There I was, in one of the most intense moments of my life. My opponent, a strong being from another realm that has been in this position several times before, with a record that he claimed was perfect. The odds were against me and the countdown had ended, it was time to make my decision. Both of our fists pumped down, and soon we saw the results. I had won and I began to dance foolishly to celebrate my victory, but that was my major mistake. My opponent’s large shadow grew, fire came out of his mouth as he laughed and then my life was brought to a halt. Even though I choose paper to defeat his rock, the Mad King won in the end.
Oh the great holiday events in Guild Wars, how I loved you so. These events are the perfect break that we players need from the seriousness of the story line. We need that small bit of goofiness to remind us that we can just have a good time and party. These events were, and still are, very popular in MMOs, but I think ArenaNet did an awesome job with the first game. So with the help of some goofy sketches, let’s talk about how ArenaNet can keep the party going in Guild Wars 2.
Guild Wars featured mini-games, which in my opinion was an awesome way to celebrate the events rather than traveling town to town collecting things for an achievement. But with some mini-games becoming available to play all year for the next game, I think it would be sweet to bring in some more activities, rather than trying to replace games, with more games, since there will be a ton of side mini-games available to the players all year round.
Let’s just take a moment to imagine one activity, where you create an awesome giant snow man. I think it would be great to see tons of players rolling around huge snowballs, and using different drops from enemies to decorate the snowman. Just imagine, a pair of monstrous eyes, some insect legs and some raggedy armor you plucked from your dead foes being used to decorate the snowman! To make it even better, let’s make a contest out of it. Each guild makes a snowman, and the players can vote! It sounds awfully simple, but I think it would be pretty fun.
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On second thought, the monstrous eyeballs look a little creepy.
The Return of Roller Beetle Racing
I do think it would be nice to see some activities to replace games, but there is one game I would like to see come back. It is a personal favorite of mine. That game is Roller Beetle Racing. I would love this game to come back, but with some changes. I would like it to be available for every major holiday, but each event gets its own track, with new mechanics. For Wintersday, the track could feature icy patches to keep you on your toes. For the 4th of July event, why not involve some cannons that shoot your roller beetle around? I am sure some of you are thinking that it would just be a strange version of Mario Kart, but they could do some crazy stuff, and it would be a lot of fun. So here is my one and only plea regarding these events, bring back Roller Beetle Racing… please.
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Roller Beetle Racing is a real man’s sport.
Seasonal Art Contests
The art contests aren’t really tied into the actual game play, but it is something popular ArenaNet has done in the past. The art contest for the holiday events are a nice way to get players pumped. It’s awesome for players to able to express their love for the game in creative ways and share them to keep the community involvement strong. To add some more strength to these contests, they should use more of the weapon design contests. I’m not saying the concept artist couldn’t create their own weapon ideas, as they definitely would make some amazing weapons. It’s just nice for a player to be able to affect the world on a larger scale. They could hold different categories for each weapon type, and have the contestants design the weapons based on the event. The winner gets to see as his/her weapon immortalized in the game. Now those are some high stakes.
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Just think: the doodles you do on a napkin could be the next awesome weapon!
I know there are some haters out there that think the silliness of the holiday events ruin the game, but I disagree. Sure the game has a serious side, both in its visuals and story, but we need to remember that it is a game, and games are made for us to have fun. And what better way to have some fun than for all of us players to gather around and get our characters completely hammered while fireworks go off? So what say you, people of the net, are you ready to party?
Do you have any other ideas ArenaNet could throw into the holidays of Tyria? Do you even like holiday events? Go ahead and give us your thoughts below.
