Posts with tag hko-insider

Listen, our corporate overlords have forced us to write about Hello Kitty Online starting today, but there's something you should know about another game that rhymes with "Mold of Forcraft," so we're going to try to sneak this news under the radar.

We just wanted to remind you that the Consortium -- wait, I mean the Sanriotown Town Council is offering their free bag of, errr, gem stickers today to anyone with Friendly or higher reputation. It's a new month today, so stop by Gezhe of Aeris Landing -- um, I mean Cinnamoroll of Cafe Cinammon -- and claim your free gem... stickers. Man, this sucks.

Whoops, I mean we all love Hello Kitty Online and can't wait to keep playing and writing about it. Please kill me.

As Sanrio continues to build Hello Kitty Online into the amazing MMO we all know it can be, I sincerely hope they don't forget one of the most important aspects of any MMO: PvP. While it's true that purely PvP focused games such as Fury and Shadowbane often end up struggling, the fact remains that the segment of the MMO playing market that insists on being able to match their skills against their fellow players is too big to ignore.

But how do you properly implement PvP into the world of HKO without betraying the rich tapestry of lore and creating compelling reasons to PvP? Let's look at the latest PvP rumors after the break.

When I was told about the new change to the site, I wasn't sure what to think. However, after some research, I discovered that HKO machinimators are so much more talented than their WoW counterparts, save for Shepiwot, of course.

In the video that Sanrio Digital made to show off their upcoming MMO, it's obvious that you can literally do almost anything. I can't say enough about this machinima. From the cinematic quality to the music, it's perfect in every way. I can hardly wait to try my hand at some in-world footage!

(WoW Moviewatch fans, if you're out there, send machinima to machinima AT wowinsider DOT com and help me convince them that they've made the wrong choice. Oh no! They're coming for me!)

Previously on the feature previously known as WoW Moviewatch ...

Earlier this week, Abby, a Sanrio Community Manager, took the opportunity to remind us all that we should be careful about sending our personal information out via e-mail. Furthermore, any e-mails sent to addresses you never gave to the Sanrio community should be considered dangerous.

If the e-mail is from "onlinegame(at)hellokitty.com" then you can consider it safe, and if necessary, divulge certain personal information. As always, be wise; it's not just your account information, but your identity, that is at stake when it comes to scams.

If you are not on the master list, you should not be receiving e-mails about beta testing at all.

Although Abby promises that all information that you send them will be kept private, it is important to note that if your e-mail address ever appears in print it will appear partially, so that you will never be hounded by spambots. As much of a fan as I am, I'd like to keep my inbox free of "Keroppi enlargement" advertisements, thanks (we've all been there).

Have you received any curious or suspicious e-mails purporting to be official? If so, remember to click "report as phishing scam" with your e-mail service provider.

I usally don't say much about this addon, but because of our format change, I feel like I can finally share this gem. Many of you will surely call me many bad things for profiling this addon, but I must share it now that we've officially become HKO Insider. I really love this addon and will endorse it as a game-changing mod that gives you a serious advantage when rolling for loot. I wouldn't dare do this before, but I want to share the power of advanced algorithms and computer science with all of you who have been missing out on loot rolls. I'm telling you, HighRoller is your friend!

Cairenn over at WoWInterface.com originally tipped me off to this a few days ago, which is why I've shown so much love to their site. Think of me what you will, but wouldn't you want to help those who gave you the keys to the castle? The folks over at MMO-Champion are going nuts over this one. Read on, my friends, and take a ride on the phat lootz train!

15 Minutes of Fame is our look at World of Warcraft Hello Kitty Online players of all shapes and sizes – both the renowned and the relatively anonymous.

Since all the hardcore HKOers are locked up in Hello Kitty Online's closed beta NDA agreement, this week's 15 Minutes of Fame chats with a young MMO player who is anxiously awaiting her turn in the Flower Kingdom. Six-year-old Amillia, a level 23 warrior on Argent Dawn and CakeMania 2 fan, enjoys the occasional hour online under the watchful eye of her mother and big brother -- but longs for the day when she can accept new quests from Hello Kitty herself.

