World Spectrum: The Kids

I’m still working on building all my writing characters in Aion (and not actually playing Aion). I’ve gone beyond the World Spectrum and created many from my other works, but since you guys won’t be familiar with them, there’s little point in posting them.

Books of the World Spectrum bannerYesterday, though, I went back and made two more World Spectrum characters. You see, the act of world-building never really stops. I’ve already got plans for how Barria evolves in the years following Human Again. I don’t know if I’ll ever make use of any of these plans, but it’s nice to know they exist.

So I now present to you the next generation of the World Spectrum — two children of the previous cast members, already all grown up. In the (very) tentative fourth book idea I have, these are slated to be the main characters.

WARNING: This post will contain significant spoilers for Rage of the Old Gods and Children of the Gods and very minor (very minor) spoilers for Living for the Future and Human Again.

Spoiler free zone.

I once held a boa constrictor. It was really cool.

I like carob. There, I said it.

Let’s get to it.

Abiri Tor Lannis:Abiri Tor Lannis, daughter of Yarnig and NatomaNamed for her aunt, Abiri is the beloved daughter of Yarnig Tor Lannis and Natoma. I made this image based on the idea of her being around eighteen or nineteen.

Abiri Tor Lannis, daughter of Yarnig and NatomaShe’s a very cheerful and pleasant girl, an idealist and adherent to Aya’s humanist teachings. She has a minor magical talent and uses it to follow in her father’s footsteps, making sculptures and carvings of incredible beauty and subtlety.

Abiri Tor Lannis, daughter of Yarnig and NatomaHer hair isn’t 100% accurate. She’s supposed to have braided pigtails, a Tor style that contrasts with her largely Urannan appearance.

Hilda Tor Kellis:

Hilda Tor Kellis, adopted daughter of ErannaA Reborn orphan formerly of the labourer cast, Hilda encountered Eranna Tor Kellis by chance, and the empress took pity on her and adopted her, raising Hilda as her own daughter and even going so far as to name her the heir of the Tor Kellis house. I made this image based on imagining her around twenty-three or twenty-four years old.

Hilda Tor Kellis, adopted daughter of ErannaNeedless to say, the idea of a Reborn potentially taking the throne of Tor Som caused a bit of a stir among Tor nobility. Having them to help rebuild your country is one thing, but bending a knee to a former Arcanid slave is another matter entirely. Ever since, there has been a fair bit of debate over whether Hilda should be considered the true heir to the throne, or Abiri.

Hilda Tor Kellis, adopted daughter of ErannaHilda may not be Eranna’s blood, but she is her daughter in spirit: a dour, serious woman who rarely smiles and is prone to brooding contemplation. Unlike most Reborn, who are free-spirited and contented, the dark legacy of the Arcanids hangs heavy over Hilda’s head.

* * *

Hmm, I wonder if enough people read The Wounding for it to be worth making an Enora?

BlizzCon Predictions + New Article

BlizzCon is now less than a month away, and it’s time to once again participate in that most beloved of nerd pastimes: pointless, baseless speculation. I’ve already done my predictions for what the inevitable WoW expansion announcement will bring, so today, I’ll focus on predictions related to their other games.

The official logo for Blizzard EntertainmentThe return of All-Stars:

Other than the next WoW expansion, I think the big news to come from this year’s BlizzCon will be a revamped version of their MOBA, Blizzard All-Stars. I expect that it to now bear name the Heroes of the Storm and be completely revamped from the ground up.

We already know it’s being retooled as a standalone game instead of a mod for StarCraft II. I imagine this means it will get a new and more original graphics style that is more reflective of all Blizzard’s games instead of just SC2, though still using the SC2 engine.

I imagine we’ll get a trailer and some gameplay demos, similar to what they did for the Hearthstone announcement. They’ll break down what makes it different from other MOBAs — probably shorter matches and a lower learning curve — and maybe preview some specific heroes. I, of course, am most curious how Nova will play, eternal Nova fanboy that I am.

The thing I’m most curious about is how its free to play business model will shake out. This is essentially the first time Blizzard has attempted free to play. I’m not counting Hearthstone because CCGs have a pretty standardized business model: sell card packs.

I’m hoping for a cosmetics-only model such as DOTA 2’s, but I could also see them selling heroes like League of Legends.

A sepia tone image featuring Blizzard's game franchises: Warcraft, Starcraft, and DiabloDiablo III: Reaper of Souls

They’ve already announced all the major features for the Diablo expansion, so I imagine they’ll focus on providing more detail on what we already know about. For example, there will probably be a detailed breakdown of the mechanics of the new crusader class.

I also expect a lot of gameplay demos, especially of the new endgame options like loot runs and Nephalem Trials. Maybe a new trailer or two, as well, and there will undoubtedly be some Q&As.

Still, thinking about it, that doesn’t seem like much. I’m rather surprised they’ve already given so much information about Reaper of Souls, honestly. I could hope that there are some earth-shattering announcements they’re keeping secret, but Blizzard doesn’t really do surprises.

The rest:

I don’t think there will be much news about StarCraft II this year. In Blizzard time, Heart of the Swarm was practically released yesterday. It’s probably too soon for there to be any substantive news about Legacy of the Void. At best, we might get some very early and vague previews or a brief teaser trailer.

I’d love to be wrong about this, though. As a Protoss player, I’m very much looking forward to LotV. My life for Aiur!

The new training mode in Starcraft 2I haven’t been following Hearthstone that closely, so I’m not sure what BlizzCon will mean for it. I wouldn’t be surprised if we got a release date announcement, but that’s the only prediction I have.

Titan’s development has recently been rebooted, so the odds of hearing anything about it are pretty darn slim. We will be forced to wait a bit longer to learn about it, I fear.

One thing I’ll be very interested to see is if there is anything about the Warcraft movie. Might they announce the stars, give us a tease of a plot, or even show a short trailer like the one at ComicCon? I can only hope so.

What of you? What are your predictions for this year’s BlizzCon?

New article:

My latest contribution to WhatMMO is Top 6 MMO Motivations. What about you? What keeps you logging in to your favourite MMO, day after day?