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Blizzard’s Absurdly Good Customer Service

After my girlfriend procured the Summon Loot Crate, I was left with the stuff she didn’t want. There were two things she tossed to me: a Hearthstone stress ball, shaped like the stone that has teleported many a WoW player to sanctuary; and a Hearthstone coin with a free pack of cards on the back. I let those free pack of cards sit for about a week before I decided to fire up my old account and sling some cards around. It was then that I ran into a bit of a roadblock. . .

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I get locked out of my account a lot. . .

Unfortunately, Battle.net hasn’t been a service I’ve kept up with. The last time I tried to make an account, I had to create a new email, which is never fun. Frustrated and wanting to use my normal email, I hopped into Blizzard’s Customer Service Chat, looking to get my password reset.

Awesomely enough, the helpful folks behind this service role-play the whole situation. These Game Masters choose names that would fit among the people of Azeroth and use dialect when typing. It took a bit of poking around, but after some time, we finally got my account linked to my preferred email. While opening up my Hearthstone client, a thought occurred to me.

Game Masters usually speak in character, making that experience more personalized.
Game Masters usually speak in character, making that experience more personalized.

“Can you help me get into my old World of Warcraft account? I kinda want to see how my old Rogue is doing,” I asked the Game Master with obvious doubt.

The Game Master said, “Sure, just give me your character’s name and any other detail you can remember. We’ll try to find him.” Of course, I spouted everything I could remember. Sardeth is a Forsaken Rogue who I hadn’t seen since 2003. I had only spent about four months in Azeroth before moving on to other games, but I had fond memories of following my friend through dungeons, picking up stuff everyone else wanted. They called me a Ninja or something, it’s been so long.

Sardeth's adventures were happening right as the Lich King grew to power.
Sardeth’s adventures were happening right as the Lich King grew to power.

There are some products on the market that promise an improvement in viagra from india online your overall health. As a result there is blood flow into the wholesale cialis price male’s genital part and hence helps in maintaining and enhances crucial blood flow. Men usually feel very embarrassed to talk about viagra soft tablets the desperate effects it controls on the afflicted men. They regularly test their amerikabulteni.com online levitra cholesterol, blood sugar, and high triglycerides can damage arteries present in the heart, brain and male organ, they could be risky for men with serious heart, liver and kidney problems. After about twenty minutes of playing practice matches in Hearthstone, the Game Master came back with, “I think I found something. It appears that a few years ago Sardeth was stolen from your account by a hacker.”

Being that I hadn’t much attachment to anything that character had, I wasn’t surprised or upset. “Tell you what,” the Game Master said, “Let me transfer him and your other characters to your preferred account.”

Blown. Away.
Blown. Away.

Needless to say, I was blown away by this service. I asked about Sardeth on a whim, not caring if it couldn’t be done, but on sheer curiosity. The Game Master assured me that, “Sardeth is alive and well. Well, as much as an Undead can be. . .”

Azeroth's Undead have always been a lively bunch.
Azeroth’s Undead have always been a lively bunch.

This whole endeavor happened around 2 a.m. Not sure what time it was there, but the fact that Blizzard’s services are this helpful gave me a new respect for the company. Just because of this Game Master’s kind gesture, I’ll be logging into World of Warcraft soon for a long awaited visit with an old friend.

It has been many years, my friend.
It has been many years, my friend.

Blizzard has the best customer service of any company I’ve ever dealt with. My thanks knows no bounds. Helping players out, especially when it comes to an MMORPG, is an aspect Game Designers and companies need to take into great consideration. Blizzard makes for an excellent role model.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Avengers

So, the wonderful people at DK publishing teamed up with Marvel to release Marvel’s The Avenger’s Encyclopedia.

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Granted, when you see the word encyclopedia, “fun” is probably the furthest thing from one’s mind, but reading is fundamental, right? It is just what it says it is: a comprehensive look at one of Marvel’s most expansive and encompassing franchises. All the big names like Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Incredible Hulk, etc. seen in the recent Marvel movies are examined through key storylines, which provide origin stories up to current cannon. 4dd32f684b5c4f74b3034bcf2befc11f

Where the book truly shines is in connecting lesser-known Avengers to the overarching universe. Long time fans already know about Spiderman, Wolverine, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and the like being members of different iterations of Avenger teams, but seeing names like Sandman, Venom, Squirrel Girl, and Mr. Fantastic may come as a surprise. Finding out how they became part of various Avengers factions and their role with the team is always interesting.   I have to say, my favorite part is the major storyline synopsis in between chapters.

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For those of you who do not have access to a towering comic book collection, Marvel’s The Avenger’s Encyclopedia has you more than covered. They introduce the arc and provide a point by point breakdown of what happened and how it impacted the Avengers or, in some cases, the Marvel universe.

