Happy New Year!

The YEAR OF CHAOS is about to begin...

Friends, thank you for the best year ever! Before the highly anticipated insanity of 2010 begins, let us take a moment to look back over the year... and chuckle at all of the victories, train-wrecks and embarrassing moments that we shared together.

As you may recall, we launched AQWorlds just before the start of 2009. The game was brand new and did not even have a story yet. I was shocked when I realized how many things did not exist until this year. Thanks to your ideas, suggestions and very appreciated encouragement, the team accomplished....

211+
Weekly Releases 
between our 5 games this year!!

• The storyline began!
  The intro of the game where Drakath first appeared, slew Sepulchure and mortally wounded King Alteon
• Our first game-wide Wars!
  We battled side by side against millions of monsters in a massively multiplayer version of the wars for the first time.
• Housing was released!
• The 1st Lord of Chaos: Escherion
  In a zone inspired by the artwork of MC Escher, players battled their first Chaos Lord. Escherion is a battle mage with the power of inversion.
• The 2nd Lord of Chaos: The Twins
  The Twins were originally balanced, once offering good advice and one offering bad... until Drakath intervined, and secretly replaced the good one with... well, that is a story for next year. The Twins have not been fought and currently only appear during one-time-only special events.
• The 3rd Lord of Chaos: Vath
  The 3rd Chaos Lord is a Dark Elf DragonLord. Controlling a giant Dragon named Stalagbite he took control of the Dwarfhold Mountains and the mystic forge within.
• The 4th Lord of Chaos Revealed: Kitsune
  Inspired by Artix's adventures to the far East, Yokai Isle features anime-spoofs and famous Japanese monsters that you may never have heard of!
• 18,000 Mages Teleported the town of Battleon
  In order to move the town from the path of an on-coming meteor, all of the mages of the world united to cast a giant teleportation spell. On the first attempt, we landed above Gravelyn's evil fortress. 
  
• AQWorld's goes widescreen!
  Eveyr map in the game was resized to our new, bigger screensize.
• Voltaire Friday the 13th Event
  Our first live event with a musical guest star! 32,000 players showed up for the 1st live event crushing the servers like a peanut under an elephant's foot. Then, there was a second Friday the 13th... and we did another one with hourly shows!
• Artix, Twilly & Zorbak visited Japan
  
• Warpforce, our 1st Expansion was released!
  The team that runs the original AdventureQuest created a full spin off game taking classic AQ style game play to the stars.
• The MechQuest ArtBook
  Our first artbook! Created at the lab by Johnny Atomic, Aisha and the team, it is BEAUTIFUL! (and full of Artix's bad grammar and typos). See for yourself
• NPC's got those pop-up thingies
  It might not sound like a big deal, but it really added a lot to the game!
• DragonCon 2009!!!
  Best convention ever! We ran a panel and players came dressed as J6, Escherion, Tek, Yulgar, Cleric Joy, and Ash! One player (Sunbrella) even flew all the way from New Zealand to come meet us! As usual Zorbak took lots of pictures! Oh, we also went to JCON this year which was a blast!
• Special Events
  
  
  • SuperBowl (& Moglin Punting)
  • Hero's Heart Day
  • St. Patrick's Day Drakel Cannon
  • Mother's Day
  • Earth Day
  • 40th Anniversary of landing on the Moon
  • Father's Day
  • Ninja Day
    What!? I do not remember a Ninja day. exactly the point. Ninjas are very sneaky!
  • Independance Day (US & Canadia)
  • Graduation Shop
  • Talk like a PIRATE Day, "ARRRRRR!!!"
  • Mogloween (Cauldron Sisters, the Thriller!)
  • Harvest Festival (Oishii & Turdrakens)
  • Frostval (Hungry for Cookies?)
    
  
  
  
• The Save Chuckles Movement
  It was an inside joke started by players that spiraled out of control, ending with a T-shirt and the world's cheesiest infomercial.... it called for the return of Sepulchure's laugh-aholic skeletal sidekick (who originated from DragonFable!)
• The PTR: Stats and PvP began
  The biggest and most important project of the year finally opened giving players (and the staff) a glimpse of upcoming PvP and player stats. (PTR Server - currently , Member only)
• Forum Contests
  We many fun contests on the forums this year... here are a few of the most memorable!
  
