Design Notes
Artix
Letter Chess posted by Artix on

Helping a fellow Indie Game Maker

Not too long ago, a professor from the University of South Florida named Henrick Jeanty visited the lab. He showed us the concept for a really interesting word game called Letter Chess. Having been working on the algorithms that run this for many years, it has become his passion and dream to develop and publish the game. As an indy game studio that understands how difficult it is to take an idea and actually make it happen, we encourage any and all of you who love word games to support his kickstarter campaign. To learn more about the game, check out the video on the kickstarter page.

 

Random Thoughts

  • We have had a lot of guests lately! One player, an ArchKnight from the forums, was visiting and brought us a notebook filled with thank yous and tear inducing memories from the forums.
  • Henrick was very surprised when he found out how big the lab was, and how many game projects we are working on here. He spent a lot of time talking with Warlic and Galanoth who happily shared their knowledge with him.
  • I personally donated $100 to his Letterchess Kickstarter.

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Kiara
AQ3D Monster Design Contest posted by Kiara on

Hi everyone! The AQ3D team is extending the deadline of the AQ3D Monster Contest until this Friday, October 5th at 11:59am (noon) Eastern time. If you've been thinking of submitting your monster creation, you have a few more days to do so! (note: This is the one and only extension we're doing for this contest, so you should hurry.) For official contest rules and submission instructions, click here.


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Kiara
This Week's New Game Releases posted by Kiara on

AdventureQuest Worlds

The love J6 and Cinazul share shines brighter than the largest gold bounty! This week, join the AQWorlds team and 30,000 of  your fellow heroes as we celebrate true love more valuable than any loot... but don't worry, we've got all the battle-ready  wedding gear a guest could want!

In J6's "Cake, Cruise, and Crashers" wedding event, take a ride on the Love Goat, then face down on his long-time rival to keep make sure that the big day goes off without a hitch!
AQWorlds - J6 and Cinazul WeddingJ6's Rare House Shop has NEW houses, and don't miss Samba's Battle-Pet shop in Battleon!
www.AQ.com

EpicDuel

The Chairman has landed in EpicDuel and he's come to claim Delta V for his own! To lull the populace into compliance, Chairman Platinum is selling powerful Ebilcorp armors of his own design.  These armors have a special skill, Chairman's Fury, a one-time use, selectable skill that can be used to unleash a powerful unblockable uppercut attack that steals 25% of your opponent's rage for yourself.
EpicDuel - Platinum PrideAs if that wasn't enough "ebil" at once, Dage the Evil himself has stumbled upon Delta V to share his wares with those he deems worthy.  Do you have what it takes to wield one of his monstrous creations?

EpicDuel - Dave the Evil Comes to Delta V!www.EpicDuel.com

DragonFable

Explore the ruins of one of the Book 1 cities! What, or who, could have caused such destruction?!
www.DragonFable.com

MechQuest

In a dimensional twist this week, the Dragonoid Saga expands - or will have expanded - by bulging slightly at the seams. If you've already rescued Char, you'll still want to go back to Dean Warlic's office to talk with her about Wormhole Tech. She has (will have) (or is that "will have had") a NEW Front Arm weapon in the Mer'a Shops as well. (Haven't gotten to the Dragonoid Saga yet? Beat the Kingadent, complete Planet 51, complete all Westion quests, complete all Lagos quests, and visit Dean Warlic's office to get access to all of the quests related to the Dragonoid Saga.) Then, happening on MONDAY: PARTY AT TEK'S MECHS! Ride the Floorivator to the Birthday Party and pick up the 3012 Birthday mecha model! Star Captains - you'll be able to get commemorative Anniversary Items for your Starships, too!
www.MechQuest.com

HeroSmash

Talk Like a Pirate Day shop is still in, and this week it's been updated with new items! Be sure to check it out before it's gone for another year!
www.HeroSmash.com

AdventureQuest Classic

The attack menu has received an update, you no longer take a turn to change pets! There are also now house guards hiding in the Alnaphar shops, check them out! Sea Fiend quest has been updated with new rewards and the new Eyephoon pet is in the Limited-Time Shop!
www.BattleOn.com


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Artix
VILLAINS! posted by Artix on

Can you name these villains?

