’ve got.

Thank you.

And to all of you out there in Blizzard’s vast gaming community—those of you I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in person and all of you around the world I’ve only heard about—thank you. 

Thank you all for letting me be a special part of your community. For letting me belong with you. We’ve shared countless adventures together and I’ve always been overwhelmed and humbled by your passion for our games as well your commitment to each other. Thank you for all the BlizzCon hugs, smiles, handshakes, and stories over the years. You will never know how much you’ve all touched my heart and inspired me to give my all into this craft. 

With that said, I’ll try to get down to the point, here. I’ve come to a turn in the road. A new, far quieter chapter in my life looms ahead. 

I am retiring.

Yup.

Hangin’ up my guns. 
Clockin’ out. 
Takin’ the last gryphon out of Stormwind. 
You get the picture. 

Crazy, I know.

It’s a massive change for me, but it’s one I’ve been looking forward to for a while now. It’s ironic given the fact that things have never been better or more energized at Blizzard. Just this year alone has been incredible. 

Legion’s arrival. 
The launch of Overwatch. 
The Warcraft feature film.

I’ve never been more proud of Blizzard and the quality of its products than I am now. It’s remarkable that even after all these years we can still reach new heights and take the world for an amazing ride. I believe Blizzard’s future is brighter than ever. 

I won’t lie—it’s going to be really hard stepping away from these worlds that I love. But I’m content that I’m leaving them in the hands of the most passionate, talented, and dedicated craftsmen ever assembled. 

I can’t wait to see where Blizzard’s worlds go next—and to experience them first-hand like everyone else does. As a fan. As an adventurer. Right back to the start. 

That’s just so cool…

The reason I use the word “retire” is because I’m not going to some other company or starting up new projects or anything remotely like that. It’s been a long, amazing stretch of years. Now it’s time to slow it down. Rest. Lay around on the couch and get fat. Well, fatter.…

Seriously though, I’ll be focusing on the one thing that matters most to me in all the world—my family. They’re the core of my life and the source of my deepest joy and inspiration. In addition to raising our two little ones, we recently welcomed our new baby into the family! Being home with them all, having time and space to really live…to love my wife with all my strength…that’s my career now. 

And I’ve never been happier.

Ever. ☺

Peace out, y’all.

I love you all.

I’ll see you online.

Chris

So I am sure there are many things going through fans minds. What is going to happen with the stories and lore of the games we love? Does this mean the final words Thrall ever speaks have already been recorded? Is this why Varian had to die? Does this mean no Chris Metzen speech at Blizzcon this year?

Honestly, I don't have the answers to all of those questions because I don't know the man personally. I do know he stated that he will continue to be the voice of Thrall. I also know it is hard to let people go when they have been apart of your life even if it is your gaming one for such a long time. Change is hard it really is, but it speaks volumes to Chris that people have all these questions about the worlds they love. So I like many others Say thank you Chris for everything you have brought to the world of gaming and in particular the world's Blizzard and you created for all of us to enjoy and love. It just isn't going to be the same without you.

He Survived

On Monday we learned something that will not only change Blizzard video games, but is my belief it will be gaming as a whole. Chris Metzen is retiring. He isn't jumping ship to another company or anything like that at the age of 42 he is calling it quits. He wants to enjoy his time with his family something he has earned the right to do. It doesn't mean us gamers cannot be sad for it. So for this week's list I decided to put together my favourite Chris Metzen moments.

5. Thrall's opening Words

Warcraft III was an amazing game. Not just because it mixed up the way the genre was played, but because it had a story for us to remember. A story that formed the basis for World of Warcraft as we know today. Thrall's words spoken by Metzen were what started it all.

4. Overwatch Reveal

I have never seen any game developer be so excited for the reveal of a game. They enthusiasm and the pride in his voice was something that I wasn't expecting nor accustomed to. It really was something to see and that was before we even got the cinematic.

3. Red Shirt Guy Returns

So the previous year the infamous "red shirt guy" you could say slightly embarrassed Chris Metzen with his questions about Falstad. The following year before he got any questions out Chris Metzen walked the audience to hug the guy for being such a super fan.

2. Geek Is

During the Blizzcon in 2010 Chris Metzen made a speech that will go down in the history of Gaming Culture. He showed pride in his past, present, and future and how it all unfolded. Let everyone in the audience and those at home know that there are much others like you and you all showed be proud of who and what you are.

