This week's Path of Exile - The Exiled Tribune features a pretty cool new contest introduced by the team that allows players free rein to create anything game-related in whatever medium appeals to them. The best part is that winners will receive truly one-of-a-kind comic artwork for their effort! Add in a new developer interview and new microtransactions, including some nifty holiday-themed ones, and it's another great week to be an Exile!
Own a Piece of PoE History
Grinding Gear is sponsoring a new Talent Contest that doesn't place a limit on ways players can express their affection for Path of Exile. Put on your dancing shoes. Get out your 35mm camera. Draw an awesome picture. Make an epic film. Write an unforgettable story. Cooking, screenshots, comics, holiday ornaments, wind chimes -- in short, anything that is PoE-related is fair game and is eligible for submission.
GGG has created a special competition thread for entries to be posted in and does ask that submissions be kept to a 5-minute length (to listen, read, etc.). Entries can be posted HERE from now through January 16th and will be judged on skillful execution of the piece, how closely it adheres to the theme of Path of Exile and how "compelling or entertaining" it is.
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The best part? The top three entries will each take home a piece of original black and white artwork from the path of Exile comic. These pages are the only ones in existence and are absolutely one-of-a-kind. In addition, the top three will score an Armor Set, a signed Brutus concept art print and a Chaos Orb key chain.
The next ten winners will receive an Atlas of Worlds t-shirt and an Armor Set. Runners-Up will each score 250 points and one random entrant will also receive a piece of art from the PoE comic.
Without restriction, the PoE Talent Contest really allows something for everyone. Read the fine print on the Talent Contest overview page and check out a sampling of the comic artwork HERE.
Starring RIAN DRAKE, Gameplay Programmer at GGG
The latest in-house developer interview has been posted on the Path of Exile site. This time Game Programmer Rian Drake has been placed on the hot seat and dishes about a number of subjects including working in the programming side of gaming, what the process is when developing a new skill is, challenging aspects of developing PoE and much more.
Do you have any advice for aspiring programmers?
I've only been programming for four years, so I don't think I'm really in any position to be offering any advice to anyone! But if that can be of some encouragement to somebody out there who might be worried about how difficult it is to get into, then that's cool too. Programming really isn't that complicated once you realise that "algorithm” is just a fancy word for "recipe”, and that all you're really doing is writing a recipe that a computer can understand. If you're already learning or looking for a job, my best I can say is determine what you enjoy most about programming and just keep throwing yourself at it. I really like taking shortcuts (positive shortcuts, of course), so I would spend a lot of time making my own tools that did things for me that I couldn't be bothered doing myself. These things slowly add up over time, and before you know it you'll have a sizeable resume of skills and a portfolio of demos to talk about when you next walk into an interview. And if you want to be in games, make games. You can use Unity, Unreal Engine, GameMaker, Construct, RPG Maker – the list goes on. Try them all, find what works best for you and don't let anyone talk you out of using something before you try it for yourself. There's no one-size-fits-all solution, so be open to trying something different from game-to-game depending on what you're trying to do.
Read the full interview with Rian Drake.
Get Into the Holiday Spirit with New Microtransactions
For those looking to bring a little holiday cheer into Path of Exile, GGG has you covered with the arrival of several new microtransactions. Arctic Wings, the Arctic Character Effect and the Yeti Mask, a Christmas Exclusive have all arrived.
For more typical microtransactions, the Lunaris Armor Set, the Ghostflame Back Attachment, the Hydra Back Attachment, the and the Golden Parakeet Pet have also been released. You can see each of these in action HERE.