All in all, this is a real straightforward situation. If you have love for anything Marvel, you want to learn more about your favorite characters, or you’re looking for a good way to get into something new, this book is definitely the move.

You can purchase Marvel’s The Avenger’s Encyclopedia for $40 on the DK website.

Artist Alley: Dan Mora

Dan MoraDan Mora is an up and coming artist  with Boom Comics. Coming straight from Hexed, he is now signed on for the up and coming series Klaus.

I have had the wonderful privilege of being able to chat with Dan many times. Now that Hexed is over, I thought this would be a great time to ask a few questions about the Michael Alan Nelson written series:

 

 Tell us a little bit about Hexed.

It was a pretty good book with a wonderful history about a girl who steals magic artifacts.

How did you get into Hexed?

It was my first assignment when I first started to work with BOOM, my editor thought that it will fit with my illustration style.

Who was your favorite character to draw?

The Harlot, she was a spooky crazy lady, it was very fun to draw.

 Was it the character or the story that made you pick that character as a favorite?

It was a little of both, her attitude made me draw her in very strange body language and the design of the creature was always fun to draw.

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Hexed

Did you come up with the concepts of Val and Lucifer based off the older artwork or did you throw your own spin on them?

I tried to stick with the designs of Emma Rios at first, but as time passed I began to add some details about the characters.

Were the images done traditional or digital in Hexed?

Unfortunately, they were all digital.

Do you prefer digital or traditional methods for illustrating comics?

Now that I’m working in the traditional way I can say that I prefer a million times the traditional way.

What inspired you to work in comics?

I always liked the superheroes and it was always in my mind that the perfect job to me would be to become a comic book artist.

What is the piece you are most proud of?

I think Hexed # 8 is my favorite.

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Old drawings from a dead newspaper

What is your typical day when working on a comic?

I wake up, make coffee, then work all morning in my pages, make lunch, more coffee, keep working until the night and at last watch some movie or go out.

How long does it take to do a single page (average 6 panels)?

In a very productive day I can finish two pages both pencils and inks.

Who are your inspirations?

That is a long list! The first names that came into my head are, Bruce Timm, Darwyn Cooke, Paul Pope and Mike Mignola.

 What is the current project you are working on?

Right now I´m working on Klaus, the secret origin of Santa Klaus

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Klaus

What is your dream project?

There are so many dream projects, but I think the one I really really want is to draw some pages for Deadpool.

 If you could pick anyone to act as your mentor, who would it be?

Bruce Timm.

 Have you done anything at a convention, as in had a table in artist alley or a booth or been a guest?

Sadly no, I’m really new in this world.

Have people ever cosplayed your work?

Yes! And it was an amazing sensation!

How has the industry changed since you first started?

Not really much, I’m very new in all this, I just under 2 years.

 

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Fan Requested Questions:

Was drawing the monsters/creatures more interesting than humans with powers?

YES, the estrange forms are always more interesting to draw.
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How did you come up with the Thief outfit design?

I tried to merge the Harlot character with the spirit of Lucifer and then give it some classic design.

Would you keep working on Hexed if you have the chance?

Yes of course, Hexed was amazing and it was such a great experience, I loved to work with Michael and I would do it again without thinking twice.

Fun time:

 Who is your favorite comic book character?

Deadpool or Batman. I don’t really know which to pick.

Deadpool Cowboy by Dan Mora
Deadpool Cowboy

Who is your favorite author(books)?

Mark Millar.

What is your favorite movie?

Back to the Future.

What is your favorite band/music artist?

Don’t have a favorite I think.

What is a quirk you have (like dipping fries into chocolate Sunday)?

I like to eat Ice cream with cola and watch some funny movie.

Pick:

Day or night

Day

Star trek or star wars

Star Wars

Coffee or tea

Coffee one dozen times

Summer or winter

Summer

Cats or dogs

Dogs

Batman or Superman

Batman

Low Tech Batman
Low Tech Batman by Dan Mora

Movies or a book

Movies

Pizza or Burgers

Burgers

Coke or Pepsi

Pepsi

 For those wanting to see more of Dan Mora’s work you can find him on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Next issue release date of current project:

Klaus with Grant Morrison,  Nov 4, 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

Mario Maker Hands Players the Keys to the Mushroom Kingdom

Ever since my early days of squawking at my cousin Axl to let me play Super Mario Bros 3 during his summer visits, I’ve wanted to make my own Mario levels. I even drew out a few during those humid months, using crayons, markers, anything I could get my hands on. The toys in my room were usually arranged in some sort of level as well. Needless to say, Nintendo hit me in the childhood with Mario Maker.