6DragonHeads-450.jpg

With the 10th Year Anniversary coming up -- we are doing a VERY special anniversary event in the game that started it all, the ORIGINAL AdventureQuest! We are pulling out all of the stops. In addition to Hollow, Eukara and the amazing team who updates AQ every week, we are bringing back original members of the team to work on this special event. Oishii will be drawing new NPCs, J6 will be helping, and I will even be helping write the quests (you guys missed by tongue-in-cheek puns, right?). Even Dage, who grew up as a mega AQ fan and eventually became one of AE's most popular artists is pitching in to help on this quest.

Random Thoughts

  • Oishii is redrawing Eukara and Hollow... I wonder what they will look like?
  • Dage was an obsessive player of the original AQ. It is what inspired him to become what he is today. Can you imagine how happy he is to be creating these special versions of the classic monsters for this event?
  • The AQ team is used to having their releases done waaaay ahead of schedule. I work on an... um... more chaotic, last-minute schedule. With only 2.5 weeks left, I am pretty sure I am driving them crazy.
  • Yergen might come help animate some of the monsters too!
  • We are going to write the special event so players who have never played the original AQ can play without having to know the huge number of complex storylines.
  • Players who have not logged in for a long time should get a heavy dose of nostalgia. 
  • Existing players should really enjoy the crazy art being created for the event.
  •  It is so much fun having everyone work together. We should do this more often :-)

Challenge!

Check out the "heads" in the image above.  Can you tell which classic AdventureQuest villain each one symbolizes? Post your guess as a comment!


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Artix
ONE-EYED DOLL! posted by Artix on

New album this October just for our gaming community

New One-Eyed Doll Album needs a name

The band One-Eyed Doll, and their lead singer Kimberly (voted one of the "Hottest Chicks In Hard Rock" by Revolver magazine) appeared in AdventureQuest Worlds as Chaos Lord Discordia of the musical themed zone, Mythsong Canyon. As part of our 10th year anniversary, they will be releasing a new album just for our online video game community in October. But there is one catch... WE NEED TO NAME IT! Help One-Eyed Doll and the AE team name this album: So far we are torn between "Discordia" and "Mythsongs" -- post your preference or original idea to this post or on facebook!

Additional Things and Stuff!

There are always bonus secrets when you click into one of our new ALL-GAMES design notes posts!

  • Album Cover art by the combined powers of Dioz and Dage the Evil! (I LOVE it when these guys team up)
  • The Album will feature a special song called "SALLY" -- it is a semi-known fact that Kimbelry voice acted the pretty pretty pink necromantress Sally in the tower of Necromancy. The song is... cute and creepy
  • The song will include the song "Destiny" which we intend to use with the release of the Blinding Light of Destiny.
  • Both versions of "Ponies and Ponies" are on the CD... including the never before heard dark carnival version.
  • Hmmm... it would be easier just to put a full track list together. (Will do after it is named!)

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Kiara
This Week's Game Releases posted by Kiara on

AdventureQuest Worlds

Every Hero can use a good group of allies to rely on, and where better to find new friends than in a Guild? J6 knows that, so get your Guild together and talk to him in Battleon because he's got a Bounty of Bosses for you to battle!
AQW - the Avengers Guild taking on CarnaxStarting this weekend, all players can join a Guild, but upgrading your account lets you create a Guild of your own!

And if you need to take on a BIG challenge but don't have enough Guild members, tonight you can begin purchasing more member slots for your Guild, as well!

Our Talk Like a Pirate Day and Limited Quantity Shops are still available, as well! Get the most epic gear while it's still here.
www.AQ.com

EpicDuel

You've done it! It seemed impossible, but you stood up to death and destruction incarnate and sent it back into the Void! The Dragonoid is defeated, but thanks to virtual time-dilation technology, you'll still be able to play the missions for a while longer. Visit any of the Barrens NPCs to view the dramatic conclusion to The Dragon's Reckoning. Also, Charfade still has some Charbinger items remaining, so grab them before they're gone!
www.EpicDuel.com

DragonFable

Log into DragonFable this weekend to help a masked vigilante clean up the mean streets of Falconreach!
www.DragonFable.com

MechQuest

The Stranger outside the Magic Shop in Soluna East wants to discuss Doom Cells with you this evening. Have a chat with him and check the Doom Cell shop for the updated Eidolon-type mecha models!
www.MechQuest.com

HeroSmash

Talk Like a Pirate Day shop is back! Head over to /marketstreet and see what that salty sea dog Cap'n Skampy has for the 2012 selection of pirate booty. He's located just outside of Captain Mack's.
www.HeroSmash.com