  
  • House Decorating Contest
  • The Ballyhoo Commercial Contest
  • Pumpkin Carving Contest
  • Holiday Cookie Contest
  
  
  
• DoomKnight Released!
  Doooooooooom...... then Beleen forces us to make Pretty Pretty Pink DoomKnight armor for the girls.
• 1st TV Commecial
  With footage inspired by the players, voice acting recorded in Artix's bathroom and edited on $99 off-the-shelf video software... it was shown nationally on major channels including Cartoon Network, Nickleodon, and MTV! (Older version)
• AQWorlds gets a 10+ rating by the ESRB
  We also joined TrustE, which is a highly respected privacy protection program. While you and the players already know we are honest and responsible, it is nice having major organizations give us their stamp of approval!
• Golden OnSlaught
  (AQWorld's 1st Birthday Party)
  Twig was left alone to decorate... cake, presents and Sweetish Fish as far as the eye could see. Meanwhile, a ground of overzealous Knight's kidnapped the entire staff (It was so funny how Cysero was trapped in a chalk circle and could not cross it.) In order to save them EVERY player in the game turned undead and joined Gravelyn's army of darkness in the most bizzare rescue mission EVER. Epic win. In the end, the heroes were rescued, the knights of the Golden Onslaught joined the players and their former leader, Maxmillian Lionfang, excaped... and ran into the Chaos Lord(s) known as The Twins. You can still get wallpapers from ArtixWallpapers.com
  
• Interview in in Beckett's GAMER Magazine
  AQWorlds appeared in a magazine for the first time (both last month, and it will again next month.)
• The AQWorld's Deady 8" Vinyl Figure
  We released a collector's figure with Voltaire. ALL the units we had available to sell from the lab were sold out in a weekend.... behind the scenes we created a brand new online store called HeroMart. (If you are not a Hero, we also made VillianMart) 
  
• EpicDuel, our 5th Game was released!
  Titan & Nightwraith officially became part of Artix Entertainment and got access to hardware and talent to build EpicDuel even better.
• AQWorlds is at 14 Million Free accounts
  X weapons, x friends, x armors, (Zhoom is getting the numbers for me still... he said right after the release.) and one extremely hyper, radio-active hampster powered database server.
• Master Account System goes into Alpha!
  "The One Login to Rule them All!"
  While still in development, it is going to allow for cross game achievements, item unlocking, friends lists, contentests for our community and more!
• Cysero had a baby!
  Well, not him personally. Little Jack, the future harvester of missing left socks, was born on Dec 26th!
• Signed Charity Auction Poster for $15,000!??
  When new posters were created for the secret underground lab, there was one made at a different size. Cysero suggested that instead of just hanging it on the wall, that we auction it for the Child's Play Charity. With hopes of sending $100 to $200... the team was SHOCKED when bidding closed at $14,999.42. 100% of the proceeds will go to the Child's Play Charity which helps sick kids in Children's Hospitals.

Now.... are you ready for everything that is about to happen in 2010? Battle on in the New Year friends!

The New Release

Fireworks have already been added to Battleon… so let’s ring in 2010 by blowing some stuff up! Makes complete sense, right?
Played DragonFable as of late? If so, you might recognize the newest… he loves SCIENCE and goes by the name of Lim! Since Cysero is off being a new Daddy, Lim has decided to help set up things for the New Year Party.
But some baddies have showed up, putting a damper on the New Year festivities (which include bundles of fireworks, new items, and a gigantic crystal Countdown Ball). While Lim makes wire cable repairs in an all-new map, specially made for New Years, it will be up to you to slay the power-cable gnawing monsters, including Ice Master Yeti!

So come celebrate 2010 with your friends and family as you watch the giant Countdown Ball drop in the famous Time’s Rectangle! (It’s kinda like a Square, but with longer sides) In the middle of this new map, a massive crystal ball is perched on a pole, slowly counting down to the new decade. A timer is beneath it too, showing you the exact time left until the arrival of 2010! Everyone is going to be there!

The Gift Boxes open on New Year’s Day!
These are the last days of 2009. The time has come to reflect on all of the great memories and achievements of the year… and also your last chance to obtain your Gift Boxes from the giant red bag in Battleon! At midnight (or close to it) on New Years Day, the presents will magically unwrap (you will have to relogin in to see them) so you can start 2010 off on the right track—with a brand new Armor, Sword, 


Cape, Helm, and Pet!
The entire Staff at Artix Entertainment (and me!) wants to wish you a Happy New Year! Our warmest wishes go out to your friends and family and everyone else who is a part of the AQW Family. The new year is rapidly approaching, so what better time than ever to celebrate everyone’s hard work with a huge New Years celebration! We could not have done this without you, so thank you for making AQWorlds your favorite MMORPG in 2009… and we will see you again next year… which happens to be in a few days!

