The One About The Granado Espada-Razer Contest Great news, pioneers! Discuss this here. 2. After logging in, click on Personal Information under Account 3. Fill in your profile and click on Update when you’re done About Razer Piranha™ The Razer Piranha™ is engineered from the ground up to blend performance, long hours of comfort and functionality, to deliver realistic in-game audio that will satisfy the needs of the most demanding gamer – You. Now go forth and conquer. True-to-life audio quality with superior clarity and bass. Adjustable, noise-filtering microphone. Comfortable, ergonomic and adjustable head phones suitable for prolonged use.
I was absolutely thrilled when I was assigned recently to work together with Razer in developing a contest for the Granado Espada community. After all, I'm a huge fan of the Razer mouse series. My boss, KKJ, had given me my very first Razer Diamondback mouse as a present. Initially, I found it too sensitive, but eventually after I got used to it... man! I just can't look or use any other mouse in the same way again. Eventually, I had to change all my PCs' mice to Razer types and even carry a spare Razer mouse along with my laptop wherever I go or travel.
Unfortunately, due to time constraints of the survey closure, we could only use a Lucky Draw type of mechanics. If Razer had been sponsoring us Razer Mouse products instead, I would have liked to have a "V2.9 Pet Naming Contest" which allowed the community to propose a new name for Grabbermon. And maybe the caption would be something like "Name your pet and win a Razer pet... mouse."
In any case, do take part in the survey over here (Survey Access Code: rgameriah ) and stand a chance to win their just-as-awesome Razer Piranha™ Gaming Communicator Headsets!
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28 August 2008 - 7 September 2008: Granado Espada - Razer Lucky Draw
In celebration of Soldiers Week, Granado Espada has partnered Razer to bring you even more prizes!
Simply login and complete the Razer survey by 7 September 2008, Sunday, over here using the following Survey Access Code: rgameriah and stand to win the following Razer and Granado Espada prizes:
• 3 Razer Piranha™ Gaming Communicator Headsets
• 5 winners of 50 Adelina Booty Searches each (http://ge.iahgames.com/abs/)
• 5 winners of “Item of the Month” each
• 1 Limited Edition Granado Espada Diary (Only 20 available in the region!)
• 1 Granado Limited Signature Edition Box (Only 9,999 worldwide!)
IMPORTANT: Winners will be contacted via mobile / phone number. Kindly updated your profile in your IAHGames Passport Account.
How do I update my profile?
1. Go to http://passport.iahgames.com and login to your account
An audio experience with crystal clear highs and visceral bass that will satisfy the needs of the most demanding gamer.
Communicate clearly with your teammates through the noise-canceling microphone, even in crowded gaming environments.
The fully adjustable on-ear headphones and microphone ensure perfect fit and comfort for hours of use.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
The One About Grabbermon
V2.9 is just around the corner and I've started working on the rollout plan as well as the content release schedule.
Although it's been scheduled for end of September, but a more likely launch date might be in October. I'll continue to update you guys as we move along. I'm really starting to feel as though my blog mojo has finally returned - I'm starting to enjoy blogging again. Well anyway, we just received the latest digital assets for V2.9 from HBS (Hanbitsoft) and what I am REALLY looking forward to in V2.9 is... the pet function!
I'm not sure what our localization team is going to name the new pet. The very raw translation at this point is "Grabber". (I'm hoping they call him "Grabbermon" though...) True to his "Grabber" nature, he loots items for you. From what I understand, you are required to feed him with pet food every few hours, if not it would lead to his demise. So no hope for AFK-ing with Grabber overnight! Nevertheless, it's hard to tell what the system would be like at this point in time, since V2.9 hasn't been implemented on the test server yet. The above is hearsay that might have been lost in translation.
Here's a sneak peek of lil' Grabbermon:
Saturday, August 23, 2008
The One About Diego's Art Nouveau
I were looking through the Week 2 loading screen submissions for Diego's Art Nouveau and though there was quite a significant improvement in the quality of the submissions, but still... I felt that some cutting edge creativity was still lacking.