AdventureQuest Classic

Hot on the trail of the Light Orb, you must now venture to Darkovia and into the realm of the werewolves! Could the Werewolf King be experimenting to make an ultimate weapon against vampires? Also be sure to check out our Talk Like a Pirate Day quiz to test your mettle and earn plenty of loot!
www.BattleOn.com


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Artix
Artix at TEDxTampaBay posted by Artix on

TEDxTampaBay Artix

Tomorrow (Friday) morning, I will be speaking at TEDxTampaBay which takes place at the Tampa Musem of Science and Industry. If you are not familiar with the TED talks, you should do some googling! The "x" in the title means it is an independantly run version of the event. There will be about 12 other speakers, all addressing the topic of "The Future of Story telling." I am going to tell the full story of our 1st LIVE event with Voltaire in AQWorlds. Live & special events are pretty common to all of you in our gaming community. But to people who have never heard about our games, the idea of telling a 5-act story, live, with 30,000 playing together, at the same time, and collectively moving the story forward, and having EVERY ONE of the 30,000 players be the main character... well, that is pretty interesting and fun to share! I should be home just in time to join you in all of our new FRIDAY NIGHT game releases :-)

Random Thoughts

  • Please wish me luck! Erm... wait, tha tis bad luck. Wish me to break something... like a leg. Ooooh! An undead leg!
  • Yes, I am going to wear me armor when giving the speech!
  • If you were online when Beleen or I were taking screenshots in-game earlier today... you might be on the slides for the presentation!
  • We added a "HOME" button to the nav on Artix.com yesterday... soooo much better. What do you think?
  • Thyton has been drawing "upgraded" versions of some classic AQWorlds monsters for the new 3D game. I would like to post and share some.
  • I am really hungry for sushi.

UPDATE!!!! (From After the TEDxTampaBay Event)

WOOOOOW! What a rush. It was sooo cool talking on stage about the Friday the 13th event that we all created and experienced together. There was so much more I wanted to talk about -- but 18 minutes is not a lot of time. I wonder how Voltaire will feel when he finds out that he was a core part of the talk? The highlight of the talk, and what I believe is a "1st" at a TEDx, is my undead attackers were literally BOO'd off the stage after sneak attacking me. (Do we ever have public speaking without unwarrented random real life combat?)

Artix-at-TedX.jpg
Photo from the TEDx talk. (Left to right: Sepulchure, Artix & Noxus)

The officials running the event took HD video from 4 seperate cameras. IThey told me the video would be edited and eventually be available to watch... somewhere. I will keep you posted! Until then, I saw that the Pasco Country TV posted an interview they did with us after last week's award ceremony O_O. The guy in the red jacket is "Bobby Rocket" a local personality. I think Bobby is used to being the crazy one in his interviews since he normally interviews government people... I think this was fun for him :-)

 


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Artix
Talk Like A Pirate Day posted by Artix on

Talk Like A Pirate Day 2012

Ahoy, me Hearties! This day be th' day we all ramble like a band 'o swashbucklers. It be "TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY!" Ta get in the spirit of TLaPD, each of our 6 games is setting to sea with Pirate-Themed Releases - starting taday! If ye be need'n a li'l help with yer scallywag-speak, see the original creator's Talk-Like-A-Day How To page... cause if we see ya in-game and yer not speaking the speak, you'll be walk'n the plank, harr harr. Let me hear your BATTLE Aaaaaaaaaar!

AQWorlds Battle Pirate...themed... things? While you are at it, find the new shop and claim yer loot including: a new Naval Commander, Pirate Captain Armor, a Pirate-Qubble Bank Pet, and tons of other pirate themed gear.
DragonFable A strange Elven Pirate has appeared in Falconreach. I would not recommend insulting 'er ears. Rumor has it, the pirate is carrying a chest full of spoils from a distant land.
EpicDuel Dead men tell no tales. An ye'll be making plenty of your foes silent with 20 Talk Like a Pirate Day weapons.
MechQuest Collect the "Pieces of Eight" from locked chests. New for this year: re-colored and newly animated Swashbuckler Head weapons.
HeroSmash Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen! Find the Talk Like a Pirate day shop!
AdventureQuest  Return of the Pirate Quiz, the Sea Scurge and Quintend Weapons and 2 new pirate heads!

