Sunday, March 30, 2008

Presenting: The Ladies of Granado Espada PH

Links:

DeSanggria: [Picspam] Girl gamers...not a myth!
Sigrid: The Face Behind the Family: Meet the BEAUTIFUL players of Granado Espada!
Veya: Aftermath: Girl Gamer Gathering

***

I'll be writing a more in-depth article on the Granado Espada PH Ladies' Night Out for Game! Magazine, and I do hope the article will be printed in the May issue. [I wrote the FFA article for the April issue, and will be writing the Dom1nation II article for June.]

During the event, the following happened:

- freeplay at Gamefrog
- quick snacks and a brief Focus Group Discussion about girls, GE, gameplay, the Premium Item Shop, and G-Points
- picture-taking sessions for e-Games, Game!, and Hackenslash [this last one was presided over by Relly Carpio]
- a prize draw! Three participants won themselves 100, 300, and 500 Adelina's Booty Searches respectively [blogger Oliveoyl won the 300 Searches]. Sigrid won a Cumulonimbus Shield; I bagged a Le Blanc armor [and chose the Wizard version]; and super-mamaw stormseeks from Vivaldi, the only Expert player at the event, won the Elite La Ventisca armor.

All attendees were also to receive the following in-game items: Combat Manual-Expert [15 days], Forgotten Territory Pass, and the in-game item Bunny Hairlace.

Relly also conducted interviews of many of the participants: Sigrid, me, Riasa, and others. I hope the videos go online soon ^^

So let me provide you with some pictures instead, with appropriate captions and commentary. I've resized many of the pics so I don't quite kill your browsers. For the first account, please click the link to DeSanggria's blog at the beginning of the post.

GEGirls29March00001
The Granado Espada big banner at Gamefrog in Metrowalk, Ortigas.

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Swag pics! This first one is of the special-edition Granado Espada girl gamers' shirt [the white bundles inside the bag], as well as some of the other stuff they were selling such as tumblers.

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The goodie bags for the attendees. Each bag contained the Bahia Island-themed GE poster, a GE badge, a cute pencil, and the code for the Bunny Hairlace.

GEGirls29March00004

GEGirls29March00006

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First peeks at the Granado Espada lanyard / ID lace, straight from Singapore. They'll be giving this away during the Trivia Quiz on April 6 at Dom1nation II. Wanna wear one of these? Brush up on your knowledge of GE!

GEGirls29March00008
My best friend Dang, also known as the
Winterlake family in Carracci and the Sabatini family in Pachelbel. I'm proud to announce I'm the person who got her into GE~

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Me modeling the Granado Espada girl gamers' shirt, front view.

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FFA winners all, from left to right: DeSanggria, NineMoons, Fetuccini, and Mortreux.

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Left to right: DeSanggria, NineMoons, pCM Veya, and Fetuccini.

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PK Server Girls: NineMoons and Fetuccini of Cervantes [formerly in my case], and stormseeks of Vivaldi.

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Non-PK Server Girls, third batch. I'm third from left; Sigrid is behind / next to me; and Dang is behind / next to Sigrid.

And many of us who went to this event are also going to Dom1nation ^^

Remember this sentiment, best expressed in high-level girls Fetuccini and stormseeks:
just because we're female, doesn't mean we can't be Veterans and Experts!

***

On a side note: Reclusion boys and DeSanggria, I guess it is funny after all. I don't want to kill you guys any more ^^

GEGirls29March00014
Those are my real first names on Darrick's Angie. XDXDXD

***

All pictures are archived at this Photobucket album.

Bunny! Plus, something to dream of...

This post is re-timed for one reason only: so that the Granado Espada PH Ladies' Night Out entry stays on top. As I post this, it's actually closer to 5PM in the Philippines.

***

Trying on the Rabbit Hairlace I got from the Ladies' Night Out got me these results.

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I don't often have cause to say it, but - kawaii~ That's all I can say.

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If you see this wizard running around - hey, you can point and you can laugh, but at least you'll never have to ask him how secure he is with his masculinity.

...Although I REALLY have to admit - he'll look hella manlier if he just had enough levels to ditch that damn Redingote armor.

[And I LIKE redingotes, or frock coats, in real life.]

And speaking of my male wizard, I hope I can dress him up in THIS real soon now:

With thanks to SilverCrimz a/k/a Crimzama, from his armor thread of epic win at the forums. [Requires logging in to view.]

Now, I just need to fix the net connection at my flat....

