Wondering Devs

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In the immortal words of Foghorn Leghorn;

"It's a joke boy! Don't ya get it?"

Subtle humour like my quip yesterday that females shouldn't form all-girl gaming teams if they craved attention, but rather should join the Internet industry where they are the vast majority, porn (pr0n) has a problem. It's subtle. I expected some crazy mail, but what I received was a 'just-add-water' kind of insanity generally reserved for people who think that blowing themselves up will reap a reward of 72 virgins. In a strange coincidence, the bombers would also have been better served by the porn industry.

To be clear, I don't believe that females should join the porn industry simply to get attention, though that is of course, their choice. For a different view on this topic I suggest "Not Funny...Ever."

Those of you who were offended by the comment yesterday should really take a look at this television advertisement, being run in the U.S. as part of the current elections.

On a happier, though far less controversial note, I mentioned Temple of Veeshan from the original Everquest as being one of the Seven Wonders of MMOGs. I liken it to Niagara Falls in its wonder, well, if Niagara Falls had dragons. How cool would that be? I'd like to see a dragon go over the falls in a barrel.

Some of your favourite developers sent in their suggestions for the Seven Wonders.
First up, a gentleman who deals in the creation of wonders, Allan Maki, Senior Content Designer at Turbine, Inc.

"The Obsidian Span (Asheron's Call 1999): This bridge over the River Prosper
appeared in February 2000. The bridge consists of a massive obsidian rings
set against one another. A massive arched bridge is supported by a third
ring that hangs from the two over a half-mile span of river.

Blackrock Mountain (World of Warcraft 2004): My jaw dropped. The massive
stonework statues leaning in to hold the central spire over a pool of liquid
hot magma, was simply awe inspiring.

Aulatah Colossus (Asheron's Call 2002): A massive carving of the greatest
leader of the Tumeroks, the Aulatah Colossus appeared carved from the very
stones of the mountain where it stood. The waterfall beside it made it one
of the most amazing place to ever visit on Dereth.

The Frontier (Dark Age of Camelot 2000): The mercurial battles, the tension
of storming a castle and fighting for the glory of my realm. This stands out
as my favorite PvP experience to date.

Darkness Falls (Dark Age of Camelot 2000): A secondary form of currency, a
host of new items to use in crafting for incredible cash. A pvp mechanism
that had never been seen before. Darkness Falls was just Awesome."

The Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment team, currently working on StarGate Worlds took a bit of a different tack, choosing "Best World", "Best Zone" and "Best Dungeon". Some were from non-MMOG titles which flows nicely with the wish that many of you have for an immersive single player experience in a MMOG.

"Bo Bell, World Builder Esq., Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment: "Best World : Azeroth (WoW), Best Zone: Feralas, Best Dungeon: Maraudon

Chris Bernert, Senior Systems Designer, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment: “Best World: Guild Wars. Best Dungeon: Darkness Falls – DaoC. Best Zone: Lake of Ill Omen - EQ Live.”

Andrew “Deg” Chernauskas, Assistant Community Manager, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment: “Best World: Riven. Best Zone: Searing Gorge. Best Dungeon: Gnomeregan.”

Zeb Cook, Lead Systems Designer, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment: “I like City of Villains for best world, but I'm biased on that. Either that or Planescape.”

Matt D’Arcangelo, World Builder, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment: “Well, it is kinda no contest, Azeroth by a long shot, for best world. Best Zone: Wetlands. Best Dungeon: Scholomance.”

Dan Elggren, Senior Producer, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment: “Best World: "Giants Citizen Kabuto", Best Zone.: "Guild Wars first five levels", Best Dungeon: Diablo II.”

Nick Heitzman, Lead Artist, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment: “Best World: Azeroth. Best Zone: Naxxramas. Best Dungeon: Blackwing Lair.”

Chris Klug, Creative Director, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment: “Okay, Best World in an MMO is EQI (Ed: Norrath). Best Zone is probably Feralas. I think that EQ's world held together coherently better than WoW (probably because they weren't assuming I played Warcraft). EQ felt like a real fantasy place, while WoW feels 'constructed.' Feralas is visually beautiful, is segmented nicely, flows really well, has a nice variety of stuff in it, and has to be navigated (as an Alliance player) to cross. And as far as the dungeons, they all miss opportunities to be great.”

Katie “Khatie” Postma, Lead Community Manager, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment: “Best World: D’ni (Uru). Best Zone: Stranglethorn Vale (WoW). Best Dungeon: The Dungeon Despise (Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar).”

Raph “The Enabler” Robbins, Content Designer, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment: “For best world... I would probably say Vana'diel (FFXI). Although, the universe in Earth and Beyond was really cool too... these are the only MMO's I've played where I actually cared about the lore... which is tough to get me to do. Then for Zone... If a city zone is okay, than say Selbina, just cause I loved the music, and I loved to chill there. That's important to me.”

Jim Younkin, World Builder, Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment: “My vote for Best World is Shadow of the Colossus… Best Zone, WoW Wetlands.”"

A big round of clap to the devs and community managers who generously sent in their wonders. Expect a few more over the coming days and weeks.

Now that you know what the developers think, don't be afraid to throw your own wonders into the mix.

Do tell, either in the forum or at the bottom of this blog. If you are shy (or female and sending in naughty pictures) you can E-Mail me.

Every good guild needs a home. A home free of gold ads and secondary market farmers. Look no further than GuildPortal.com.

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As always, thanks for visiting TenTonHammer.com,
-- John "Boomjack" Hoskin