 NOTE: For all o' ye tak'n notice. Talk Like a Pirate Day is the ONLY day when Artix is allowed to use contractions.


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Artix
Our next move in THE GAME! posted by Artix on

Every year at this time, two things happen. 1st, Starbucks releases it's Pumpkin Spice Latte. 2nd, the greatest 3-months of releases happen in our video games. It is probably a coincidence. Probably. *sips from cup*

GUILDS in AdventureQuest Worlds

Today, Phase 1 of guilds was released in our fantasy MMO, AdventureQuest Worlds. If you have upgraded, or upgrade to Member, you can now create a guild on the PTR server (our testing server) and start inviting members. This first release is pretty bare bones... but what is really exciting is where the AQWorlds team is going with this. Guilds are going to be able to get their own town, and work together as a guild to level it up and build it into a Kingdom. There will be Guild vs Guild wars (optional - for those of you who like that sort of thing) and tons of new features including special events for your town. Read Alina's posts on the AQWorlds Design Notes for more information.

4 Weddings (..and a Fun-Aura?)

Unmarried Male Staff Members are the new AE ULTRA RARE! In fact, there are only 3 of us left. This past weekend I flew to Montreal, Canada to attend J6's wedding to the lovely Cinazul (remember her from the ultra cheesy Save Chuckles video?)  For the wedding, J6 asked DragonFable's amazing animator & musician, Ghost, to recompose a special version of DragonFable's main theme to walk down the aisle to.  It was epic. You will get to hear it in the in-game version of J6's wedding coming next week to AQWorlds. J6's story is very special to everyone in the AE community. For those of you who do not know, J6 was original a player of the classic AdventureQuest. We saw his art on the forums and were impressed! He joined the team as a volenteer artist. His skill level grew QUICKLY and over the many years that followed he became one of our greatest and most legendary artists. Definately our #1 background artist. You can see his work everywhere from all of the backgrounds in AQWorlds, MechQuest, and many monsters, armors, and weapons in all of the games. In fact, he is currently the only artist at AE to have worked on every single one of our games! Oh... a funny side story for you (because this will NOT be going in the in-game wedding!). Are you familliar with the part at the end of a wedding, where the girl throws the bouquet and the guy throws the garter. Well, the groom has to get the garter from his now-wife's leg. Imagine this if you will, Cinazul in her fancy wedding dress is sitting on a chair in the center of the room surrounded as the audience watches on. J6 is supposed to get the garter  -- so he pulls out a pair of sunglasses, and the Mission Impossible theme song starts playing. He gets on the ground, rolls over on his back and slides under Cinazul's dress. Everyone laughs... and expects him to pull out the garter. But instead, he pulls out a fake severed leg, a plastic baby, and other crazy objects tossing them on the floor. Cinazul had NO IDEA this was going to happen! (The groomsmen had hid all the props under Cinazul's chair before she sat down. The dress provided perfect cover for the gag. J6 is so creative. It was the funnist thing I have seen in a long time.

On the subject of AQ weddings: Not long ago Dumoose (AQWorlds/HeroSmash) was married. Lussion (AQ3D) also just got married and is on his honeymoon now. Rolith (DF/OverSoul) and Alina (AQWorlds) are going to be married next month and Mido (Artist) will be marrying the girl who made the original Artix cosplay armor in November! It is a pretty happy time here -- but we need to even balance out the ratio or married to single. Maybe we should put up a help wanted ad for single people?

The "Journey"

I have been so anxious to tell this story, even if the ending is not the one we wanted. A few weeks ago, I traveled to meet the members of the band Journey and try to talk them into doing an in-game event with us. It was so exciting meeting the band -- especially their new lead singer, Arnel. He has an amazing story  -- he homeless and discovered by the band on YouTube. He was so cool, and even took a picture with the Artix figure I gave him. Upon returning home, the pressure was on to get a formal agreement in place so we could start work on the event for the anniversary event. But with such a tight deadline there was just not enough time to jump through all the management/legal/businessy hoops. (Knew we should have put more points into hoop jumping.)  So, while it is still possible to do an event with Journey or Arnel in the future, we will not be doing it for this Anniversary. *bummer* Alternative Plan 0073.01A has been activated.

