Tuesday, October 25, 2011

MMORPG unveils....

Good Morning/afternoon wizards!



Seems like only yesterday I gave everyone another new teaser that KI have so graciously given the community to get us excited for the coming of a new world. Oh wait I did do that only yesterday so in a shocking move KI has released a new picture today. This time MMORPG.com has been selected to be the bearer of sceenshot news! It just confirmed my original intentions on the previous post. That we would see Middle or a race/species that have involvement in the story line. Who? You might ask....well it's Morganthe's critters of terror --- the Shadow Weavers! Hopefully this time KI does them justice and we get an actual story on the Shadow Weavers. In fact just more cowbell in general on Morganthe and her dark army. Please KI? People like me love to delve into the mythos of a world -- give us a treat not a trick?


Once again Team Kev-Kat have deciphered the message in record time. Great job guys! You rock! This time the message says: "Find her there" Now it's all full cirlce as the mystery of the message has been solved.
"Down in the depths, At the top of the world, find her there"
Find who? Perhaps Morganthe? That seems to be the popular theory. Only time will tell but I'm sure the wizard community is right on the money....we usually have good instincts. 

The picture title says graveyard at first I admit I thought it was a temple of some sort perhaps of worship. I do believe this new world and in this image particularly is above water. The sky DOES look like sort of underwater but honestly it looks more stormy as in a storm is about to break out. Further on the far left we see some vine growth. Vines don't grow like that when in water so it leads me to believe they are above it. Again though only time will tell if I am right or wrong.

What are your theories?

Until next time your friend,
Alric Ravensinger

Monday, October 24, 2011

ZAM unveils....

Howdy again!

Fresh off the ZAM site. A new teaser again Team Kev-Kat have deciphered it in record time....again. 3 points for them personally and 2 points for KT/ Wizard-kind.

New's link: ZAM's Teaser Post.

According to Team KK this hidden message says "At the top of the world"
So now we have..... "Down in the depths, At the top of the world, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"
Bring it on KI! I know my friends will have your messages deciphered!
(If you notice btw the message correlates to something in the image i.e. depths; Oni's seem to be at docks of some sort. Monkey men seem to be at the top of the world literally in some treetop village of some sort)
My guess is we will see middle since we have low and high. Or a major character/race/species within the storyline whether they help the player or are possibly villainous.

Your thoughts and insight are welcomed and appreciated!

Until next time your friend,
Alric Ravensinger

Friday, October 21, 2011

Massively unveils...

Earlier today Massively gave us a sneak peek at new content coming to Wizard101.
Check it out! Massively teaser post. I will also provide the image below!
 KTers (Kinky Twizards don't know take a look at who they are here: KTwizards Who they are!) Kevin Battleblood and Katherine Light deciphered the message! It says "Down in the depths" Not bad by my count they got it before anyone! It's good to have smart friends eh? Anyway look forward to more upcoming images in the coming week!

This is so exciting hopefully we have new content on the way for Legendary wizards! We need some story and level progression already! What are your thoughts?

Until next time your friend,
Alric Ravensinger

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Treats, Tricks, and Hey! Spare parts!

Hey all!

As you may know the Wizard101 community is going wild right now for one thing: The Nightmare Pack.
This post will NOT be how this suckers people into a downward spiral of gambling cause 1. I don't want to fight people. 2. I am allowed my own opinion and hey this is my blog. and finally 3. As I stated before.... "It's only gambling when you don't have the will to stop. If you can't stop buying a pack then you can't stop playing the game." Meaning games like Wizard101 can cost you more than crowns so maybe you shouldn't be playing. It's all about you as an individual and if you blame KI for your lack of will and responsibility it's on YOU not them.





Update: I think everyone should have a look at this post made by Heather Raven more importantly look in the comments. It's true if you have the addiction to keep buying you need more supervision if your an adult then maybe it's you. Point is again your own Willpower to overcome your problem and not let it overflow. I'm going to steal Icy's comment and change it up a bit. We can't blame the Ninja pigs (KI) that your obese cause you can't stop eating the bacon!


This pack is simply amazing because it gives us who like to decorate a plethora of new items which means more intricate Halloween themed houses which is fun! I had a rough day on Petnome cause of the influx of new pets added by this pack which is bad (All that work! It ain't easy ya know?) and great! Who doesn't like new pets right? KI also did a great deed in my book by giving us 1st generation pets that were previously only available as hybrids. What this does is for newer players to the game who missed the promotions or that month on KIFG now have a chance to have the pet. What is better is now they and older players will have pets with "pure" talents.

So far I know of hybrid turned 1st generation pets are:
Grim Scarab (Which I got myself)
Ghost Hound 
Red Ghost

Also in the pot are older pets such as:
Death Scarab
Black Cat
Ianthine Spectre


For completely new pets known so far are:
Death Treant
Gob-O-Lantern
Gold Armored Skeleton

Also available is new gear as with previous packs it gives boosts to a variety of stats as well as cards! Also present are new wands which look pretty neat like a mix of a dark dragon staff with the special effects of the Celestial Trident. I will also say the new cowls available in the pack make me look like a Jawa from STAR WARS! Any SW fans out there will see the resemblance immediately if not I have provided a picture below hehe.



