A Pixel Nomad

The Little Guild that Could #EQ2 #EverQuest2

Sometimes it is hard to feel pride in MMOs. Things have gotten so much ‘easier’ over the years that any ‘work’ you’ve put into a game can almost immediately be ignored. Instantly level to 85? Sure, why not. Purchase a token for 280 aa? There it is. Of course EverQuest 2 is not the only game that enables these ‘features’ but it is one of the major ones I play. That doesn’t mean that EVERYTHING is meaningless. Last night I stayed up far past my bedtime in order to work on craft writs and ding the guild level 70.

We finally did it, after almost 7 years.

Why is this such a big deal to me?

As most of my friends know, I have been incredibly eager to purchase a T3 guild hall for no practical reason other than the fact that it would be an enormous decorating project I could work on. The guild cost 500 plat, and it has a 7p a week upkeep plus some status for the amenity. I earned over 7 million personal status just boosting us this last level, so I used the majority of that into escrow, and added some extra money to pay rent. Thankfully even if rent lapses due to inactivity (or funding, either way) the hall won’t vanish (unlike Vanguard). I purchased the hall in Commonlands just off of the docks, and while it’s empty at the moment, I am really looking forward to decorating (though I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do yet).

We’re still a very long way from the current level cap for guilds (it’s 95) but being level 70 means a great deal to me. I would have really liked an extra row of banking slots but we won’t get another of those until we reach level 80 (I expect that to happen in a few more years).

Lets hear it for the small casual guilds!

A Recap on Extra Life

Extra Life is over, and wow what an interesting 25 hours it was. I streamed the event on my twitch channel, raised almost $300 for a local children’s hospital, and of course had fun playing games. By the time I reached the 25 hour mark I was running on fumes and quite exhausted, but I know every cent went towards a wonderful cause that made it all worth it.

Will I do the event again next year? I’m honestly not sure. I think a better method for me personally would be to donate to someone else participating. Staying up for 25 hours playing video games is difficult, and it really messed with the rest of my weekend (and even into today). It may be better to leave that to the ‘younger’ gamers and support and donate to them. Of course my opinion on that will probably change and who knows by this time again next year I may be doing it all over again.

I didn’t get to all of the games on my list, and ended up (quite by surprise) playing way more of some games than others (Terarria I’m looking at you) but it was still a great selection overall and I really appreciate people who stopped by my channel / twitter / facebook etc with an encouraging word and perhaps a donation. It means a lot to me that I had so much support from everyone.

Now that Extra Life is over, it’s time to jump right into NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). It’s a month where crazy people all over the world attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Right before the holidays start. If you’re looking to add people to your buddy list for motivation and inspiration, please feel free to add me. This will be my 6th year participating, and I’m very excited.

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

A New Addicition #Terraria

I was gifted Terraria on steam some time ago, but never really played the game. The one time I logged in I was so completely lost I had no idea what I was doing or what the point was. This weekend, all of that changed. First, I highly suggest people check out the wiki. Like all sandbox games, the wiki is very important to gameplay. I browsed the getting started guide which was a huge help.

What’s the point? Well, you play a little avatar, and you get placed down in the middle of a world. Think minecraft, only 2D. You can explore, craft things, find dungeons, treasure, and at night things get dangerous. There is danger during the day too, but night is far more dangerous, especially during a ‘blood moon’ which is when the bad guys not only spawn in abundance, but can also open doors.

I set up a server for a few friends and I to play on, and play we have. That’s my house in the screenshot above – the smaller house. The gigantic hotel to the left of my place allows NPC to come and stay in our area. You can spawn different NPC for completing objectives in game, like defeating a boss. Each world is guaranteed a few particulars. Each end is ocean, and there’s a dungeon. There are different biomes like forest, desert, and jungle.

Right now Halloween events are going on, and I’ve been collecting goodie bags filled with costumes and rotten eggs. I’ve got a nice collection of costumes so far, a creeper, bride of frankenstein, princess, ghost, and a handful of others. I managed to loot an icy sword as one of my first weapons, and it shot bolts out that I thought were amazing until I got an agile space gun, along with a suit of meteor armor which lets me use the gun without it costing mana.

The game is quirky, fun, and creative, all things that I enjoy an enormous amount. There are so many little unique do-dads and bits and bobs that the gameplay is really whatever you want to make of it. I’ve had a lot of fun collecting trophies for my house, furniture from dungeons, and just digging down as far as I could to see where it lead and what I could find.

Of course because it’s a 2D side scrolling game it won’t be for everyone but I’ve never let that stop me from enjoying something before and if you’re fond of sandboxes, minecraft, wurmonline, or those types of games I would highly suggest you check it out on steam.

As always, happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Extra Life Schedule

It’s almost time! I’m still taking donations for Extra Life, which will go to benefit the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. I’ll be playing video games for 25 hours (daylight savings!) and streaming these games on my twitch channel. Interested in what games I’ll be playing? This is a very rough outline, games and times can change at any time.

4am-6am – EverQuest 2
6am-8am – Elder Scrolls V
8am-10am – The Sims 3
10am-11am – Terraria
11am-12pm – Wurm Online
12pm-4pm – EverQuest 2
4pm-6pm – Hearthstone
6pm-8pm – Civilization V
8pm-9pm – Triple Town
9pm-10pm – Faerie Solitaire
10pm-11pm – Sim City 5
11pm-12am – Rift
12am-2am – Guild Wars 2
2am-3am – Wizard 101
3am-4am – EverQuest 2

Other games I have lined up but didn’t add to a time slot include BioShock Infinite, Pirate 101, Torchlight II, Tomb Raider, King’s Bounty The Legend, and Neverwinter. I’ll be voicing during part of the stream but not all of it, and while I’ve already met my personal goal it’s such a fantastic cause that I hope I can raise a little bit more!

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!