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Girl POWAH!

First came Xue in Cervantes.

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Now, meet my Carracci Feng Ling. I gave her the name "Siuan". This is another name from the late Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time books, and its original bearer was a feisty, powerful magic user.

And I bought her the Qipao costume because...because it's so pretty! XD I think she looks wonderful in it.

***

GELadiesNightOut

See you all tonight at Metrowalk in Ortigas, girls~

Thursday, March 27, 2008

[Plug] A brief mention of my day job...

And now I get to tell you guys who I earn the money to buy GVCs and go to Granado Espada events.

Some time ago just before summer began, I was approached for an unusual job with a fairly unique proposition: an online community newspaper. Now, this might be old hat to you if you're not from the Philippines, but this concept is jut getting off the ground here, and I have the honor of being a writer and editor for it. I do a little of the WWW-related work and designing, but my main responsibility has to do with providing and editing the content featured on the site.

If you're interested in finding out about this project - especially if you live in the Scout Area, Quezon City, the Philippines - please drop by at ScoutAreaOnline.com.

In addition to having a responsibility to provide and edit content for the site, I also have a column in the Editorial section. The column's name is Nine Moons: Reviews, Online Life, and More. I intend for the column to be partly a lifestyle one, as I will be reviewing books, movies, and music there. I also intend for the column to be somewhat techie in orientation, as I plan to talk about the Internet and its very own cultures and sub-cultures.

I also now maintain the blog that will serve as the archive for all the columns ever published on the site. That blog is called Scout Area Online: The Columns. Whereas old columns will eventually have to be unpublished from ScoutAreaOnline.com to make room for more recent ones, the blog will serve as a more permanent webspace, and I'll never have to take stuff down from it.

I've got two columns up on the site already.
The first one is simply an introduction - sort of like the opening tutorial in Granado Espada aboard the Jaclina.

The second one is Machine + Cinema = Machinima, and talks about not only the origins of that set of new production techniques / form of emergent gameplay, but also a little about the Fantazzztic Film Awards as well. Granado Espada makes a fairly nice source medium for machinima and I've been doing a little bit of promotion of GE through that particular column entry.

The other thing I like so much about the machinima column is that it gives me an excuse to post my most favorite machinima music video of all time! Sorry, this isn't Granado Espada, but this one's just too much fun - and yeah, spam much if I post it here too?


Katawan (final) © Tarugoman and Angkan Hagibis of World of Warcraft (Dragonblight server), 2006

To the non-Filipino viewers of this video, my apologies if you don't quite get it - but it's generally a song that extols the virtues of taking care of one's body, particularly if you're a hot young female XD

I plan to do an actual Granado Espada column for that Nine Moons soon, and of course I'll link it back here when I do put it up ^^

Quick roundup post [working today]: tea party, all hail Selva

Now here's a nice idea for a GE PH gathering! If you guys aren't aware of it, teh tarik is nothing more than what we might call milk tea here in the Philippines.

The MY gathering is a teh tarik session because that's the favorite casual drink there.

So why can't we have a similar tea or coffee party here? I even have a venue to suggest: ToastBox in TriNoma! They have tea, teh tarik, and even kopi tarik! They have great food and a nice feel to the place - not to mention there's a lot of vacant space in that particular part of that mall.

*Files the idea away for future use*

***

Wanted to repost this pic here ever since I saw it over at DeSanggria's blog:


I've been cheering Anne on for this and really hope it gets completed in time for April 6.

***

Okay, now I have to get to work and finish my assignments for this week. Please YM me at kuroshibara@yahoo.com if you have questions - or I'll see you on the forums.

Cheers~

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Granado Espada PH Community Heroes Part 2/2: Ze List!

In the previous entry I struck out the parts where I talked about the nomination process for the Granado Espada PH Community Heroes, which included the following sentence:

The people behind the 6 April event may already have a shortlist of people who they will be recognizing for their value to the GE PH community. I can only hope the shortlist includes the FFA winners, as well as the Pinoy members of the Community Crew on the forums.

Now, look at the actual list [copy furnished by pCM Veya], straight from Singapore i.e. from the desk of RCM Hrin herself.

