Guilds that do it with style
by Michael Gray 
Jun 11th 2008 at 5:00PM
WoW enjoys a community created through informative blogs, forums, and most importantly -- Guilds. Guilds form the foundation of most players' experiences. Some Guilds, though, just seem to conduct themselves with a little more style.
Nihilum's live stream efforts are a good example -- they're letting us into their little corner of gameplay, showing us how they do things. Nihilum's well-known for their success, and it's fascinating to get an insider's look at how they conduct their raids.
The members of Agony issue their news with a bit of artistic flair. They turn their raid screenshots into comic book updates. While the plot might be hard to follow if you've not done the raids yourself, the pages are rather pretty to look at.
Sometimes, though, Guilds break up. They can do it with a bit of a drama, or they can choose to do it with a little class. When Forte called it the end of the road, they left a final "goodbye" to fans and foes alike. They ended their story in a way that let everyone know what was going on, and with a final farewell to their fans.
These three Guilds are just examples. We've all encountered Guilds who do something a little extra to make the game fun or enrich their community.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, Virtual selves, Guilds, Fan art
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Eternalpayn Jun 11th 2008 5:11PM
Is this a finished article? Like, what do we comment on?
Eternalpayn Jun 11th 2008 5:12PM
Not to sound hostile, it just seems like it cuts off before it gets into any discussion material.
ninjasuperspy Jun 11th 2008 5:16PM
I like the Agony thing.
vlad Jun 11th 2008 5:35PM
photoshop+cutout filter= artistic flair.
meh
Billonium Jun 11th 2008 5:52PM
Always someone to criticize, right? I think it's awesome.
Zach Jun 15th 2008 3:29PM
I was thinking Live Trace, its cool, but yeah...that was done with a filter or something along those lines. Not diminishing the guilds accomplishments, just these things stand out to people to work with the programs :P.
BZ Jun 11th 2008 6:34PM
Hah, the Agony update is far more than a simple cutout filter... if you think that's all it takes to do an update like that, you are sadly mistaken. Most prebuilt filters screw up lighting, contrast, color balance, all sorts of things... having worked with digital artwork professionally for almost 12 years, it's easy to see the artist put a lot more effort into that comic reel than just a simple filter job... he did a great job for sure.
Breck Jun 12th 2008 10:25AM
You're right, it's not just Cutout. It's Cutout and Poster Edges. Whoah, hard work running that extra filter!
vlad Jun 12th 2008 12:28PM
I have used photoshop frequently since version 4. cutout was added in 7. photoshop's cutout filter does not "screw up" lighting or color or contrast. in fact is uses the EXACT color contrast and lighting and color to produce its effect. its very easy and a 1 click/ 3 slide effect. simple.
ok, so he probably takes the all the extra time to click "auto adjust levels" & "auto adjust contrast". filtered pictures like this are how graphic designers amuse each other. its a joke. just press the "i just discovered the filters menu" button and poof. instant funny.
if 12 seconds in photoshop is art, then there are about 52,297,584,323 picasso's running around this planet.
Terrie-Lynn Jun 11th 2008 6:49PM
why does the art from AGONY have to be a male? alot of us "chics" are pretty creative.........thank you very much.
i think its a shame that Forte has disbanded. I can certainly understand where they are coming from. Nice to see that they went out with class & not "high school drama". :o)
Breck Jun 12th 2008 9:44AM
Here we go again. Run a photoshop filter on some screenshots and call it "art." If I was a modeler or texture artist at Blizzard I'd probably be pretty resentful of people taking my work, modifying it slightly, then claiming it as their own. It's the equivalent of taking a portrait painted by someone else, drawing a mustache on it with a marker, and then saying "Hey everyone! Look at my art!"
Not to mention, what they've done with these screenshots is utterly horrible. It looks like a big mess. Everything runs together and you can't make out any of the individual characters. Put a little more effort into it and then maybe I'll agree you've done something worth noting.
here is a thought Jun 12th 2008 12:06PM
can we see your counter example?
Breck Jun 12th 2008 12:15PM
Counter example? You mean WoW fan art that is worth noting? Just google "wow fan art." There are hundreds, probably thousands, of artists who spend hours to produce original work. Do any of these people ever get highlighted on wowinsider? Nope. All we get are people who spend 10 minutes playing around with filters in photoshop. That's not art.
Zali Jun 12th 2008 1:59PM
Breck,
To answer your question about drawing a mustache on the Mona Lisa, I would say that no drawing a mustache on a poster of the Mona Lisa isn't art, it is defacing art. Or at least a poster of art. The comparison is not really apt. We're talking apples and oranges.
Here is the difference. I would say that photography is art. I would also say that touching up photography is art as well. Perhaps it is a matter of taste and definition. For arguements sake, let us assume that there are three parties involved in any similar scenario concerning an object of art. The creator, the observer and the modifier.
The Creator: God/Nature/Mother Earth/Allah/et al
The Art/Object: A mountain view.
If the modifier does a little landscaping, plants a few other trees and flowers, perhaps adds a nature path with benches nice little brass signs describing the natural plant life then me, as the observer, would call that art.
If the modifier tossed a bunch of trash on the ground, I as the observer would call that littering.
If the modifier is.. say... Ansel Adams and takes really nice black and white photgraphs, then I call that art.... although black and white is really a distortion of the actual art of the creator, who created it in full color.
The Creator: Da Vinci
The Art/Object: the Mona Lisa
The Modifier: Draws a mustache
Observer: Me again... trash.
Modifier: uses a recreation in a tasteful setting.
Observer: Art.
Creator: Blizzard Devs and Artists
Modifier: Gamers who take screen shots of the virtual world and then change coloring and give it a more comic book look and add text bubbles, etc..
Observer: Me again... thats art. No different than a photographer who touches up their photos for artistic purposes.
Sorry mate, it was a good try and I had to think about it for a few minutes, but it really isn't the same arguement at all.
Zali Jun 12th 2008 10:46AM
Good lord, go torture kittens and puppy's and stop bringing your bad attitude here. The point is that some guilds go the extra mile.
If you think you can do better, then go right ahead. If not, then go find a therapist to help you get through your abusive parent issues or something. I find it hard to believe that such asshat behavior is just natural.
Why don't you put a little extra affort into not being such a prick.
Breck Jun 12th 2008 12:19PM
So, I guess you would call me a prick if I criticized someone who drew a mustache on a poster of the Mona Lisa and claimed it was art?
adam Jun 12th 2008 3:16PM
You know, the guy who created the killshots for Agony put in a large amount of effort in order to create awesome and unique updates for the guild site. The fact that you have to chime in and post negative comments really just goes to show how immature a person can be. If you don't like it, thats fine, just don't be a prick, simple isn't it. If it makes you feel any more important, over a few days work were put into these pictures in order to show off the guild achievements.
Shenele Jun 12th 2008 4:08PM
Its too over done ..but its kool......lololol
suckers!!!