Concept to Reality Series

Today I got to do something I've been wanting to start for Project Tyria. There are a couple of things I've had planned for the site for quite some time now, but never had the initiative to do it (Starting to feel like thief.) I went in search of concept art for designs I know I've seen in game, and went to match them up. So here's the first two pieces for the 'Concept to Reality" series of pictures I will be doing along side of comparison pictures of the games.
I'm really interested in this type of thing and it really goes along well with the before and after pictures theme. Please expect to see more from not only Guild Wars but also Guild Wars 2.

"Peasant house" in Lakeside County

Wizard's Tower in Wizard's Folly

Community News

Just bringing in some community news!

Gamersbook is having a really big contest- I mean it is kind of a big deal. Not only are they giving out copies of the game, but a lot of neat gaming items to go with it. I highly suggest entering; besides a little of your time, what do you have to lose?

If you have heard of Gamersbook, it's a social media site for gamers of any kind to meet and talk, much like you would on Facebook or Google+.

If you're interested in joining in the contest, go ahead and look at the rules here.

Last but not least, I'm working on getting some new comparison pictures together. Please keep with me as I attempt to find more and more places.

Project Tyria Panel

I'm making this post today to let everyone know that I've been spending time securing and getting ready for my first Guild Wars panel convention debut! The convention I will be attending is a rising Anime and Gaming convention in Atlanta, Georgia called Momocon. In the panel I will be discussing the lore of the two games (with as few spoilers between one or the other as possible.) If you're in the area, please come visit, I go on at 5:30pm Eastern US time this Saturday (March 9th).

If you can't make it, I'm planning on making a live broadcast of it while it is happening on my Twitch TV channel: twitch.tv/alucardalina. This is only if everything goes to plan (as in we need to make sure we have an internet connection when we get there.) I will not be able to vouch for the quality of the video, but I can assure you that either way, I will have a high quality version uploaded after the convention.

WoodenPotatoes has generously allowed me to use one of his videos in the panel, and I can't say how thankful I am for it. If you still aren't convinced that Momocon is something worth attending, Steve Blum (Voice of Rytlock) and Jennifer Hale (Voice of female sylvari and Queen Jennah) will be attending the convention (not specifically my panel). It'll be a good time to get those collectors edition prints signed.  I will also be debuting my Guild Wars 2 cosplay myself, in which I'll be wearing during the panel. I hope to see some of you join either in the room or in my channel!

Contest Winner

So it's finally time to reveal who our contest winner is! The process was rough, like really. As I was reading through the many comments, I had a tough time choosing because they were all so great and inspiring. I'm going to take a trip to each one this week and try and get a picture of the place described in my top 7. I meant to narrow it down to five, but it couldn't be helped. As promised, though, I put the seven through a random number generator and came out with one winner. I regret that I couldn't have multiple winners.

The winner is Ellemerr, whose writing style captivated me and won a spot in my favorites with their description of Ashford Abbey/Sardelac Sanitarium/Lakeside County. The RNG chose their number, which makes them very lucky. Their story is as follows:

"The sun is so weak, clouded in this red sky, that there’s hardly any light left at all. This is a world of shadow. But how much more cherished, then, isn’t the light that’s left? From a distance it seems to be glowing scarlet, a fire that doesn’t flicker, reflecting on every surface it can find – and there are many of them. Discarded metal lies forlorn in the dust; torn fences raise their rusty fingers to the heavens, and even the ash that covers the ground is glittering like grey snow, hiding microscopic diamonds in its charcoal caress. Even the huge crystal that made this land what it is now reflects the rays of the sun, shining with a morbid, mesmerizing vitality. It, too, stretch spikey arms in prayer into the clouds, parting them gently as it grasps for the stars from which it fell. Hanging low in the sky, the glowing sun-disc can only light up one side of anything, and so everything is a play of light and dark, beings of yin and yang… but when you look at the dark side, you can never shut the light out completely. It hugs your frame like a caring mother, giving you an aura of stars, making you almost saint-like despite all darkness. It doesn’t matter that your face is a mask of black, futureless and anonymous. This has always been a holy place, where the Goddess of the Heavens used to smile down on lush grass and smiling irises. You may think she’s abandoned us because her statue is torn down, her wings broken, but the sky is still here, and the eye of the sun is still smiling at us, and one day the grass will grow back. One day the sky will lift its red mourning veil and allow the light back into this place in full, and irises and children may once again grin and laugh at one another. But until that day, do not shun this place. Come, and look at the play of the light and shadow. Come, and tell me if this place can ever be more beautiful than it is right now… 
(Of course, it could, because of enhanced graphics. But I’m still going to love that place outside of Ashford Abbey/Sardelac Sanitarium and the light it showed me, forever.)"