1. Red Shirt Guy Owns Him

I wasn't sure this was going to be number one, but it had to be. We all know what happened and we all will forever know what happened. The moment itself is immortalized within the game with the "Ironforge Fact Checker" and the words "isn't Falstad dead?" are ones that will be forever be etched in our memories.

There you have it this week's list. I know all of you have plenty of moments to be remembered involving Chris Metzen. Share them and be sure to let him know everything he has brought to the gaming world as a whole.

Ask Gauss

Sunday! Yes, it is true your weekend is coming to and end and you are in denial. Don't worry probably close to everyone reading this is feeling the exact same way. So before you get all depressed about it, why not check out the questions for the week for this week's Ask Gauss. Here we go.

So pre-Legion patch is coming will you be hoping back on WoW for it?

I will be don't know the exact date to give you all for it, but I will give you all a heads up when it is being done. I am actually pretty excited for this expansion. The lore of it at least and where everything is going. I will not be going back to raiding for anything like that, but there may be city raids and such to get your fix in some way or another. As always stay tuned for all of that.

Is it really worth while for Blizzard to sue these hackers?

I don't think they can win, but doing so along with the bans so they care what is going on in their game. Things like this getting very complicated when there is eSports involved with it. They don't want the pro scene to have unworthy players and they also don't want such players to get through the cracks. Also showing players there is a hardline to cheaters is a step in the deterrent direction of all of this. So while I don't think they can win and I believe these hackers are part of a pointless endeavor of virtual cookie collection things are going about the right way.

How is Nintendo still a good gaming company?

How is it not?

There you have it this week's questions all package up for you. As always thank you to everyone who sent something in if I answered it on here or not. This would not be possible without all of your support.

Enjoy what is left of your weekend!

Geek Is

Well the middle of the week is here and as always is the case it is time for me to make a list. What did I decide for this week's list? Well I thought I would take a look at who I think is the best gaming studio for games coming to us now. So keep that in mind when you are figuring out what you will be keyboard warrioring about to me in a few minutes.

5. Nintendo

After so many years they still make this list. Still creating games that I and many others still love to play.

4. Telltale

Games that have story and leaving you wanting to play just that little bit more. I thought I would never be happy with the episodic style of game, but I was proven wrong.

3. Rockstar

They started out controversial and maybe still are, but that doesn't stop them from putting out games that the gaming world loves to play again and again. 

2. Naughty Dog

What can I say, I don't think there is a Naughty Dog game that I haven't loved to play for hours and hours. You can always expect to be wowed when you play one of their games and in this day and age that is a big deal.

1. Blizzard

Blizzard makes some of my favourite games. Not just games that I play and put away and talk about later but games you continue to play and talk about for years to come. They also never release a game that they believe is not ready and nowadays when you see games having major patches on release day.

There it is my list for the week. As always if you want to tell me why I am wrong find a way to do so.

A Thank You

After yesterday's post I received a lot of feedback about other gamers favourite moments with Blizzard games over the years. Some of them dealt with specific moments in games or accomplishments, some of them had to do with cinematics they saw and were forever marveled by, and some had to do with those people they met while playing these games. That last one made me think.

Is there another companies games whose communities tend to bring people together as much as others do? I am not talking just about eSports or muliplayer games. I am talking about people connecting with one another. Blizzard games just have this way of bring people together in ways I don't think the developers ever have imagined.

There are times I remember standing outside waiting for midnight launches for games and just going on and on about experiences with people I have never met. You can talk about competition, about story, and about achievements. They are the type of games you can get lost in conversations in.

I don't think people really realized how much gaming can bring people together until World of Warcraft became a thing. Sure there have been many other MMOs, but none have them have had the player base or the scope of WoW. You hear stories everyday how people have met their husband or wives, their best friends and so on and so forth playing a game.

While other communities tend to be at each others throats and full of toxicity Blizzard games almost seem immune to that. Now sure there is people there, but when you sit back and look at it they are the very small minority.

So I realized I really don't have to thank Blizzard for all of the fun they have given me over the years I have been playing their games. But I should also thank them for all the people they have introduced me to because I played their games.

So Thank You Blizzard, and thank you to everyone, of those people, who has put up with me.

Isn't Falstad Dead?