15 Minutes of Fame: So, Amillia, when your days of Cleaving are over, what are you most looking forward to in Hello Kitty Online?
Amillia: Oooh, making my room. It just sounds so great! I want to do harvesting and go in other people's places and stores. None of my friends play World of Warcraft, but I hope that their moms will let them get Hello Kitty Online so we can play together. I hope my character looks just like me -- or maybe a little sweet kitty. I want a pink bow in my hair with flowers on it.

Did you apply to the HKO beta?
I wanted to, but we didn't have time to do the video thing, so we couldn't. We decided to wait for the game.

The latest episode of our weekly podcast is now up and available for your listening pleasure over at WoW Radio (and it seems like Duncor's been messing with the show titles over there). WoW Insider's Eliah Hecht, John Petricelli sat down with me and "the inimitable" Turpster last Saturday and chatted, as usual, about the biggest news in the past week of Hello Kitty Online. On the agenda:

• Lots of talk about everything to be found in the new Sanrio Magic Terrace instance, including Eliah's great writeup about all of the monsters and pet cards you can find in there.
• What we think of all the new daily quests on the Sunny Well Isle, including that one where you have to make a bombing run to pass out cupcakes to unicorns.
• All the unofficial changes in the latest patch as well, from the sound effect of Hello Kitty's gardening power to Badtz-Maru's new emote animation.

Plus, we read a little reader email (you can email us at theshow@wow.com), and we tracked Turpster's progress in his (probably) never-ending quest to level up a character to 70 before Wrath of the Lich King -- if he doesn't make it, he'll be banned from the Flower Kingdom forever.

Definitely check out the podcast if you need something to listen to while you redecorate your Hello Kitty house!

In an exclusive interview with HKO lead developer Hey'wod ya' Saiev'mie, it was revealed that because of the extreme ease and uselessness Paladins provide in World of Warcraft, they have been removed from WoW and transfered to HK Online. Those players that have Paladin will no doubt be happy since they'll finally be able to play a useful role in an online game. All accounts with Paladin mains will receive a free copy of HKO, and 3 days of play time.

In response to the outcry of support in the Paladin forums, Blizard CM Csyrd said "We are glad Paladins are finally happy. Our goal has always been to make them stop crying." Newly appointed HKO CM Ahol Isk'y said "Hopefully the Paladin community will appreciate their new opportunity to tank mice and the occasional dog. Of course this is nothing like Illidan, but it's a start, right?"

When word came from upstairs that we were switching over to HKO Insider, I was afraid that was the end of Know Your Lore. It turns out, HKO's lore is far superior to Warcraft's lore. For one thing, Hello Kitty is consistent. For two, it is adorable. For three, it has hit the perfect mix of humor and drama, something that WoW could never, ever do.

I've personally fallen in love with a character that goes by the name of Keroppi. The name Keroppi originates from the sound frogs are said to make in Japan, 'kero,' and the word 'ppi' which means 'giant leaps bring faith and forgiveness to all men'. Keroppi comes from a relatively large, well-rounded family. His father is a doctor, his mother is a chef, and he is one out of a set of non-identical triplets. He and his siblings, Koroppi and Pikki, are all very unique from one another in all but appearance. In fact, Koroppi(meaning 'holy crap they look the same' and 'no seriously') and Keroppi are often mistaken for one another, which certainly doesn't make life in the region of Donut Pond very easy.

Today's screenshot -- the first in our new HKO series -- features one of the most intimidating monsters of Flower Kingdom. This shot was taken immediately before the beast ripped out the photographer's throat in revenge. If you have seen this beast, please do not attempt to remove the hat! Removal of hat may result in loss of limbs and/or eyeballs. Thanks to Jean of kittyhell for this cute as a button shot!

