173 – The Instance: Was It The WoW Decade?

Game Of The Decade
That’s right, the voters and editors of Gamasutra ran down the top 12 games of the decade that just ended with a surprising, or not really all that surprising result – World of Warcraft was the #1 game of the decade. They quoted Mario Garcia from Mercury Steam, who said Reasons? Effectiveness of his design, huge infrastructure, big money spent, number of players, net hours of play, mixed demographics, social influence. Also, for me raised serious questions about the responsibility of developers in how his games affect people’s life and the ethics of using game design technics to keep players spending time in the game. I feel this is going to be a big deal in the coming decades.

Arena Season 7 To End January 19
Finally. According to our most favorite-named Blizzard community manager Bornakk, We are currently planning to end Arena Season 7 as early as January 19. At that point we will go through our normal process to determine who is eligible for the end-of-season rewards. This process should take approximately one week. It’s very important for players who feel that they may be eligible for the arena-specific titles and/or Relentless Gladiator’s Frostwyrm to refrain from transferring their character to another realm until after Arena Season 7 ends. The following Arena Season will not begin for at least one week after the current season ends. During this time between seasons, all rated matches will be turned off and only skirmishes will be available. When Arena Season 8 begins, all team ratings, personal rating, and arena points will be wiped, but matchmaking rating and honor points will remain. Throwing Money At The Oculus Problem

And there is, indeed, an Oculus problem. Blizzard community manager Zarhym admitted as much before maintenance this week, saying: To encourage players not to shy away from the many invigorating adventures to be had in The Oculus, we have applied a change to enhance the rewards players are provided when selected for this dungeon via the Random Heroic option in the Dungeon Finder. Once Ley-Guardian Eregos is defeated, one loot bag per character will be provided in his chest in addition to the current rewards. Each loot bag will offer players rare gems, two additional Emblems of Triumph, and a chance of being rewarded the Reins of the Blue Drake. These fine treasures could be yours should you honor your fellow party members by besting the challenges contained within The Oculus! Keep in mind, however, that these extra loot bags will only be awarded to each party member if Oculus is selected by the Dungeon Finder when players choose the Random Heroic option. In light of this change, the Reins of the Azure Drake will now have a chance of dropping in both 10- and 25-player versions of The Eye of Eternity.

Town Cryer
Sylem writes: I am still leveling my character but i realize on your show you often talk about downloadable content for wow that changes the interface among other things to help you play the game. I have none of these things and i wonder if i need them to fully enjoy the game? If so, which ones are vital.

Simon B. asked: I recently heard something about a fourth boss in VoA which i really just dissmissed until i looked into my Wintergrasp achievements and found a achevement for this fourth boss i was wondering why i havent seen anything about this from blizzard.

They Actually Gave Prizes For Food!
Blizzard announced the winners of their Holiday Cooking Contest on Dec. 23, so you might have missed it, especially if your wife was going into labor at about that time. The winner was “Horde Night Before Winter Veil” by Curt Rapala from Northlake, IL. It consisted of 100% edible, half chocolate/half yellow sheet cake frosted and covered in fondant blanket, Figurines and decorations sculpted in gum paste and fondant, Headboard and bedposts in gingerbread and candy cane, and a Tree made of frosted rice cereal treats decorated with candy. But that doesn’t spoil the page that we’ve got linked for you in the show notes. Blizzard posted the other nine of their 10 finalists with pictures and descriptions.