There are a couple of new updates on the official Guild Wars website. First off is a link to a Gamespot Q&A with producer Jeff Strain which discusses the art and music of Guild Wars.
GS: Tell us about the way in which Guild Wars' different environments are being designed. Are areas in the game being based on specific real-world locations, or are they fictitious locations created from scratch? Or is there some inspiration being drawn from locales found in the team's favorite fiction, movies, or TV shows? We've already seen impressive technical accoutrements--like lighting bloom effects and dynamic weather/water effects--but how is the art team using these technical features to bring the environments to life?
JS: The locations you will visit in the world of Tyria are original presentations of natural geographic regions. You will find deserts, jungles, farmlands, marshes, snow-covered peaks, blasted wastelands, and other environments that have a basis in real-world geography. However, each of these regions in Guild Wars has a unique artistic design, drawn from the imagination of our art team and taking full advantage of the rendering technologies provided by our graphics engine. For example, one of the missions you will undertake in the desert actually takes place inside a grain of sand. Our glow technology and material shaders are put to good use in this mission to handle the extreme lighting conditions and reflective effects you would expect to find in such a location.
There is also a new screenshot of PvP action in the Fort Koga arena. Click the thumbnail below for a larger shot.
Keep up to date on the progress of Guild Wars by clicking this link to visit the official website.