Finally the most highlighted item of the pack well it is amazing! I was lucky enough to get it on my first and ONLY bought pack. That's right yours truly was graced by the Loot Gods and given the insanely awesome "The Nightmare" mount! Woot! Look how cool Alric looks in his Observatory on his ethereal mount. Pretty sweet right?




My advice when it comes to buying these packs. Limit yourself it's all about fun anyway right? The thrill of getting a good item. Besides think of it this way you can mix with your friends for any pets you didn't get! My tia Cassandra Dragonheart limited herself to only 5 packs and she got 3 pets! Point is to limit yourself and look within yourself before you blame others for your mistakes.


Until next time your spookified friend,
Alric Ravensinger

Friday, October 14, 2011

GDC Online Awards! Wizard101 takes the Audience Award!

If you didn't catch the show Wizard101 took home the Audience Award. I admit I was sadden that we lost in the two other categories but it's all good. This year Minecraft took home Best Community Relations and Best Live Game outdoing our beloved Wizard101.

I went to a fellow Twizard who plays Minecraft as well as some Minecraft enthusiasts from other gaming forums I frequent. Here is what they had to say:

"Their entire team utilizes Twitter on a regular basis with as many people as they can. Not to mention Notch's blog, Minecraft Chick's blog, Notch and Jeb_'s respective Google+ pages, leaked pictures of upcoming events, lots of info on Reddit." - John Lifeglen
I admit it would be nice to see some customer support on Twitter or other social mediums. Here is some more that had to be said.

"the community projects that take place within the confines of the game realm as opposed to relying on fansites for a sense of community.
If you take the time to recreate the Empire State Building, the Starship Enterprise, or a Stargate with a large number of people, there's a HUGE sense of interaction." - John Lifeglen
What I gather and what John and others have told me is Minecraft deals in currency of items gotten within the game and the player or a group of players can build their own worlds, structures, and even cave systems. While I and John were at odds on Best Live Game I gotta admit Company to Player interaction and Community in Minecraft seems great! 

Do not fret my fellow Wizards I haven't given up on Wizard101 but I think it's good to shed light on why sometimes the games we love are outdone. The MMO gaming scene is rapidly changing and people are starting to see hey! this is great to interact with others as oppose to handhelds and consoles. Although console gaming especially with the newer systems like Xbox360, Playstation 3, and even the 3DS are breaking those barriers although at a steadfast pace.

Good job to all the winners and hey we still get our mystery pet and the honor of knowing we have a great community here in Wizard101 to the point of being nominated.

Until next time your friend,
Alric Ravensinger

Saturday, October 1, 2011

October Newsletter

Needless to say I am happy it is out. If you look closely looks like KI might of did a tiny mishap of posting it a bit early. Of course I am probably wrong though.

Wizard101 Newsletter - October 2011

Enjoy!
(If you notice it says new pets! Oh joy! Hopefully they are farmable) 

Until next time your friend,
Alric Ravensinger

A sudden chill runs down my back I realize.....it's October!

That's right folks! One of my favorite months in one of my favorite seasons is here! October and Autumn! Woot! It's time to leave the normal and bust out with the paranormal! Leaving the Mundane for the Mun....um...strange? I have no clue! Let's celebrate though!

Some of you might be aware but most probably not I am have keen fascination with the Paranormal and the occult. Don't worry I am not a real life Sorcerer and I definitely don't mess with Ouija boards. I am a sort of historical researcher on occult and every once in awhile I'll do some amateur ghost hunting with the family. How is that for some quality family time? eh?

Sink your teeth into this for example. Did you know that Necromancers weren't how we see them today? Back in the olde days Necromancers were sort of like Seers or Oracles they didn't raise the dead like we think they did. I know sorry to disappoint no corpses they would raise the souls of the decease to ask for advice, about future events, or even ask for aid. However don't get me wrong these practices often did include having the bodies of the people they wish to contact sometimes even having only certain body parts. Sometimes the ritual called for a human or animal sacrifice but it was rare and one could invoke the spirits by simply offering an item. (Hence the spell. Good job tying it in KI)  It's not without it's bad though in the Middle Ages Necromancy took on a more familiar role of conjuring up the dead (literally) and summoning demons for malicious intent or to gain knowledge.

Interesting stuff right? I'll be moving on from that though I don't wanna freak anyone out. As with every year the community in Wizard101 has several things to look forward to. The Halloween Tower(s), Farmings for Halloween crown items, and even pertaining to the month of ghosts and gobblers. Oops I mean Goblins. That's not the only excitement though for those who love the scary things in life there are a few channels on Tv I know will be airing spooktacular shows all of October. SyFy and it's 31 days of Halloween, Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures, and Chiller Channel. Trust me if you are looking for a scare you'll find it on one of those channels I am sure I am missing one or two but these I watch the most.

As a final note I'd like to thank all of you who continue to read my blog despite the lack of comics and such. It's bad I know I sort of took away the thing that made me and this blog unique. I don't just want to be confined to a single talent I'd like to show you folks that I am multidimensional as well which is why I do blog about mythos or various lore within the game dissecting it and it's influences. I do have a surprise though I won't shed any light on it but I think it's cool and people will love it.

Until next time your vile undead host,
Alric Ravensinger