Granado Espada Forums

What most people do not realize is that being part of the community crew and player moderators team is a challenge.
The thing is, when one has the normal status of a player, it is easy to say anything you like, or flame back whenever you get flamed. However, under the branding of 'Community Crew' and 'Player Moderator' status, one can no longer do that. Because that is the role of what a community crew and player moderator is - to always be accommodating, tactful and to be kind and compassionate to all around you, even when you feel they do not deserve kindness and compassion.
This is why I am extremely thankful and appreciative of this group of people, who has been there through thick and thin, putting out flames, enduring flames, organizing monthly forum activities to keep the community entertained, answering queries and helping out newbies on the forum.

Family name: Castiglione // Forum Nick: AUGlab // Cervantes // Community Crew
Family name: Kaizou // Forum Nick: Rinkaru // Carracci // Senior Player Moderator
Family name / Forum Nick: Yatsushiro // Pachelbel // Community Crew
Family name: Ravenblitz // Forum Nick: BlackSheep // Cervantes // Community Crew

Granado Espada Colony War Reporters

These were the brave souls who braved the war frontier every Sunday, foregoing all other real life invitations, to bring the latest, hottest war developments to the people of Granado Espada. At the expense of their own enjoyment in participating in the war, they made much sacrifices to take note of all the ongoing declarations of war and to hurriedly rush to the most action-packed scenes, risking their virtual lives… just to take that all-important screenshot that reflected the intensity of the war. They strived to maintain the integrity of a true journalist in reporting the truth and had to withstand the harassment of those who wished to be portrayed in a different way. They are truly worthy to be celebrated and honored as the true heroes of Granado Espada:

Reclusion
NineMoons

Granado Espada Bloggers

Being a blogger is a discipline that far and few can achieve – it means discipline and consistency in faithfully updating one’s blog and constantly thinking of new content to educate, entertain and share with the rest of the Granado Espada community.
These following bloggers have been blogspotted, featuring their blog entries on the Granado Espada official website and awarded Divine Angel Wings or Item of the Month:

Casa Reclusion
NineMoons
Craeon
Mena
Welling
Deniva
Fiksdotter

Granado Espada Film Makers

Film making is an art that consumes you. To create a film from start to end – the script-writing, the filming, the directing, the editing of the footage… it takes a great amount of inspiration, time and effort to complete it. These are the ones that excelled in this art, bringing their love for Granado Espada to the next level – immortalizing this love in award-winning films that would forever be watched, admired and respected by the YouTube generations and beyond. Here are the award winning Fantazzztic film makers of Granado Espada:

Behringer / Fiksdotter / Reclusion / iCez / NineMoons / Artaxerxes / Mena
Zaleski / Corinthias / Cerex
Sigrid / Kincaid / deEspania
Fetuccini / Familier / Mortreux / Weisswritter

Granado Espada Fan Artists

These artists blessed us with their beautifully drawn renditions of the characters they so loved in Granado Espada. There were 2 in particular who really stood out, such that I featured their work in a local gaming magazine, Playworks Magazine recently. I have also featured them on the GE website (see links below) and awarded them with Divine Angel Wings. They will be sent the magazines when I get extra copies as well as given an additional ‘Item of the month’ code.

Strey from Pachelbel
BloodTrigger from Carracci

Congratulations to everyone on this list! Rock on! Long Live Granado Espada~!

Granado Espada PH Community Heroes Part 1/2: My Own Heroes

[It goes without saying that I wish I could nominate other players in the wider sGE community, and one or two from Sword of the New World as well! But this is for a PH-based event, so well...]

See this previous entry for the initial idea of recognizing / rewarding those individuals from the GE PH community who have made significant contributions to the game.

Now, that post, and its original source, does not include a set of mechanics, or a process, with which to pick out those significant contributors. There are two possibilities:

1. There will be NO nominations process. The people behind the 6 April event may already have a shortlist of people who they will be recognizing for their value to the GE PH community. I can only hope the shortlist includes the FFA winners, as well as the Pinoy members of the Community Crew on the forums.

2. There will be a nominations process, and they're just working out the mechanics of such a thing. They'll have to hurry because we're now working on a tight schedule. But if the post is updated with that nominations process, I'll be glad to post it here.


STOP PRESS! I just received a quick IM from Veya: RCM Hrin sent her a list of the Granado Espada PH Community Heroes already! She'll be posting them soon - and so will I, I hope!

***

Either way, whether or not they open up a nominations process I want to jump-start things by naming three people as my Granado Espada PH Community Heroes. They are DeSanggria and Darrick and Nate Reclusion.