Monday! Not just any Monday though, it is the Monday before Blizzcon. So with that in mind I thought why not bring back memories of one of the Best Blizzcon moments ever. The Immortal Red Shirt Guy. So here it is



Now aren't you ready for Blizzcon?

The Token To Change The World

So you may have heard but if you haven't feel free to read Blizzard's FAQ here

Basically thought it breaks down to this

Coming soon to an Azeroth near you: the WoW Token, a new in-game item that allows players to simply and securely exchange gold and game time between each other.

Players will be able to purchase a WoW Token through the in-game Shop for real money, and then sell it on the Auction House for gold at the current market price. When a player buys a WoW Token from the Auction House for gold, the Token becomes Soulbound, and the player can then redeem it for 30 days of game time.

Now this doesn't mean that WoW is becoming free to play by any means. What it does mean that this is a way for not only people with high amounts of gold they are not using to get a reward for it, but also a way for those who need a quick boost of gold if they have been away from the game and off the inflation curve.

Blizzard also hopes this will reduce the number of people being hacked for the gold 3rd party site gold suppliers because there will be a safe and non ToS breaking way for people to get a hold of gold for the game.

Now because this is going to be Blizzard set value this isn't going to be able to be taken over from those who are trying to create a market on the auction house. Truthfully I see this as Blizzard's way of giving back to players who have accumulated wealth by spending a lot of time playing their game and therefore giving them an option to keep playing without costing them real money.

So as you probably figured out I like the idea and applaud Blizzard for making this happen.

T'was Some Weeks Before Christmas

Friday! Now you all should know by now unless you are new here that Friday means the Reader Post. The post of the week where I take one of you the Readers Posts and share it with everyone. This week I decided to go with a little Christmas flare. This comes to you from Lurie. Enjoy!

T’was some weeks before Christmas, and in every raid,
Were people all crying ‘bout the game that they played.

Some felt they’d been cheated, the content was bad!
Re-hashing and smashing old models was sad.

The mechanics were simple, a means to get loot.
Just so long as you gave a few newbies the boot.

And elitists, some were, feeling clever and shrewd
As they spoke of our mothers in ways that were lewd.

Getting angry whenever the dps lacked
Or vulgar whenever the healers slacked.

And Heaven so help a tank that would fall,
To them some would say to slash un-install.

Because many now felt entitlement,
Their right to everything for their money spent.

Perhaps thinking that their subscription charge,
Gave them the right to have egos so large.

And so on the forums they whined and they moaned!
In hundreds of posts they raged and they groaned!

“Warcraft is dead! The Dev Team has failed!
The lot of them ought to be beaten and jailed!

For so destroying the game that I love,
We hope someone smites them from high up above!

This patch is lackluster, a gift to the PUGs!
It’s awful old content and loaded with bugs!

Epics are free, the heroics too easy!
Thrall having a baby is horribly cheesy!

Who cares about the free games that you hand us,
When the next expansion is covered in pandas!

We’ve given up with this now, we are done, we are through!
All your players are leaving for something that’s new.

What you have done is nothing short of theft!”
And so the haters all hating this way finally left.

Then the once silent majority erupted with cheer!
They could actually have a Warcraft Christmas this year!

With all the trolls gone and silence in Trade,
They were free to enjoy this game Blizzard made!

So Blizzard made money and the players made friends,
Because all Christmas stories have happy ends.

And the players looked up and heard Metzen say,
Merry Christmas to all, Heroes of the Storm is on the way!

Yes I know I enjoyed that too! Have a good weekend everyone!

You Fail At Heroes Of The Storm If...

Fail Day! Yes it is Tuesday and yes that is a Heroes of the Storm icon. If you weren't around when I said I did finally get into the Alpha and I must say I am enjoying it. Not that I ever thought I wouldn't I just was beginning to think I wouldn't get a shot at it before Open Beta came around. With all of that in mind I did promise once I got in I would do a fail day for it. So here we are better late then never.

You Fail At Heroes of the Storm If...

• You have no clue where the heroes from the game are coming from
• You try to do your own thing during games
• You don't turn in your coins and then die
• You waste all your mana killing minions
• You queue for a versus with a hero you have at level 1
• You queue for versus with a hero you have never played before
• You die to turrets
• Whenever you are killed it is because such and such is OP and my hero sucks
• You would rather die then hearth
• You don't use your mount
• You are the victim of first blood
• You haven't /danced
• You haven't purchased a specialist with gold or otherwise
• You aren't excited since the Lost Vikings announcement
• You don't get pumped up by the music

and finally

• The entire you talk about this is not like LoL

There you have it this week's edition of Fail. Hope you all enjoy it, and good luck to all of those still waiting to get their hands on everything to test it out.