I was so excited to revisit when I read this, and I did. Here is screenshot of exactly what I had pictured when I read this entry!

Our runner's up were (in no particular order):

• jjpt-photo@msn.com
• Sgx_d
• George Bullen
• Paani
• RoseofGilead
• Diint Siorus

Thanks again to everyone who entered, and I really love your writing (even if you didn't make it into the top)! I hope I can offer more contests in the future, and I will try my best to. Thanks again to ArenaNet for supplying me with this hefty prize!

Ellemerr, please contact me so we can discuss shipping information.

Progression of the Lions Arch Fountain.

Have you been watching the Lions Court fountain? I have and I collected screenshots for each of its transformations, a personal project I took on. The plan was to put them all together and upload them when the statue was complete again. As I'm sure they aren't finished destroying the fountain, I'll continue to take screenshots and piece them together. If you wished to see them all together or haven't seen all of the phases, I've put a collection together below. You can view each screenshot individually here.

Updated Lions Arch Comparisons

I've been meaning to do this for a while, but I went out and snapped new pictures of Old Lions Arch. The graphics have improved since the beta, which is what my older pictures date back to, I wanted to take new pictures to show the true beauty of this place. I tried to make them larger and higher res, but blogspot doesn't care to have them in high res. I'll go about other ways of getting them up later on.

Edit: I have them here, you can just click on the gear at the top of the image to view full resolution.

Contest Time!

  Hello everyone! Remember that announcement I promised to make? This is it! Project Tyria will be holding a contest! Ever wanted a collectors edition of Guild Wars 2, wanted to play the game, or just wanted a box with all the signatures of those working at Arenanet? Well, Arenenet has provided me with this autographed Guild Wars 2 Collectors edition to give out on the site in any way of my choosing. (Let's all give them a round of applause! This is truly is an amazing company that shows they care for their community.)

Of course, as I mentioned before, I decided to hold a contest to give this awesome prize away. The theme and rules of this contest?

The theme is: Describe your favorite location of the Guild Wars series.

Rules and tips:

• Keeping in theme with Project Tyria, I want you to write me at least a 100 word paragraph on your favorite location in either Guild Wars 1 or Guild Wars 2. Post it in the comments of this very announcement.
• From here, I will pick several different comments that impressed me the most and assign them a number. I will then number and choose one of these comments through a random number generator.
• I can only ship within the USA, because shipping anywhere else would hurt my finances too much.( I can ship to another country provided that you help me cover the difference in shipping costs- and be aware that the game itself may be region locked!)
  (Be aware that I live in a clean home with cats. If you are allergic, please mind that there may be a stray cat hair on the box, though I will try to make sure it doesn't happen.)
•  Haven't played the games but still want to participate? I have several screenshots on Project Tyria that can help. Find one you like and describe what you see in it, but make it convincing. Write as if you have actually played in that area before
• I will pick entries based on: creativity, how well the feeling of the piece is portrayed (try and make me feel what you do when you're there), and how well it is actually written (please don't use shortcuts like "r" for "are" and try and use punctuation.
• With all of this being said, please write it in English! I'm barely bilingual, so please use my native tongue.
• One entry per person! This contest is about quality, not quantity!
• The deadline is February 16th!
• Keep an eye out on the week of the 16th. I will announce the winner. If you are the winner, I'll then have to ask for your e-mail to contact you. 

Proof of the box with all of their creative signatures. 

If you don't know what's in the box already:

More Info Here

The physical items include:

• 10 inch figurine of Rytlock Brimstone
• 112-page Making of Guild Wars 2 book
• Best of Guild Wars 2 soundtrack CD
• Art portfolio with 5 art prints
• Custom art frame

The digital items include:

• Summon Mistfire Wolf Elite Skill 
• Miniature Rytlock
• Chalice of Glory
• Tome of Influence
• Golem Banker

There are more sites giving away an autographed collectors editions as well!
-Biobreak
-Under the Pale Tree
-Kill Ten Rats

I look forward to receiving all of your entries. Good luck!