Mario Maker has that weird Japanese feel to it. It’s off-beat with its menus and sound effects, but its goals of being a tool to make Mario levels are met with unprecedented success. Never before has the act of game design been so simple. A concept can rapidly become a product in a matter of minutes. Will the level make players cry for mercy or make them smile?

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Enemies can be stacked to create towers of mayhem.

Being able to build levels in four different Mario styles is a blast. What’s interesting is that many assets mix into styles they were never in before. For example, Bowser Jr. is available by giving dear old dad a shake, which can make for an interesting boss fight or just an obstacle to clear. Even new ways to play emerge with items like the Clown Car or Latiku’s Cloud. These items open up free flight, giving a whole range of options to builders.

Making levels isn’t everything though. Players who seek insane challenges will also find enjoyment with Mario Maker. The game supports many of the Wii U’s controllers, so players can grab their favorite and have a go at some levels in Course World with comfort. Filters can be used to find the hardest or most appreciated levels. You can also follow Makers like any modern social media site. Personally, I enjoy finding my favorite YouTube personalities through Twitter; their levels are usually pretty cool!

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Pipes are now the homes of all sorts of things. . .

Of course, the major complaint behind Mario Maker is how the assets are unlocked. The more time you spend making levels, the more you unlock. Supposedly, a patch was added to speed up this process, but no matter how many levels I made, it seemed like I still had to wait until the next day for the shipment of assets to arrive. This does, however, force the player to build upon schema by using what’s available. Sometimes, the best concepts would come to me by being limited. I don’t think I would’ve messed with the New Super Mario Bros U mode if it wasn’t for that initial limitation; however, by doing so, I made some interesting levels involving the wall-jump mechanics in that mode.

Of course! Now let’s compare that with another statistical data that says that 82% of married women prefer cunnilingus over any other sexual act! 82%!!!! A man dealing with erectile dysfunction viagra sale can bring so much pleasure to a female. You can easily get rid of this trouble such as teasing her while she is cooking, sending her/him erotic messages, snuggling levitra without prescription while watching television together etc. Watching Too Much Pornography A survey in 2013 disclosed that men who watch porn per hour, suffer from low self esteem, poor viagra prices performance in bed and low sexual satisfaction. Functions like muscle contractions, hormonal secretion, blood flow, emotions and vardenafil india above all, the brain. The absolutely seamless transitions between modes, backgrounds, and level types gives the game a fluid feel. It opens the door for experimentation, especially when makers can tap an icon to try a segment as a player or switch game modes altogether. There’s also a Mario Path that can be toggled when unlocked, allowing makers to build sinister, precise jumps. Just about any feature a maker could want is possible in Mario Maker.

There are tons of unlockable sprites for use in the original Super Mario Bros style. A mystery mushroom grants makers the ability to put one of a hundred Nintendo characters into play, each with their own sound effects and animations. Unlocking these quirky characters can take a lot of time by playing the 100 Mario Challenge in Course World, but every Amiibo currently available unlocks a sprite, which is great for those of us addicted to the hunt of plastic figures.

Well, some are more quirky than others. . .
Well, some are more quirky than others. . .

All in all, Mario Maker is a charming game that gives players the chance to build levels for Mario to traverse. The excellent interface and flawless execution shows off Nintendo’s quality seal. There are tons of unlockables to find, and being that this is a community-driven game, it can hold unlimited hours of play. The joy of this game comes from its potential as millions of makers set out to create unique levels.

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Already, millions of levels have been made. Click this to play more!

Lastly, I challenge all of our Giga Makers to send us some levels. They could show up in a YouTube video or Twitch stream. I’ll be devising my own to share as well.

The future of Mario Maker is bright, but first, it has to be built.

King of Fighters 14 Announced for PS4!

SNK Playmore announced at the Sony’s Tokyo Games press conference earlier this week that King of Fighters, a 21-year-old fighting game franchise, will return as a PlayStation 4 exclusive next year with King of Fighters XIV.

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This came as a surprise since the last KOF game was released in 2010 in arcades and in 2011 on consoles. With SNK Playmore shifting focus to pachinko games in Japan, it was figured KOF was dead. Granted, KOF XIII would’ve been a great game to go out on, but at one point this franchise was a serious competitor—at least in Japan—with Capcom’s Street Fighter series. Now, once again, Capcom will have to contend with KOF since Street Fighter V will also be released as a PS4 exclusive in 2016.
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Some have complained that the graphics look subpar, even going so far as to call them “ugly” or compare them to the King of Fighters: Maximum Impact games on PS2. Well, this is a teaser trailer for a work in progress. Besides, the linchpin with all video is always gameplay.

Personally, as a fighting game fan, with this and SFV exclusively on the PS4, I have more incentives than ever to get the new Sony console.