Titan Canceled

In case you had not heard Blizzard officially stated to the media on Tuesday that project "Titan" had been canceled. The statement itself was

"We had created World of Warcraft, and we felt really confident that we knew how to make MMOs, so we set out to make the most ambitious thing that you could possibly imagine," CEO Mike Morhaime commented. "And it didn't come together. We didn't find the fun. We didn't find the passion. We talked about how we put it through a reevaluation period, and actually, what we reevaluated is whether that's the game we really wanted to be making. The answer is no."

Now what does this mean? Well it means we may never know what Titan actually was. It also means Blizzard probably will not be making another MMO besides World of Warcraft unless, of course, they decided to make a World of Warcraft II. This could also mean some of the developments of Titan may beused for WoW or are already in the process of being used for WoW. Now this maybe because MMOs in generally aren't nearly as popular as they were back when project Titan was announced. The gaming world itself is shifting itself away. Now this is by no means me saying that MMOs are awful and no one should play them. There are still a few good MMOs out there WoW being the best of the bunch, but the general public really isn't getting into MMOs the people playing them are those people that are still left playing them from before.

Now because I am curious I am hoping to hear something about what Titan actually was, but I am not holding my breath. Although on Tuesday MMO Champion was reporting a new and unannounced project by Blizzard might be in the works called Prometheus so it will give us something else to sit back and wonder what it is.

"If Only This Fight Was Over Oranges."

Gauss & Safiree 

Mostly Epic Adventures, because Safiree was there.

Happy Saturday everyone :) Hope your weeks were fantastic. Gauss and I have played World of Warcraft officially again for a month now. :) We have had nothing but good experiences. We've been welcomed back by old friends, resuming play as if we never left. It's nice.

The other day, we did the first part of The Siege of Orgrimmar for the week, and Gauss was like "It would be nice if this part was a naval battle. They don't seem to have any naval battles in this game", and I was like "Yes the fuck they do, Gunship in ICC is a naval battle." And then he was like "Omg Amber you are so retarded, *laughs* the ships were built to fly over Icecrown." And then I was like "Yeah, but technically it is a naval battle because they are ships. Whether they are in the water or not they are a naval unit." And then he was like, "I dare you to open a ticket to Blizzard and ask a GM what they think." And I was like, Challenge Accepted.

Now, I posted this on our Facebook page as soon as I got the response to my ticket. It may be small, but if you go to the facebook page it's there and easy to read but it definitely says "Gunship is a naval battle" Biggest smile i've had on my face all day. HAHA I WIN. That really never happens. Oh and don't judge me by my UI. lol it works ok?


Now, here comes the sad part. Unfortunately, Real life has been very cruel to me. Going through alot at the moment and it will hinder my being able to post to you guys and gals every Saturday. So it will be goodbye for NOW. But I will return as soon as I get everything sorted out. You guys have been really good to me, with my noobish attempt at being a blogger. Thanks for the support and the love. Means the world to me. Hope all your Saturdays will be fantasticker then the last. :)

lol and don't mind my terrible grammar above with "And I was like" 5000 times. Legit no other way I couldn't described it.

qedsafiree@gmail.com
-Safiree 
xo 

Hearthstone Rage

Here we are the ending of the week and the start of a long weekend for all us Canadians. We know how to celebrate Thanksgiving in the correct month. It is Friday though so many if not all of you came here for the Reader Post. Now the Reader Post is normally about something I received which I found interesting and engaging, and something I feel all of you would also enjoy reading. This particular email I received was full of rage surprisingly not towards myself which is quite odd. I get a few of those. This was full of rage towards Hearthstone. In case some of you didn't know Hearthstone is a game currently in beta created by Blizzard. It is a card game played digitally. I have yet to play it although that beta key I have keeps reminding me to do so. I just don't have the drive to play a card game. Anyways I thought this was entertaining, even more so since his name was Paralleluniverse, so I will share it with you all.

I've been in the beta since Day 1. I'm done with this game and I will not play it again. It's not a fair game.