Do you have any unusual HKO images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? We'd love to see it on Around Flower Kingdom! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com (still haven't upgraded the name) with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!

Remember to include your player name, server and/or guild if you want it mentioned. We prefer full screen shots without the UI showing. And please, send us a ton of sunsets! There's nothing we like more than sunsets!

Rumor has it that some of your favorite characters will be featured in the upcoming MMO as country leaders! In the spirit of Amanda Dean's Azerothian General Elections, I thought it would be fitting to find out who are the fan favorites for leaders of Sanrio.

Let's take a look at the personalities and platforms of the candidates, shall we?

A. Hello Kitty (London, England): Hello Kitty believes that friendship is the key to peace and economic stability. If elected, she promises to hold free friendship seminars and events, including trust falls, group therapy, communal gardening and a buddy system. Other key issues in her platform include the "Cookies for Love" campaign, fair market prices, and staying in school. If elected, she will be bringing Charmmy Kitty on as her advisor.

The marketing and merchandising machine can be quite a thing to behold, especially when it comes to Hello Kitty. The possibilities for themed merchandise seem to be endless. Here is a list of some of my favorites:

1. The Hello Kitty scooter.
2. Hello Kitty credit card, checking account, and free (exclusive) Hello Kitty business card holder upon qualifying.
   
3. Some Hello Kitty baked goods.
4. A Barbie doll. Not just any, either; this one comes decked from head to toe in Hello Kitty merchandise.
5. Booze. Yes folks, even Hello Kitty supports booze, this time in the form of wine.

What's the coolest, or most unique Hello Kitty item that you own? Do you make your own items, buy them from official shops, or try to score limited edition merchandise?

It can be really hard to be new to any game or community. Sometimes you just don't know what to do or if a question has been asked before. Have no fear! It's not scary at all to join the community on Hello Kitty Online. There are lots of nice, helpful, fun people who can't wait to be your friend.

Hello Kitty Online's forum moderators have instituted a positive posting policy. The guidelines are written to make sure that everyone is nice to each other and new members feel safe and secure posting to the website. If you're interested in posting on the Hello Kitty Online forums, make sure you follow these guidelines that were posted by Ishida:

Sanrio Digital, showing a dedication to content creation and fan service that other game companies could definitely learn from, has already started in with some exciting news for Hello Kitty fans everywhere. Despite not being out of Closed Beta yet, It's been confirmed that Hello Kitty Online will have an expansion in 2009: Hello Kitty Island Adventures!

The expansion will open with Hello Kitty and her friends (Including you, the player) crash landing on a desert island while on Hello Kitty Air flight 337 to the 5th World Cuteness Symposium in Perth, Australia. That's right, in a gutsy move that should rightly earn them the applause of MMO designers everywhere, Sanrio Digital is shaking things up and actually shrinking the game world to one desert island, giving Hello Kitty faithful a whole new area to explore and giving them a break from the humdrum environs of places like Mari Land and Nightengale Lane. Join us after the break for a rundown of some of the other features you can expect!

There's just so much to love about Hello Kitty Online, the new game that we're now covering (thanks to a decision by the higher ups at AOL) 24/7. Maybe you love the character customization -- you can change your hair (why wait until some frozen expansion to do that, right?), clothes, accessories, shoes, or even your facial features. Or maybe it's farming, mining, cooking, tailoring, or one of the many other professions in the game (no Inscription but that sucked anyway, if you ask us). Or maybe it's just doing a little interior decorating -- unlike another game that we used to cover, HKO is going to have player housing from the start.

Yep, there are many, many things to love about Sanrio's upcoming game (not least of them the cutest characters ever made -- say what you will about Ragnaros, but nobody ever wanted to hug him). On this, our first HKO Insider Breakfast Topic ever, we're asking: what's your favorite part of Hello Kitty Online?