New Games

Both of the new games we have in development OverSoul and AdventureQuest3D: Legend of LORE have ramped up development. OverSoul went into testing on Thursday. If you have ever upgraded in ANY of our games, you are welcome to login and help test the current phase of the new game. Both of these new games use the Artix Entertainment"ONE LOGIN TO RULE THEM ALL!" - which is the same login that is featured at the top right of this website. Our goal is to eventually have all of the games run on this new, improved, and ultra secure login. Ooooh... and a side note: When AQWorlds is upgraded to use this login, we will finally be able to turn on the name-change feature!

Tomorrow is "Talk Like a Pirate Day"

Wednesday is "Talk Like a Pirate Day." For 24 hours ALL of our games will be embracing pirate speak and running special events. Want to brush up on your pirate-ese before the events begin? Read this How To Talk Like a Pirate Guide.

Forum/Twitter/FaceBook Question: Would you like the option to play multiple AE games on a single web page?


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Kiara
Friday's Game Releases posted by Kiara on

EpicDuel

The Dragonoid has come to EpicDuel!

Calling all MechQuest enthusiasts, an exciting crossover event is taking place on the planet Delta V in EpicDuel right now! Last week, Dravax the Harbinger came seeking Char and brought with him a great danger to the inhabitants of Delta V.  In the face of danger, you made your voices loud and clear!   You chose to defend Charfade and Delta V to the last!  While noble, your resistance has done little to discourage Dravax and the planet-destroying Dragonoid!
EpicDuel - The Dragon's Reckoning Charfade is so pleased by your overwhelming support that she's constructed a new series of items to offer in her Limited Quantity Shop.  She's also reverse engineered Dravax's technology to produce class-changing variants of the Harbinger Armor and a teleportation device that might just allow you to reprogram the Dragonoid from within.  There's also a 2.2% chance you'll be jettisoned into the abyss of space, but it's worth a shot!

Will you help defend Charfade and Delta V from near certain doom?  The final hour of judgment approaches in the Dragon's Reckoning event, happening now in EpicDuel. Happening now!
www.EpicDuel.com

AdventureQuest Worlds

The Span's First Chaos Beast + Limited Quantity Shop!

/Join TheSpan this Friday to battle through a reconstruction of the AdventureQuest timeline! This week, Iadoa uses the epic battles the AQ Hero has won to teach you important lessons about what it means to be a Hero.

Battle a vicious fire dragon, study in the Temple of Hope, and take on the ultimate enemy: Carnax, the zone's first Chaos Beast! As Iadoa struggles to battle the Chaorruption infecting him, will he be able to hold on long enough to teach you what you need to know in order to defeat Chaos?

AQW - SpanThis Saturday at 1pm EST (server time), /join Battleon, but be fast, because there are only a limited quantity of each item, and once they're gone, they're gone for good! Check out these Design Notes for details on pricing and quantity.

TheFallen - AQWwww.AQ.com

DragonFable

Book 3 Falconreach! Falconreach is one of the few places in Lore where magic is still welcomed and, as such, is full to the brim of magical beings trying to find refuge. Even there, though, the cultists of The Rose rail against magic users and creatures. Falconreach and its denizens still remember their hero though! Even after all the years you've been gone!
www.DragonFable.com

MechQuest

Visit Planet Liath tonight for the NEW quest in your mission to get those stone curtains open!  Many enemies stand between you and your Starship...

While on Planet Loreon, go East in Soluna City and speak to the Stranger outside the Magic Shop to pick up the NEW Nova Gem version of the Sepulchure Mecha! Star Captains - use Doom Cells to get the NEWLY-REVIVED higher-level versions of the Eidolon-type Hunter series mecha models! 
www.MechQuest.com

HeroSmash

Labor Day sale is still happening now at /mainstreeteast! Get your items now before they're gone for an entire year! Check back next week for Talk Like A Pirate!
www.HeroSmash.com

AdventureQuest Classic

After protecting Karuna from the overzealous defenders of Paxia, Jacques has now labeled you an enemy! It will be up to you to take on Jacques forces and try to restore order to Paxia! Also be sure to check out the prequel of the Taladosian Set quest!
www.BattleOn.com

Oversoul

Oversoul is in Alpha! If you have supported any of AE's games in the past and you've linked your upgraded account to your master account, you should definitely come play. The alpha test is found here.

Also, the Oversoul team just released TODAY an all-new character that will be available only to Alpha Testers - the Skexis Fiend of Suinotlim! If you want to posess him (and trust me, you do), you must search for him on the world map.
Oversoul - Skexis Fiendhttp://oversoul.artix.com/


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