Among many other interesting factoids about the Artix Studios lineup of games, WarCry has received word that Artix can now boast SEVEN MILLION accounts! Add to that the first major world boss battle in AdventureQuest Worlds, and you have the makings of a terrific dev journal. Read on!
7 Million Registered Players!
Unbelievable…. Thank you to all of the amazing players who are making AdventureQuest Worlds MMO possible. To celebrate we have some huge new releases in store for you!
Battle Escherion, the 1st Lord of Chaos!
As you are reading this, players of the online MMO AdventureQuest Worlds (http://www.AQ.com) are engaging in battle with the first world boss. Equipped with his protective Staff of Inversion, Escherion puts up a fight like no other to date. A party of five well-armed players is needed in order to take him down, since he is, after all, the first Chaos Lord. Some players became enraged when Escherion began to glitch mid-battle when he was first released, making it impossible to kill him; let it be known that this was no glitch, but a super-nerfed move that made him invincible and untouchable. We have fixed this problem and Escherion is now susceptible to attacks, allowing our players to finally put an end to the first Lord of Chaos!
We knew Escherion would be a problem from the start. He inverted the town of Mobius, flipping houses inside-out and unleashing crazed eyeball creatures and Imps to run amuck. We battled his forces on location before finding our way to the Faerie Forest, where he gave all the Sneevils (our box-obsessed goblinoid monsters) chainsaws and taught them how to make “trunks” from the trees. Adding to the chaos and destruction, Escherion did unspeakable things to the stone structures within the Ruins-talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place-and was able to summon the nine-headed Hydra from its watery prison! The final Boss fight awaits you… it will be an un-frog-ettable experience!
JACON 2009
Last week, we held a massive two-hour panel at the Japanese and Anime Convention-Jacon-in Orlando, Florida. Fans from across the world (okay, maybe not the world, but definitely across America) came to show their love and support for the game… and also to laugh at our severely over-caffeinated team. As always, the room chuckled nervously as Cysero took control of the microphone and began answering the questions from the audience. Artix and Warlic revealed behind-the-scene features about AdventureQuest Worlds. As a reward for correctly answering intermittent trivia questions, we hurled candy prizes into the crowd with free Upgrade Cards taped to the back. No one was hurt in the process… at least this is the story we are sticking too. The Art Contest from BattleOn Forums was judged live at our panel, and it didn’t take much to coerce our fans into punting the helpless Moglin, Twilly, across the room in order to win the grand prize-a 5-foot long red dragon made out of balloons!
Oh, and by the way – Hi! I’m Beleen, the Team’s newest member. Not only am I a lvl 20 Beast Warrior, but I’m also a balloon-animal-smith. If you missed JACON but would like me to make you a balloon weapon or creature, I will be with the AE Team at DragonCon ’09 which takes place in September. Hope to see you there!
LIVE Mini-Wars!
While the heroes are busy battling the 1st Lord of Chaos Boss, other Villains are taking this opportunity to attack. Be on the lookout all weekend as unannounced LIVE mini-wars will be taking place.
The AQWorlds Battle Bar
Searching for adventure? The AQWorlds Tool Bar is almost ready. Yes, yes, it is yet another one of these seemingly infinite toolbars that every other computer company on the planet has. Google… Yahoo…. you name it, they have one. Our Battle Bar, of course, is specifically designed for AdventureQuest Worlds’ uber gamers. As you can see below, it tells you your Gold and AdventureCoin count, and clicking the Friends button will instantly bring up a friends list and tell you who is online. Artix, Zhoom and Cysero have been testing it for a while and it is really handy!
The big benefit of this tool bar is the built in Yahoo! Search can earn you AdventureCoins.
Also This Week
We have new events going live in all four of our online games. Here is a quick review:
AdventureQuest
The smallest adventure of all time… as you shrink to cellular level and go on a dangerous rescue mission for the Zard Hunter! http://www.BattleOn.com
DragonFable
Triple updates! The deadliest fishing ever reaches Doomwood, battle a terrifying robot from the future in Popsprocket *coughs* Terminator spoof *coughs* and be the first to play the newest ArchKnight adventure! http://www.DragonFable.com
MechQuest
Hop in your armed-to-the-teeth battle Mecha and join the war between the Authorian Space Knights and the Starship Pirates. http://www.MechQuest.com
AdventureQuest Worlds
1st Lord of Chaos Boss Fight, Summer Break Shop, Book of Lore Update, LIVE Mini Wars! New items including armors and weapons from the new Defender’s shop. http://www.AQ.com
We hope you enjoy this week’s exciting releases. If there is something you would like to see next, please let us know on our forums. For behind the scenes info, be sure to read Artix’s design notes on AQ.com – until next time….
Battle on!
Beleen & the friendly AE Team
