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kilobytten.7402

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  1. Too true about the offline/off-line thing! 😆 I haven't played enough of GW1 to go to Echovald forest so I have no idea how that looks like in there. I've seen games that revamp and rework their world's entire lore and completely change things around. I understand Anet hasn't done that yet, and doesn't really seem the type tbh.... Which is why I haven't been on forums or even Discord touting my opinions about all of this, because in the end it just boils down to "I have to wait until EoD drops to see for myself." Since a lot of my worries are from speculations and not necessarily hard facts. Just seeing trends doesn't mean the end result will be that way... But I can still be worried. I've seen others do it poorly. I just hope Anet doesn't fall into that hole.
  2. Oh hey I did forget about these! Very cool images. Alas they're all concept art and from my experience, many times the concept art looks really cool but when they become the finalized... The final product sometimes doesn't look the same/carry the same vibe, or in some rare cases, look nothing like the original concept. 😞 Sometimes the artists are directed a completely different direction too, and they're forced to take on something they weren't really keen on doing from the get go. Because marketing/someone higher ranking than them said so. And as someone who once wanted to work in the field, I get it. I really do. I'm really hoping that's not the case. Really, I am. But I've been disappointed before. So I'm still fingers crossed over this.
  3. Hard agree on the naming. The outfit itself I don't really have a problem with (in fact I immediately wanted to slap it on my Elonian character), but I do find it troublesome that we've been given specifically named outfits that are not of the GW2/GW universe. The samurai outfit is a really good example. As far as I know, there are no samurai, or any samurai-themed organizations/characters. Oh, but what about Cantha? From the Wiki: Southeast Asian cultures. That's all very well and good. But so far what we've seen from Official Cantha has appeared very Chinese, with the exception of Tengu being more Japanese. If it's supposed to be a "generic Asia" like we've seen in other films and video games far too many times... That's kind of a yikes from me. The experiences of one or even two Southeast Asian cultures is not representative of ALL Southeast Asians. From what I've seen in game of GW2 and what I know of the universe, Cantha has always been shrouded in mystery, but from the vibe I get that it's mostly Chinese. Which leads me back to the Samurai outfit. Putting out a samurai outfit - while cool - can be misleading since players might equate "this is Asian, and therefore Canthan" which, ya know, again, a whole lotta yikes. Which, isn't fair to the other cultures it might also be representing. Anet hasn't given us much details on that, and I'm honestly really hoping that EoD clears this up for us. I've always had this gripe with Cantha: Almost everywhere I go, I hear Cantha = Asia, even though Cantha has clear German/Greek names. Even I feel that way. I'm excited for Cantha because of Asian aspects, but not Greek. Where is the Greek/German hype? Near non-existent, apparently. If Cantha is "just China with Greek and German names", that just sounds like someone decided to do a smashup of things that they thought would be cool without really delving into the things that made them cool/interesting/unique in the first place. An Asian-Greek culture could be really cool and ultimately kitten. I want to see that. In the end, I don't mind which culture folks want to represent - just pick some and do it well. Don't generalize. Really delve into that culture and all of the bits. Does Cantha include Japanese culture as an influence? Or is the Japanese themes only for Tengu? I hope EoD clears this up too. I know ArenaNet can do better. They've done better. Elona came out really cool. I thoroughly enjoyed Path of Fire. I know teams don't often get the time to develop languages, but the subtle touches with words like "Ahai" and "Outlander" really sold it for me, along with the different architecture, clothing designs, and far too many details to list. Elona was and always will be amazing to me. I just hope that Cantha is treated just as well, tastefully, and respectfully to all of their influences. It's important now more than ever to make sure we get this right. But going back on topic. I'm not Egyptian, Arabic, or from any part of the Middle East. I cannot speak for those who could be bothered by the pharaoh outfit by appearance or name. However, I can speak as someone who sees trends and gets worried bout them. I don't want a culture to be generalized and only have certain parts of that culture shown and marketed, as mine so often has been. I'd rather it be celebrated. I could write an entire essay about that but I digress. To give Arenanet the benefit of the doubt: Let's say they did this for fun, and the Pharaoh outfit was not intended to be a part of the Elonian culture, as is the same with the Samurai outfit. As it was mentioned, we have rainbow unicorns too, and other things that aren't pertained to the GW2 Universe. Great! And honestly I'm not that bothered by these. I know rainbow unicorns don't really exist in the game, it's probably something fun that the devs wanted to put into the game that they liked. Awesome. Dig that. In an ideal world, all devs should love and continue to be in love with the content they are making. However, if that's the case, I hope that there is a distinction, or some kind of statement from Anet that this was the intent and not tied to Elona or Cantha, respectfully. Because of the lack of distinction is what's causing ruckus and getting folks upset. To close: some years ago, I read an Avatar the Last Airbender comic, and one of the scenes stuck to me. In the scene, Aang, the last of a nomadic tribe of Airbenders, is greeted by a woman who donned herself in Airbender clothes, and tattoos. She tells him about the group of people who are trying to revitalize his culture and even are calling themselves Airbenders. He becomes insulted and the line he says will always stick with me: "My culture is not a costume." I don't want a Pharaoh or Samurai costume. I want an Elonian and Canthan outfit. I don't want to buy either until I know there's that distinction.
  4. I am a visual/audio person. I also consider themes greatly when I make certain choices for characters, and Sylvari empathy is no different. Currently I have 4 Sylvari. Here's what I have for two of them. Ardan is incredibly energetic and optimistic. He is a representative of the Order of the Crystal Bloom and the Order of the Whispers. Though he is Soundless, I RP it that despite his meditations, his overwhelming energy and feelings sometimes spill over; the meditations basically just hold his feelings back. I equate his empathy with water, specifically the ocean. His feelings, like the ocean, are vast, deep, and a powerful force. Like the tide, they can roll in, swallow everything around it and carrying things away, or recede at low tide, shying away from shore. However no matter what, when you look at the whole picture, there tends to be equilibrium. This strongly reflects how he is as a person: someone who certainly lets his positive shine and may even be infectious, however he does have a secretive and even shy side. High tide. Low tide. Light, and dark. Bloom, and Whispers. Oenwyr is a Vigil Soldier and once served as a Pact soldier on the Pact ships that fell in Maguuma when Mordremoth struck. His colors are silver and light blue. He was stationed in the Shiverpeaks prior to the campaign, and to this day still calls the Shiverpeaks mountain his home. He still has severe PTSD from the Jungle and struggles on a daily basis with this. His empathy, I admit is unusual and not something I would normally pick. However when I think how it applies to this character, it just feels right. It is akin to the weather near a mountain. The mountain itself represents himself, and how he has a solid idea of who he is and what he is. When he is calm, the mists roll in on a quiet day, and he is still. When he is angry, storms rage across the mountain and into the valley below, delivering terrible thunderstorms that frighten wildlife. When he is sad, heavy rainfall arrives, threatening to drown everything. I feel like it is this way because small changes in weather isn't really enough to affect his stoic nature, and typically he can control or even let slide a multitude of things. However when things get really bad - a high energy of emotions - this is when he becomes at his most dangerous state: a force of nature with the determination and strength of a mountain.
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