DeSanggria, or perhaps you might know her variously as the first fire elementalist, Idge the Battlesmith, or just as Anne - now there's the most hard-working woman in the entire GE PH community! She has been tireless in the forums, in the blogging world, and not to mention in the game, in promoting the New World and in fostering its unique sense of community. I'll not mention the hardships she's gone through, or the problems she's had. I just want to take off every hat I'll ever wear in this life or the next to her, for her sheer indefatigability and dedication. Even if she weren't my friend, I'd want her included in the Heroes list for just all that devotion to the game.

As for Darrick and Nate Reclusion, I was laughing at their blog posts long before I got to know them in real life. Their quirky sense of humor and uncanny knack for taking hilarious screenshots has translated into their now well-known strength in the field of machinima. I consider them heroes for their mastery of the game and their interactions with the community.

If you would like to name your heroes in the GE PH community - now's your chance! Click the Post a Comment text at the bottom of this entry and tell me who your GE PH heroes are!

Pretty shiny wanty!

GE2008Diary

Gorgeous Granado Espada day planner / diary / bling soon up for grabs!

Click over to the relevant entry at RCM Hrin's blog to see more - including a GE-skinned Jabra Bluetooth headset!

Sunday, March 23, 2008

This is me doing someone else's job for them ^^

Event Plug Time.

What: e-Games Domination II
Where: SMX Convention Center, next to the SM Mall of Asia. See the map:

SMXMOAmap

When: 6 April 2008, from 10am onwards
Why: A crapload of Granado Espada events.

EVENTS RUNDOWN [these events are pretty much confirmed, as they have appeared at http://granadoespadaph.multiply.com]

*Live Events* [i.e., NOT online]

New World Quiz Bee
- answer trivia questions about Granado Espada in the Easy, Intermediate, and Difficult questions, and win Granado Espada pens with ID holders! [If that means a lanyard that says Granado Espada, Iwantone *grabby hands*]

Adelina's Booty - Live! - participate in an Amazing Race-style run around the venue and stand a chance to win Item of the Month codes and Adelina's Booty searches!

*Online Events* [i.e., taking place WITHIN the game servers]

Tournament of the Champions >> Face/Off 2v2 PvP - representatives from Baguio, the NCR, Cebu, and Davao will compete against each other in the Internal Test Server for major prizes, both in-game and real-life.

New Settlers Battle 2v2 PvP

War of the Factions 5v5 PvP

New Settlers Race for the New World
- Register for this freeplay event and race to achieve the highest level among the competitors in one hour to win prizes!

UPDATE

*Offline Activities* [i.e., forums, the venue, and elsewhere]

Faction Recognitions / Best Factions in Granado Espada PH - Vie to be the Most Loyal Faction or the Most Active Faction by hauling as many of your faction members as you can to the venue! Win certificates and in-game costumes of your choice!

Faction Banner-Making Contest - Bring your pre-made faction banners, or make your own at the venue, and compete to have the best faction banner to win Item of the Month codes and Pwnage Packages!

Granado Espada PH Community Heroes - Nominate the players and community members who you think have made significant contributions to the GE PH community, and they will receive certificates and costumes of their choice - plus be recognized in front of everyone at the event!

Baron and Baroness - The best male and female GE cosplayers can win Andre's or Karja's vanity boxes, Field Tactics Manuals, and goody bags!

Granado Espada Mobile Raffle - Win external hard drives and video cards by texting in!

The Captain's Treasure Chest - Buy GVCs and stand a chance to pick a prize!

***

More details and more events, hopefully, as that site gets updated, or as I hear about them.

The awarding ceremony for the FFA Grand Finale winners is supposed to take place during this event.

And please join me in hoping that someone very special drops by from IAHGames in Singapore to grace this event, just like she did last year!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

sGE's "Unsolved Mysteries". Part 2/?: Beauty Secrets

Previously in this series:

The Injury to the Eye

***

Okay, we all know there's a deadly rivalry between these two:
AndreJanzurVSKarjalainen
Andre Janzur is the most fashionable man in both the Old and New Worlds, and is famous for his costumes and armor; Karjalainen wants to overthrow him through the sheer bling of her jewelry and hairstyles.

So, okay, that covers the need to be dressed for success as well as the need to be properly accesorized. Between them, they also have the hairstyle department covered - Andre has hats, while Karja has wigs.

That still leaves out ONE important component of being dressed well in the new world.

Who makes the stuff that makes this and this possible? [Clicky the links to see my point!]

In short: who makes the girls' brassieres?

Just curious!

Happy Easter in advance~

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Consoling myself with the shiny.