Here's why:

1. It's pay to win. People who spend more money can get more cards, better cards, more options to build better decks, meanwhile people who don't spend money need to grind for days to get even 1 deck of cards, and the pitiful rate of 1 gold per win. Even the MMR system cannot fix this unfairness at the top of the MMR curve, where high MMR players with bought cards have more than 50% win rate (like SC2). A person with 2000 skill rating + $100 spent is better than a person with 2000 skill rating. It's unfair. People should not be allowed to buy cards with real money.

2. There is no release wipe. It allows people who, by dumb luck, have been in the beta to get an unfair card advantage, for absolutely no reason. Why should beta testers get to keep their account without a wipe, when people who weren't lucky enough to get into the closed beta are systemically and unfairly, of no fault of their owned, denied this advantage of early access? And some of these people are now defending their undeserved entitlement, which they should not get, at the expense of destroying fairness for everyone else.

3. No ladder and ranking system. No plans for ladder and ranking systems.

4. No chat. No social features. No plans for chat, no plans for social features.

5. Flawed reward model that rewards players for tanking their rating and farming noobs by giving these abusers more gold, more quickly.

6. Per-usage microtransaction of $2 to play Arena. This would be as outrageous as Valve charging $2 to queue All Pick in Dota 2. Or if Microsoft charged $2 to make an Office document with no option of buying Microsoft Office. This is arguably the most greedy business model in existence.

What would they need to do to make make me play? Never ever sell any cards or packs. Wipe on release. Add ladders and chat. Sell the game for $60 instead. Or sell only cosmetic microtransactions like Dota 2.

In conclusion, there is no fairness, no equality. Therefore, there is no sense of accomplishment, and hence no point to play. Would anyone bother to compete in the Olympics if drug cheats are allowed? No. So why should I play Hearthstone. The same reasoning applies: if the game is unfair, then accomplishments, like being in Masters, mean nothing because it can be achieved by people using these unfair and undeserved advantages, like buying cards for real money.

The fact that cards can be grinded at a snail's pace changes nothing, because other people who have spent more money still have the advantage of more cards, better cards, more choices, and a easier ability to adapt to a changing metagame, which isn't possible via grinding. In the long run you can get all the cards... eventually. But in the long run, we are all dead. In the meantime, you're playing a stacked and unfair game. More fundamentally, there is no point to grinding in an unfair game in the first place. So why even bother take the first step? Games like WoW Classic, SC2, WC3, and Dota 2, were built on a model of fairness within the game. Everyone pays the same, everyone gets the same access to the game. If you play the game, then how much money you have outside of the game doesn't affect the game. Your real world finances doesn't come into the game as an advantage. In Hearthstone, how much money you spend in real life determines how many cards you have. It's the opposite of fair games where everyone starts perfectly equal like WoW Classic, SC2, WC3 and Dota 2.

The unfairness and inequality of Hearthstone cheapens the game for everyone as accomplishments become meaningless, because people who have bought cards can achieve the same, just like drug cheats in the Olympics. And the fact that there's no ladder and ranking system really does make your accomplishment meaningless because no one knows about them, no one knows you exist. You can't even talk. So the game is meaningless and pointless. And I refuse to play a meaningless and pointless game.

The developers of this game have a pathological aversion to fairness and equality, in favor of more money and a greedy business model. But as proven by the fact that they decided not to wipe on release, it's not just about money. It proves that they believe in unfairness and inequality, fundamentally and as a matter of principle. And it is ultimately for this reason that I will not play this game.

The first thing I thought after reading this. He does no its a card game right? Secondly, there is no pay only content which kind of makes his argument invalid but nonetheless entertaining. So hopefully that gives you all happy thoughts for the weekend!

It's About Time

So for years we have been hearing about the the Warcraft movie. They have been talking and talking about it and we have been left wondering if it still was going to actually be a thing. Well  On Tuesday we received this.

Finally! The only thing better is if they would have announced there was going to be two parts where the second movie would be called "Merely a Setback". I know I know awful joke. I am pretty pumped though. I honestly don't care if this more than 2 years away. Or 796 days to be slightly more exact. We also have no idea about the story and I am still pretty pumped about the whole thing. Tell me what you all think, whats on your mind. Who do you hope makes and appearance?

Wipe the Dust from your Steam account...