Here's some ideas that could set YOUR submission apart!
1) Magic Eye 3D Loading Screens!
I used to be obsessed with those Magic Eye 3D pictures thingy whereby there is a sentence or picture inside a mosaic looking picture. Something like that:
Use your magic eye and check out the bird!It would be super duper awesome to have such loading screens in GE whereby the subject matter was GE-related and the user would only have like 5-10 seconds to figure out what was on the loading screen before he reached the next map. Not sure how to do up something like that though. There's prolly some freeware out there that enables you to do so.
2) Mini Games!
I think the key thing here is to entertain the community during those painful 5-10 seconds of waiting time. So why not mini games to amuse them in the meantime? Loading screens could be like 'Spot the difference' types whereby 2 screenshots are side by side, looking almost same same but different. The user would then have to spot like 5 differences in the pictures.
Other than 'Spot the difference', there could be trivia questions or GE-context riddles with the answers at the corner or something along those lines.
Yup, yup. So try to think out of the box and push your creativity and sense of imagination to the next level. Let the simple things around you inspire you, you'll never know where it will take you!
Oh wait, one more thing before I meet up with my colleagues for a badminton game, the Paid Game Services project has been delayed yet again due to unforseen circumstances. *sigh*
Everything had been working beautifully on the test server. But when imported to the live server, it was then discovered that the stored procedures given to us by HBS on the test server were a different structure/format from the one on the live server! *sigh* So... now we are awaiting the new stored procedures from HBS again. :_(
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
The One About Weizhen's Article
It's definitely a sign.
Just after my proposal to L'oreal for sponsorship for the September Gamer Girl Feature had been approved, I received a call from Weizhen, who writes for the local Singapore newspaper 'The Straits Times'. Very coincidentally, she was writing an article about female gamers and was interested to know more. So I shared with her some of the upcoming events that we are hosting for our gamer girls and some of the possible reasons why gaming is really getting popular amongst the female population.
One of the reasons I cited was due to the 'Tupperware Party' effect. Ok... I know it sounds silly and all, but it was a term I coined on the spur of the moment at that point in time cos it really seemed like the best analogy.
Gamer Girl Gatherings are the new Tupperware parties! I recall reading somewhere that Tupperware became popular because women brought their women friends along to these lavish and outlandishly themed parties. I can see the same phenomenon happening in this day and age where our gamer girls bring their gal pals along to our real life gaming events and game launch parties, like the one we held at Zouk last year.
I look forward to a day where gaming comes hand-in-hand with other female-dominant activities like retail therapy a.k.a shopping, beauty treatments, clubbing etc. Like a casual games terminal at a pedicure station: 'Game while you pedicure!'
There is an incredible amount of potential and opportunities that ties gaming to the female consumer goods industry as the female population gravitates more and more towards gaming and I sincerely hope that when that time comes, I would have been one of the pioneers to have proudly championed this cause and helped contribute in growing this industry.
Many thanks, Weizhen, for being one of our champions! :)
Full Article here.Extract:
Project coordinator Eva Yuan, 27, set up a guild of 40 other regional gamers within action game Granado Espada. They play regularly online.
'It helps when games have interactive chat functions, beautiful graphics and are playable even for people who are not dexterous. I don't just want to chop monsters,' she said.
Gaming companies have responded to this by organising activities solely for female gamers. IAH Games, for example, is lining up 'gamer girl gatherings' for December.
Its community manager Danielle Hrin Kuek said these are the 'new Tupperware parties'.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
The One About Granado Espada Gamer Girls in Playworks Sept 2008 Magazine
Phew! I just finished writing my GE column for Playworks magazine's September 2008 issue, which spotlights Granado Espada Gamer Girls. I had previously emailed some of the Gamer Girls which I had seen in Facebook and Friendster to interview them. Most hadn't replied me yet, so I could only use 6 of the replies I had received so far. I'm also having difficulty adding some of the girls in Facebook/Friendster group as friend in order to interview them, so do add me up if you are part of the Granado Espada Gamer Girl group.