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*hits herself repeatedly on the head*

Am I so hungry to be back in the game that I totally forgot today was maintenance???

Apparently I am!

And I was so eager to follow up quests today...I was making plans to grab Grace Bernelli and swap out the scout so I can train the best shot in the game.....

***

To my friends at Casa Reclusion: Stay strong, witty, and creative! To quote someone I love: "What you do now will affect your future in ways you never expected." May your futures have a good outcome from all the machinima and gaming and blogging....

To my dear DeSanggria on her nth blogspotting [I've lost count!]: yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

To my FL Fiksdotter and to Takhisis Faction: Hi~ *waves cheerfully*

Doing my bit for Earth Day.

While we might dream of permanently immigrating to the New World of Granado Espada, let's not forget our Real World: Planet Earth.

Today is the March equinox, so the United Nations is celebrating International Earth Day today! Do your part to help save the planet! The global observance of Earth Day will be on 22 April this year.

Unofficial Earth Day flag

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Supporting a fellow blogger in his time of need.

BrianGorrell

For the blog that's got Metro Manila abuzz, google Brian Gorrell! Or just follow the link I gave in my broad in the screenshot ^^

Go Team Brian!

Quick entry while powerleveling with friends

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Dodge / Evasion: Critical Success! That Phobitan Chieftain lurked like all hell in the background while questing in Tetra Grand Corridor, but my team managed to side-step him ^^ Good thing they did. That big red guy would have kicked them into next Tuesday.

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Isn't she lovely, isn't she wonderful? Thanks to DeSanggria for sponsoring the powerlevel session today :) ♥


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I'll get by with a little help from my friends. Powerleveling in Rion Hollow with Takhisis faction ^^ This screenie includes Fiksdotter, Mena, DeSanggria, and Breviary ^^

Monday, March 17, 2008

sGE's "Unsolved Mysteries". Part 1/?: The Injury to the Eye

Kicking off a new series of articles in this blog, sGE's Unsolved Mysteries takes a look at the deepest, darkest, weirdest things to ever be found within the New World of Granado Espada!

In this first post, let's see just how many of the NPCs in the game have some sort of problem or another with their eyes!

Note: this article tackles only those NPCs with eye problems or injuries so serious, standard reading glasses or monocles won't solve their lack of depth perception. See the actual RNPCs [in this case, they're all RNPCs] below for what I mean.

AdelinaEsperanza
1. Adelina Esperanza
In the original [i.e. non-cash shop] version of the Hot Pirate Mama™ [term coined by Reclusion], Adelina Esperanza is missing her right eye. During the conversations after you obtain her character card, it's implied that she lost her eye at some point during the Three-Year War; part of the proof is in the Pirate Adelina Esperanza RNPC, which shows her in full pirate finery, and with both eyes intact.

ClaudeBaudez
2. Claude Baudez
He looks like he might not have lost his eye, but that shiner on his face has certainly swollen the right eye socket, and certainly has never healed! Whatever keeps the big, burly blacksmith [yay alliteration!] unable to see out of his right eye has not succumbed to either all the ice in the Katovic Snowfields, or the biggest piece of steak you can cut off a full-grown Joaquin Comodo! Who punched Claude, and is he still alive to tell his tale? We may never find out!

Grandice
3. Grandice
The "Queen of Pioneers" almost certainly lost her eye during in the course of her heroic exploits, long before she sailed to the misty, forbidding jungles of Ustiur. But that, of course, begs the obvious question: which one? How does "Grandma" feel when she remembers that particular adventure - does she feel like celebrating, or does she feel like brooding?


NajibSharif
4. Najib Sharif
Not having depth perception due to one eye being missing is bad enough, but how does a one-eyed gunner do it? Having only one eye hasn't seemed to deter Najib from shooting the living daylights out of his enemies, but it makes me wonder - did he start training before or after losing that eye?

***

If you have any Unsolved Mysteries you'd like me to post about, drop me a comment!

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Not Another Love Story recap post - all versions

This Fantazzztic Film Awards / Not Another Love Story? repost is for my friends at my university org, UP GRAIL (UP Graphic Arts in Literature), who wanted to view the videos ^^


First MTV-style teaser, set to the song Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston


Second MTV-style teaser, set to the song Beautiful Girls Reply by JoJo


First version of Not Another Love Story?, featuring footage from both teasers plus the original first story. The first ever FFA Dark Horse Award winner, from Seagate Scene & Heard Week.