Safiree & Gauss

Mostly Epic Saturdays

 Happy Saturday everyone, hope it was an awesome week. This week has been full of variety. PVP grind, among other gaming. Mostly on Steam. If you're a gamer, you know what steam is and the torture it comes with. SOOO MANY OPTIONS! Honestly I think people should spend more time playing the simple free to play games. Will make your life much happier. :)

Realm Of the Mad Gods: Free to play, simple, and it's a game you can pick up and walk away from easily. It can be addictive and worth the time you put into it.

Team Fortress 2: FUN FUN FUN! Nothing more to say. The only thing better than this being free to play, is the videos on youtube. You're welcome.

Spiral Knights: If you like Zelda, you will enjoy this. It is also free to play. I haven't had much luck with it. Haven't really put too much time into it because i've been pvping. For a good adventure I recommend :)

 This weekend there are games free to play temporarily. Dead Island Riptide, Red Orchestra 2, Rising Storm- beta etc. Should check them out :)

 For me Steam is a place where all my games go to die. I play the ones I've put a lot of money into, when I can. A lot of people love the smaller company games Steam hosts, compared to bigger titles Blizzard throws at us. I try to balance my gaming but it is hard sometimes. Play simple Wii games, Sim City, Starcraft, Rift, and Steam games. All with Gauss :)

 Which games would you recommend playing? A lot of people have asked me to try Terra. Sorry not gonna happen LOL. Keep in mind Trion is having an event called "Extra Life". A gaming marathon, playing 25 hours straight November 2nd, all proceeds go towards those in need across the country. Participating grants awesome rewards, including special titles, and for donors huge prizes they haven't yet revealed. Register online for the event for free and help those in need. As always thanks for reading! Have the best weekend.

 -Safiree

Ask Gauss

Sunday! Yes it is that day again. The day where we realize that although our weekend is still around it is coming  to a close, and the dreaded Monday is only around the corner. But, let's forget about that and remember that today is Sunday and with that comes Ask Gauss. The post of the week where I answer questions sent to me throughout the week. So why don't I do it.

Now this way seem weird, but I know Ask Gauss is on Sunday, which is April first so I want to know which April fools joke of Blizzard was your favourite?


Well that is simple the Zergotchi was brillant in everyway. If you haven't seen it you can check it out by clicking on this link. Sometimes I wonder though how much though goes into these. Do the developers sit around a table and think this stuff up? And if that is the case how long does this take? Now I know they are funny and great for a laugh, and sometimes in the future things can be made out of them. Look at the Panderen for example. They started out as an April Fools joke for Warcraft III. Just makes you think if Blizzard is actually seeing how far they can go and this is why they actually put a good amount of effort into these.


Inferno Difficulty has been changed, and what are your thoughts?


For those who didn't know. The original plan for Diablo IIIs Inferno difficulty was that after you reached Level 60 you would be able to complete the game now in such a way that the minimum monster level in Inferno was 61. Also the original plan was that they challenge would remain the same throughout all of Inferno. This has been changed so that there is also a difficulty curve going through Inferno. Meaning that it won't start as hard as it was, but it will finish harder. They feel this will make people want to finish all of inferno not only for the challenge, but also for the fact that the best gear will now drop in late Inferno. Now it has also been stated that Inferno will still be extremely difficult in all cases and won't be for the everyday player.


I am all for a harder challenge especially one that doesn't seem stagnant, which I think would be the case with a constant difficulty. Think of it this way. If it is not getting any harder why am I going to push myself and not just do the bosses I know over and over again? For the risk there is no reward, but now there is reward and an even greater challenge. I look forward to dying constantly attempting this.


What you hoping for this week?


Could really go for some Lindor Easter Chocolate.

There you have it. Questions answered for the week, and be sure not to fall victim to some April Fools pranks.

Ask Gauss

Sunday, yes the end of the weekend is here. In addition I had to lose an extra hour of sleep because of the switch to daylights savings time. Completely messing with my routine. Regardless today is Sunday meaning it is time for Ask Gauss. The post of the week where I answer a few questions sent to me throughout the week. So without me going off on a rant that could take several minutes of reading time. I will just get right to it.

So the PvP Arena System will not be active when Diablo III Launches. Do you see this as poor design?


