Tuesday, February 24, 2015

As The Crow Flies

Just two years ago, Kingsisle co-founder J. Todd Coleman left his position to pursue other endeavors. His influence in developing Wizard101 and Pirate101 was enough that I wrote a post wishing Coleman the best of luck.

Now, he and Gordon Walton, another veteran in the gaming industry, are on the verge of releasing Crowfall. This unique MMO will be the first release of ArtCraft Entertainment, the company Coleman moved onto. I wouldn't know where to begin in describing it, so check out their Kickstarter page (linky) for yourself. Nearly halfway there already! Congratulations are in order for the old Headmaster Ambrose :)


 Wizard101 wasn't Coleman's first project. He oversaw another popular MMO, Shadowbane, earlier in his career. Similarly, the W101 and P101 community has never been solely dependent on Kingsisle enthusiasts. The first major bloggers and podcasters had past involvement in countless MMOs -- without that experience, Friendly and Leesha would not have become Tom and Leala, the community managers.
Similarly, more W101 and P101 bloggers are branching out to revamp or begin new sites for coverage on multiple MMOs. Here's a couple of them!

    Soultamer | Indie Games, MMOs, and More
  • Soultamer: In my opinion, Destiny Soultamer is the most creative Pirate101 blogger. With development slow in the Spiral, she remade her site for coverage on many other games. Check it out here: http://www.destinysoultamer.com/
  • WatchHallow: After Wizards Unite, Ian Stormstaff extended his focus into a personal gaming blog. Check out his lovable, bunny-centric persona here: http://www.watchhallow.com/
    Shadowhorn Gaming
  • Shadowhorn Gaming: The incredibly ambitious Blaze Shadowhorn hasn't just found his niche, he's founded one of the first Crowfall fansites! Here's his new site: http://www.shadowhorngaming.com/ --- and what promises to be Crowfall Central: http://crushthethrone.com/


Seeing all the amazing work being done by others begs the question ...
 what are my future plans?


 I won't have the time or energy to keep up with Crowfall. I have played other games, but this site will remain centered on Wizard101 and Pirate101. In fact, I have an end date in mind for my blogging days. On the other hand, with more free time on my hands, I can promise that there will be much more content on this blog for the foreseeable future. A project or two is already in the works. When I retire from The Two-headed Wizard (a name I can't believe stuck on :P), I want to be assured that I not only entertained myself, but entertained the readers who have stuck around. You know who you are. Even though new comments come along about as often as an Amber reagent, the 100,000 page views (!) tell me I have an audience. Like the little PBS reminders, this content is made possible by viewers like you. Thank you.

Happy Blogging!

Saturday, February 14, 2015

A Quest A Day Keeps The Juju Away

..Although I didn't entirely bind myself to one quest a day, per se. It was more like, 3 quests during the week and then 4 to catch up on over the weekend. Nevertheless, Wicked Valkoor Vane is done questing! Here is the first of two posts with his travels over 3 worlds in approximately 3 months.



Barely level 40, Valkoor sailed into Mooshu relying on Dan Drake's sharpshooting. To be fair, I did have my companions set on random.



After breaking up some weddings in Mooshu, it was evident that maybe a few Cool Ranch companions were becoming obsolete. Sorry, Skyfire. I love your name but would prefer tasking you 24/7.


When doing one quest a day, you realize just how long the infamous Inoshishi quest is. For once, I entirely agreed with Ratbeard.


On the guise of getting Mormo a cooler Mardi Gras mask, the introduction to Moo Manchu went off with few hitches.


Okay, I cheated a little and did a side quest too.


...but it was for an awesome, fire-wielding helephant. :D
General Tso's dungeon was a real challenge -- enough that all but 3 or 4 of my companions had died after several battles with him. [T]so, I only had one more chance with Carcarius as my best companion.


After a long battle and minimal health left, the chicken was successfully threatened! On to Khotan!


First, an obligatory Stormzilla screenshot. Tiny arms are your worst enemy when tumbling into a hill.


With enough Will and a Super hit, I was pleasantly surprised with the damage Valkoor could do. With regular hits of 1000+, Khotan was smooth sailing for the most part.


The awesomeness of Kan Po really comes through at pivotal moments. Hamakala Temple is one of my favorite battles -- very difficult but not terribly frustrating.


The Metal Guardian challenge, though... that's pretty frustrating.


With Mooshu complete, I took a moment to hang with the levitating cow.


Oh, and Kan Po took care of the whole Yak-wearing-sunglasses dungeon. On to Marleybone!


A little comfortable bliss before all the war stuff.


Nothing like Beachhead for action movie screenshots!


Bishop is also a fun battle, with or without the sweet Witchdoctor powers.


Bad breath rebels, on the other hand -- not so much.
Even if many of my companions regularly died, I got through Marleybone with relative ease. Having one quest a day can actually be pretty convenient with the recent (well, ten months old, but it doesn't feel that long ago) Advanced Companions update.


I also came through with a cleaner conscience! Sort of.


Catbeard... not so much.


On to Monquista! Err, Aquila.

Like Gortez and his Queen, may your Valentine's Day be regal... and not full of civil wars and monkey business.

Happy Questing!