Part I of Not Another Love Story - Ze Muzical! Prelude


Part II of Not Another Love Story - Ze Muzical! Love Scene...?


Part III of Not Another Love Story - Ze Muzical! Showdown!


Omake: stand-alone version of It's Raining Men, as performed by Simon Ayende [voiced by Artaxerxes]

Brought to you by:
Reclusion & Behringer, Legendary Movie Directors
DeSanggria, Queen of Vespanola
Fiksdotter, Undisputed Movie Writer
Artaxerxes, Voice Actor Heartthrob
and me, NineMoons, Supreme Lady Blogger ^^

[Guys. Shouldn't we ask for a new forum title for Mena? He deserves it!]

Friday, March 14, 2008

Pretty buff! Also, first screenshot from Carracci server

Meet my team in Carracci server!

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From left to right: Radhanon, Psychokinesis wizard; Furyk, full-support scout; Naiyah, dagger scout. [First dagger scout ever ^^]

Proud members of Takhisis Faction, under faction leader Fiksdotter.

You already know what that yellow sparkly buff is: the premium iCafe buff, good from 13-27 March 2008.

Back to leveling, mustn't waste the buff!

Anniversary Aftermath

*still falling-down drunk from celebrating*

*AND is still a fox*

Links while I recover:

Dear RCM Hrin mentions yesterday's anniversary. Dated last night. Thank you for your support through this long year - and I hope the succeeding entries continue to meet your standards ^^

DeSanggria interviews the FFA winners: Fetuccini / Weisswritter / Mortreux [wow, Vradical shout-out!] and Reclusion / Behringer / NineMoons / Fiksdotter / iCez [hee hee, combined team ^^]

New forum title! ^^

*staggers out, fox-ears and tails twitching*

Thursday, March 13, 2008

FIRST YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

Today, 13 March 2008, marks the first anniversary of this sGE blog!

[Relevant thread in the forums here.]

1yranniv

Thank you so much for all your support ^^

Post-FFA: NineMoons does a recap

[Original idea, of course, from my director's rant. Ha ha, enabler much? XD]

So. The first Fantazzztic Film Awards are all over but for the shouting. It'll be a good three weeks before the Grand Finale winners can receive their prizes since there'll be some sort of presentation at the next e-Games event.

And here I am, contributing a faint shout.

First, before I go on: have a look at how I feel right now.

facepalm of epic fail

[I leave it to you as an exercise to figure out who exactly all these characters are; for myself, I'm massively pleased that Kyon, Major Armstrong, Zelgadis, Charles Beams, and even Harima Kenji are on this image. They may be expressing epic fail, but the pic itself is epic WIN.]

Is it too much to ask to see the judges' comments now? Maybe the official announcement of winners was rushed because too many people were clamoring for it, but it can't be too late to add in the judges' thoughts on the winning films yet, is it?

Things NineMoons has learned from joining the FFA:

1. Before you do anything else, read the rules. In fact, it is okay to be paranoid about some parts of the rules.

The section I'm thinking of here is the part where all the deadlines were announced ahead of time. There were even multiple reminders. Most important of all, the deadlines were stated as plainly as possible in the submission threads.

2. It is extremely bad form to hijack forum threads. I mean, really, this one goes all the way back to Emily Post, Grand High Priestess and Arbiter of Good Manners and Right Conduct if there ever was one.

Forum threads are intended to be conversations that head in a definite direction, as stated clearly in the title of any given thread. Keep the conversation on topic. Do not interrupt it for any irrelevancies, least of all the inanity of simply squeeing at friends - and ignoring the rest of the people already posting in the thread at it.

3. Favoritism is an absolute no-no. [The perfect segue!] Never, never, but NEVER give anyone any reason to think one is favoring one's friends over others. This applies to anyone in any position of power, and it especially applies to bloggers.

Ever notice why I dropped the fan blogs listing from this blog? I wanted the list to be all-inclusive. ALL of the sGE fan blogs out there that I hear of go into my del.icio.us links list, and I keep this list updated through judicious use of the Internet. Go look at that list. There's a reason why there are a whopping 134 items on it.

4. Machinima is a new emerging art form and we should be happy to get in on it while it's growing. Granado Espada is just one of a long list of games that have been chosen as machinima sources. But just look at the company GE is keeping: the Halo series, the Half-Life games, The Sims, and hell, even World of Warcraft. Those are only among THE biggest video games in the world. We are in such bloody good company, and people yet have the utter nerve to disparage BOTH GE and machinima. Shame on you.