Here are some random snippets of the magazine article:
"Any interesting incidents happened to you in GE?”
Emmylia: I get a handful of people saying 'YOU'RE A FAKE GAL!' Or,'Meh? You don't sound like one, I don't believe you're a gal.' - Got those a lot while I was recruiting for the all girls' faction I'm in.
"What is a typical day like for you in GE?"
Abby: Chatting with fellow gamers, trading and leveling up my characters. I love training my ‘Lisa Lynway’ character since she is a belly dancer, just like me!
Abby & Lisa Lynway - The Belly Dancing Duo
"What is a typical day for you like in real life?"
Alisha: Work takes up most of my time on weekdays. Evenings are 99% utilised for GE! Ok… in between there's still some blogging, chatting on msn etc.
"Have you ever dated someone you met in-game? Do you believe that romance can be found in-game? "
Eva: Yup… we were amazed that we could finish each other’s sentences. Although he eventually got back together with his ex (in real life) but well… possibilities exist. :)
If you were a beauty product, what would you be and why?
Carine: Mascara~ because the eyes are the windows to a person's heart and soul and I want to help everyone have beautiful eyes~
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And these are definitely my two favourite snippets:
And what item in GE would your dream guy be and why?
Sheila: I'm going to go with Great Sword. The stances for it usually have a slow attack speed but when it comes to fights that matter, this weapon can be very powerful with a little bit of skill and patience. But if skills are carelessly spammed, the weapon ends up rendering the character useless. In that same sense, I like guys who have a lot of restraint and make sure everything they do is well thought out. Basically, flirting isn't appreciated if it's not serious!
Eva: Elite Penetrator of course, for obvious reasons… HAHAHA!!!
Eva quests for her Elite PenetratorFriday, August 15, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Edited 20 August 2008: Due to some scary bugs found during testing, schedule has been changed to 21 August 2008, Thursday, 1200hrs (GMT+8) -25 September 2008, Thursday, 1200hrs (GMT+8)
The One About Beijing Olympics 2008
I happened to be reading Blacksword's Granado Esapda Blog and came across his entry on the Beijing Olympics 2008 costumes in China GE.
Well, the good news is... we spoke to IMC about it and asked if we could also use those costumes and they have agreed to let us use it as a 1 month promotion for the Limited Edition Box. Details are still in the midst of being finalized and if all goes well, the promotion will last from 21 August 2008, Thursday, 1200hrs (GMT+8) -25 September 2008, Thursday, 1200hrs (GMT+8), whereby when you do a 'Claim Item' using the Emilia The Sage RNPC Code found in the Limited Edition Box, it would then provide "Emilia The Sage" RNPC Card and 5 x Beijing 2008 Sportswear Costumes (for both genders). But like I said, details are still being finalized and is very much dependent on whether the patch for these costumes is buggy or not. Thus, please wait for the announcement on the website first before any attempts.
(Remember to thank Blacksword for his blog entry and Mewmender for his forum thread that gave rise to this inspiration as well!)
Here are some sample pictures of the Beijing Olympics 2008 costumes from Blacksword's Blog
Male Fighter
Male Musketeer
Female Elementalist
Female Wizard
Female ScoutAnother promotion we are planning to hold is for the 750Gpoint GVC card between 15 August 2008, 1200hrs (GMT+8)-18 September 2008, Thursday, 1200hrs (GMT+8) .
Once the promotion is activated, all 750 Gpoint GVC codes are to provide:
a) Standard 750 GPoints value
b) Additional 250 GPoints
c) Additional 1 Enhancement Booster
Once again, I reiterate, wait till the website announcement is up before claiming!