Diablo is and never will be a PvP game. It is not going to be balanced for it whatsoever, and will just be a side thing to the game as a whole. Diablo is about slaying demons and being immersed into the environment, and of course collecting pretty treasures while you are doing it. No one knows who long it will take up to level a character in Diablo III at the moment anyway therefore by the time you are actually max level and put some effort into your character then you may see the arena patch has already happened.


Think of WoW for a second. Battlegrounds where not there when the game launched and when they were actually put into the game they were not even close to being an effective way of leveling. Therefore players couldn't get a real use out of them until they were max level something which had just happened for most active players slightly before they came out.


Blizzard is a smart company. They know people want to play this game, and they know that delaying something which is a great extra, but not fundamental to the game will not have much backlash at all if any worth noting.


Have you seen the Encyclopaedia Blizzanica?


Oh I did and had the pleasure of reading it an its additions. For those of you who haven't read it you can check it out by clicking here. Of all of them I think this is my favourite

Loot - The centre of the gaming universe. These magical collections of pictures and numbers have in the past inspired lawsuits, murders, divorce, brawls, real money transactions, oral favours and tons and tons of QQ. It also follows laws of it's own that frequently differ from the laws of physics. Adventurers are frequently shocked the first time they swat the mosquito which has just landed on their ear and it proceeds to drop a three hundred kilogram battleaxe.

So with MoP Beta soon should we expect complain posts about no beta for you?

You know me so well don't you.

There you have it. Questions answered for the week. Hope you all got something out of it. Enjoy what is left of your weekend!

You Fail At Complaining About Blizzard Layoffs If...

Happy Fail Day everyone! Yes, that is right it is that time once again. Time to feel better about yourself and someone else's misfortune, or think to yourself why am I such an idiot. Oh the wonders of Fail Day never cease to amaze me. With that spirit in mind let's get to the fail.

You Fail At Complaining About Blizzard Layoffs If...

• You think this has everything to do with the evil Activision
• You believe this is because battle.net 2.0 obviously is horrible
• You someone believe this is the reason Blizzard stole the Kung Fu Panda Idea
• You actually think they copied kung fu panda
• You think this is why my braces never drop
• You some how think this relates to everyone quitting my guild and has nothing to do with you acting like the 30 year old living in your mother's basement
• You believe this is all because you didn't get a legendary this expansion
• Your first words were "finally the people who designed the mule have been fired"
• You think this is because Terran is OP
• You think this is because Protoss is OP
• You think this is because Zerg is OP
• You think this means Blizzard is going the way of "Warcraft Adventures" and "Starcraft Ghost"
• You think this means Titan will never see the light of day

and finally

• You think this is the very reason I am living my life and not going without food or sleep because I am not mindlessly playing Diablo III

There you have it this week's edition of fail. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.

Blizzard Layoffs

If you haven't heard here is the press release.

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that it has conducted a review of its business based on current organizational needs. Following a completion of the review, the company is conducting a global reduction in workforce of approximately 600 employees. The company anticipates approximately 90% of the affected employees will come from departments not related to game development. The World of Warcraft® development team will not be impacted.

“Constant evaluation of teams and processes is necessary for the long-term health of any business. Over the last several years, we've grown our organization tremendously and made large investments in our infrastructure in order to better serve our global community. However, as Blizzard and the industry have evolved we've also had to make some difficult decisions in order to address the changing needs of our company,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “Knowing that, it still does not make letting go of some of our team members any easier. We’re grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the people impacted by today’s announcement, we’re proud of the contributions they made here at Blizzard, and we wish them well as they move forward.”


Blizzard's current development and publishing schedules will not be impacted. The company will announce specific release plans for Diablo® III in the near future, and it’s continuing to drive aggressively toward beta testing for World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria™, Blizzard DOTA, and StarCraft® II: Heart of the Swarm™. Blizzard also remains committed to maintaining its high standards of quality for customer service delivery.
 
Now there are many people panicing and going crazy that this means Blizzard is dying. That this has everything to do with going with Pandas, or is all about the delay of Diablo III. Fact of the matter is this is just something that companies go through. With better technology people can be replaced because you are able to become more efficient. It is that simple. So the world isn't ending, Blizzard is still going to be releasing some of the greatest games this world has ever seen, and if you read this even says "specific release plans for D3" so stop running around with pitch forks scream that Activision killed Blizzard it is not true. So take a step back and have a deep breath and everything will be ok.