5. It's always best to keep an ear to the ground and an eye to the horizon. The late, lamented John Lennon said "
Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans". While you've been too busy fixing your make-up and sewing your next fancy-dress outfit, people have been trying to do good, to win glory and honor for all, and to help others out.

If you've been too busy with superficial plans to pay attention to these people who only want to do well by others, you have no right in the world to put them down. Pay bloody attention!

Anyone who feels hit by my statements better consider WHY they feel slighted. I have not intended to say these things lightly. And it should tell you something VERY significant that I waited THIS long to speak out.

...Is it too late for me to wish I had a different forum title? My director's already been honored for his legendary status, and more power to him. What about me? XD

To the next year of blogging!

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Fantazzztic Film Awards: The Grand Finale Winners!

Official Announcement of FFA Grand Finale winners from IAHGames!

First Place: Not Another Love Story 2 - Ze Musical! - Behringer / NineMoons / Reclusion

Second Place: Le Blanc (White) - Reclusion / Fiksdotter / iCez

Third Place: Perdonato - Fetuccini / Weisswritter / Mortreux

Congratulations to all the winners! Enjoy the 70k G-Points - and the money!

BONUS: From the RESULTS ARE OUT!!! gratz to all!!! thread, Post 21:

Due to custom issues, we'll be personally bringing down all the prizes next month for egames 1 year anniversary. :) - Hrin!

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! *triple backflip and a twist leading into cartwheels and finishing with split*

BONUS 2, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: The reactions of epic win from my fellow bloggers and teammates!

DeSanggria: The mother of all epic wins
Artaxerxes: Fantazzztic Film Awards 2007 Winners of the Grand Finale
Reclusion: 300th Post! THIS IS WINRAR!!!!
Fiksdotter: FFA: Complete pawnage!

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Open Letter: for the love of the game

Dear All

I find to my amazement that before this month ends, I will be celebrating the first year of this blog's existence. This was the first "one-subject" blog I ever started, meaning it was focused on a particular something. That something has been, and remains to this day, the MMORPG Granado Espada.

For most of this blog's existence I have been playing on the Cervantes server of the sGE release. In fact, this blog was begun within the last two weeks of the Closed Beta Test. I still consider myself lucky to have made it in during that first phase of testing, and to have seen the test through to the end.

Through pOBT, the Open Beta, and the switching around of business models, I have stayed true to sGE. That hasn't always been easy. I would get attacked on sight simply because I was trying to promote the blog as a resource and as a place where I could show the fun / lighter / more intellectual / storyline side of sGE. People would heckle this blog in its comments and its chat box.

[And there are the times when the game itself has misstepped, but that is not for this entry.]

The animosity from some quarters of the population remains to this day.

I single out one person in sGE who has seemingly made it his life's mission to put this blog down. When I make broadcasts about new content, this person replies with an insult to both me and to the content. This person has called me names and slandered the blog's good name.

The only time I was insulted personally was when he made a comment about GE machinima; this person's comment derided the genre and, by extension, the members of the community who wished to enjoy its possibilities - and in the process do some good for the game.

Dear annoying person, you know not of what you speak. And you have known not, since you began your campaign of insults.

What I do here is not always easy. I make no money from this blog. I devote much effort to improving its appearance and content - to the occasional detriment of my characters in the game. In the drive to make this blog better, my main characters on Cervantes server remain at level 84. Any other characters I have on the other four servers have not even reached level 50, the halfway mark of the standard game. I have never made Veteran, much less Expert. Not even in Closed Beta.

So why am I keeping it up? A plain and simple answer. I made this blog for love of the game. I continue to improve it for love of the game. I continue to write in it for love of the game. And I continue to love, and play, the game.

I have done all this for almost one year, and I hope to continue for as long as I can. I hope to see a second-year anniversary, a third, a fourth, and so on.

Do not, annoying person, think that I do this in response to your childish banter. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I write this entry, this open letter, because I want to stand up and say, I am proud to be the first sGE blogger. I am happy to keep up the blog. And I am happy to remain an sGE player.

Despite the problems and the occasional WTF? moment, I am happy to be here.

I remain your devoted sGE blogger

NineMoons

P.S. 10 March 2008

To commenters The Arc and Darrick, as well as to Leoz [!] and to Artaxerxes, thank you very much for the good wishes.