Meanwhile, some updates on the Paid Game Services of Change Character Name, Family Name and gender... the website graphical user interface is complete and we'll be doing the tricky part of integration with the various systems over the next few days. Currently, we're still on schedule to launch next week on 21 August 2008, Thursday.
Here's a sneak peek at the website interface:
Main Menu
Change Gender MenuTuesday, August 05, 2008
The One About V2.6 Content Rollout Schedule
So... what's next in the lineup for GE game content? Here's a tentative schedule for the month ahead. Once again, schedule may be subject to changes, depending on whether there are roadblocks during IMC's patch development.
14 August 2008:
Release of RNPC, Bai Hu
21 August 2008: "Battlesmith Week"
Release of Veteran Stances:
| Mighty Cruz | [Combat Stance] Polearm |
| Low-Guard | [Combat Stance] Sabre |
| Raid Assault | [Combat Stance] Two handed dagger |
| Idge the Battlesmith' | Idge the Battlesmith RNPC Card |
28 August 2008: "Soldier's Week"
| Reboldoeux Soldier Costume | Reboldoeux Soldier Exclusive Costume |
| Coimbra Trooper Costume | Coimbra Trooper's Exclusive Costume |
| Auch Infantry Costume | Auch Infantry's Exclusive Costume |
| RNPC Stat Upgrade Quest 1 - Reboldoeux Solider | Quest for Reboldoeux Soldier's stat upgrade |
4 September 2008: "Iron Chef - Fish & Chips Week"
(I do have my reservations about whether IMC will approve this one though. *crosses fingers*)
| Panfilo the Battlecook | Panfilo the Battlecook RNPC Card |
| Enchantment Chip Package (Lvl 84) | 5 Enchantment Tranquilizer + 5 Lvl 84 Enchantment Chips |
| Enchantment Chip Package (Lvl 92) | 5 Enchantment Tranquilizer + 5 Lvl 92 Enchantment Chips |
| Enchantment Chip Package (Lvl 100) | 5 Enchantment Tranquilizer + 5 Lvl 100 Enchantment Chips |
11 September 2008: Children's Week
| RNPC Stat Upgrade Quest 2 - Ramiro & Tiburon | Quest for Ramiro and Tiburon's stat upgrade. |
| The Janzur Collection | Random Box that contains Gryphon’s Wing (Sylph) Wings + other items |
| Claude’s Crate | Random Box that contains Cherry Sprig (Cherry Blossom Branch), Silver Skullic Bracer and other items |
Other than that, V2.9 is scheduled to launch at the end of September. We are currently still on schedule in terms of localization work and I'll be going down to the sound studio on Thursday with Runner to record Calyce's voice. The voice actress for Calyce is a jazz singer, so I am reallyyyyyyy excited about this one. I'll try to take some photos and get some voice clips as a sneak preview for V2.9! We are still auditioning and looking for a voice talent for the other V2.9 RNPC Claire, the sweet lil' girl who uses a canon. (From what I understand, Claire is the step-daughter of Claude Baudez)
Oh yes, another update in regard to game content rollout. We are currently in the process of implementing the 3 paid game services - Family Name Change, Character Name Change and Gender Change. Previously, there were some really painful technical bottlenecks which have finally managed to unkink themselves over time. But FINALLY, we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel and from my latest meeting update earlier with the rest of the team, we are scheduled to launch on 21 August 2008, Thursday. There may be one more show-stopping bottleneck to this project, but regardless, this project ranks high up on our list of priorities, so it should work out one way or the other.
Phew... ok I think this blog entry may be a bit of information overload that requires some digestion. In the meantime, I'm back to work on the Girl Gamer September website feature. If you are a Granado Espada Gamer Girl, or know someone who is, do get them to join the Facebook or Friendster group (see my previous blog entry post). I'll be scouting around for GE gamer girls to feature on the Granado Espada website and in my column for Playworks Magazine (gaming magazine) based on my Facebook/Friendster stalking. So do regularly check your Facebook/Friendster to add me as a friend or reply my messages ya?
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