Just so everyone knows, the actual one-year anniversary of this blog is on 13 March. [That's just three days away!] Here's the very first entry.

^^

Picspam: FFA teams get high

...not THAT kind, guys!

Went drinking atop a fairly high mountain with my chica DeSanggria, the brothers Reclusion, the brothers Fiksdotter and Artaxerxes, and my partner Rosso last night! It was a way for all of us to unwind after the stresses and headaches of the FFA Grand Finale week, and yet another chance for us to just talk shop and enjoy each other's company.

This drinking spree had actually come about after the Reclusion boys had gone off to Fiksdotter and Artaxerxes's place for a few days off - and this was the last thing we were all going to do together before going back to normal lives!

[Fiksdotter tells about the vacation here; Artaxerxes's account is here.]

The charming scenery, stunning view and chilly temperatures were certainly conducive to the endless chit-chat - we all got so carried away that we didn't stop talking till near daybreak!

FFAgetaway01
Left to right, Artaxerxes, DeSanggria, and Darrick Reclusion.

FFAgetaway02
Left to right, Nate Reclusion, Fiksdotter, DeSanggria [partly hidden by the plant], me [partly hidden by DS], Darrick Reclusion, and Artaxerxes.

FFAgetaway03
Me and Rosso ^^ ♥

So, no, we still don't have a clue about the outcome of the FFA Grand Finale; but yes, we have some ideas planned for our next projects, and the bonds of our friendship grow ever stronger ^^

Cheers, guys, and let's have the next drinking session soon!

P.S. Here are everyone's blog posts on this drinking session:

DeSanggria: De-stressing in the mountains
Artaxerxes: Bloggers Unwinding Moments
Reclusion: Broking our backs in Brokeback Mountain! [With bonus lovely music video of the ending credits to Sister Act 2 - "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" indeed! ♥]

Thursday, March 6, 2008

A toast to the ladies of GE!

Until Saturday, March 8, International Women's Day - here is a free space for you to praise your favorite ladies who are involved in one way or another in the world of sGE!

Let me begin by singing the praises of RCM Hrin: our steadfast and devoted Regional Community Manager, who not only makes time in her perennially packed schedule to engage in YM conversations with her players from all over, but also monitors the forums on a daily basis, and is a great treasure trove of GE information to boot!

I would stop short of declaring my undying love for her, but hope this suffices: ♥
♥ ^^

Next, my dear buddy, chica, and best GE friend Anne DeSanggria, who keeps me honest at the same time she helps me squee my head off over the current hot eye-candy in GE. Thank you for your invaluable integrity and for your infallible common sense!

And I also want to say a big, big "Sarangheyo" to fellow females in the factions I've joined so far: in Cervantes, estrellante of ReBirth and MinistryOfLaw in WrathOfGod - thank you both for your being such kickass faction vice-leaders and overall wonderful ladies!

***

Open Comments Thread! Say something nice for the ladies of sGE in the comments! She can be of any server, or be among the staff, or be among your local publisher's people - she just has to be an actual, verified female!

Hope to hear from you here~

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Quick announcements

Heed the warnings.

1. I'm not playing for most of this week, but I WILL do my best to make it up on Sunday. I'm dying of the "Big-Saturday-Deadline" disease here halp!

2. And from now on, I will be playing in Carracci. My first server switch! ^^ Hope the Carracci folks don't mind, and that the Cervantes folks don't get mad at me or something....

3. Watch out for something I'm doing regarding the name "Nine Moons" very soon! [It's related to the deadline in #1.]

*back to work*

Saturday, March 1, 2008

What my desktop looks like ^^

I got tagged by my good buddy Joel, a.k.a. the MMOtaku for the! first! meme! ever on this blog, and am more than happy to respond.

Essentially, it's a show us your desktop deal. So here's mine:

NineMoons's desktop

I know what you're thinking: "Moons, you have a LOT of media players and games there." And it does look like this rig is more of a gaming/media one than anything else. My partner built the system to be as future-proof as possible some three years ago. He even played through Command and Conquer 3 on it. The only thing I can think of that we haven't installed on this yet is Hellgate: London.

We both have our own desktops at work. We have this one mainly for chilling afterwards, and for saving lots of stuff on 2-3 hard drives. ^^

And the wallpaper shows off Alucard and his Draculina Celes Victoria, both looking ready to rumble. ^^

Since this is a meme, I get to tag my friends now:

DeSanggria
Reclusion
RCM Hrin
Ralph Guzman

Cheers~