Tinsels Presents unlocked!

Final Release of the YEAR!

Only 4 days left until 2010 begins...

But there are only three days left until our release. During the holidays, our friendly team is reduced to a skeleton crew*. While Cysero, has his hands full (photo-shopping by Aisha) we are getting the in-game fireworks and creating the chilliest release of the year for you. Wish us luck! Do not forget, your giftboxes will open soon. We really hope you like what is inside! If you have other fun or interesting ideas for New Years, please let us know on the forums!P.S. The 31st is Nythera's birthday (and mine too) So pretty please, stop sending Beleen ideas to help her plot her pretty-pretty-pink themed gift of doom to torture me with.
Charity Auction
Meanwhile, we are auctioning a one-of-a-kind Xan poster signed by the AE team for the Child's Play Charity. The bidding is currently up to.... WHAAAAAA!? $13,399.83. It ends VERY shortly. All proceeds go directly to Child's Play through eBay's charity system.
2010 is the YEAR OF CHAOS
To kick off new year we will return to Yokai Isle and quest, uninturrupted, to reach the ultimate showdown with the most powerful Chaos Lord we have ever seen! Meanwhile, is Ryoku STILL charging up*?
* Wait.. what? UNDEAD!?!?!?!? I LOVE THE HOLIDAYS! 
**  "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Yup.

Cysero's got a son!

Yesterday, December 26th, 2009 at 11:41 AM, my son Jack was born!

Yeah, I Drew That On His Hat In Paint.

Jack was 7 pounds, 11 oz, and just about 20 inches long.

Bekah went into labor at about 12:45 AM on Christmas night, and 11 hours later our son arrived, healthy and strong. Bekah is still tired and sore, but also healthy and happy to be a mommy. It was a long night but very worth it and I'm so glad that I was there right next to Bekah the whole time.

Thanks to everyone on Facebook and Twitter for all the Gratz and support!

I'll be working from home for a while, being a dad and taking proper care of my beloved, but don't think that I'm leaving for long. I couldn't stay away from making games if I tried!

Besides, I have to introduce Jack to weird Uncle Artix as soon as I can.

I hope you guys have had a great holiday season... this has been my very best Frosval ever!

Merry Christmas!

A VERY Merry Christmas from me at Aqworlded!

So what did you get. Any cool presents? 

Leave a comment below...

New frostval release

Major moglins quests guide below...

 A shipment of brand-new items has arrived—and just in time, too! Since the magical season of giving is currently underway, what better time than ever to release a bunch of brand-new weapons, armors, pets, and house furnishings for you to deck your halls (and inventory bags) with!

• 6 New Weapons: Coal Mace, Pulsing Coal Staff, Coal Staff, Pulsing Golden Staff, Golden Staff, and the Golden Mace
  
  
• 3 New Helms: Santy Claws Moglin Morph, Golden Moglin Brawler Morph, and the Golden Moglin Morph
  
  
• 3 New Armors: Santy Claws Moglin Suit, Golden Moglin Brawler, and the Golden Moglin Suit
  
  
• 3 New Pets: Tiny Santy Claws, Pair of Golden Moglins, and a single Golden Moglin
  
  
• 1 New Cape: Golden Moglin on your back
  
  
• 6 New House Items: Xan Wall Poster, Golden Moglin Statue, Decorated Frostval Tree, Two Moglins in a Frostval Tree, Tiny Frostval Tree, and the Undecorated Frostval Tree.

Scroll down for major moglins quest guide!

WOAH… that sure is a lot of items… and that sure is a lot of PINK text! I bet Artix is ganna love this Design Notes post when he sees it… =D
So what’s the deal with all the Gold stuff? Well, have you ever read the classic tale of ‘Twas The Night Before Frostval? No? Well that’s about to change!

This completely original story has been passed down through Moglin generations. ‘Twas the Night Before Frostval tells a tale of holiday Heroes, a villainous creature by the name of Santy Claws, and the true meaning of this magical season. Aaaand it all rhymes, too! As you read through the pages of the story, new zones, new monsters, new adventures, and new items will welcome you! Interested? Head to the town of Frostvale and speak with Major Moglin to embark on this timeless one-of-a-kind classic quest!

Creative Cookie (and holiday dessert) Contest Winners!
Yummers! The winners have been announced! With so many delectable entries, it was too hard to pick just one winner… so instead, we picked 53. That’s right—53 scrumptious holiday desserts are on display for you to feast your eyes on! Congratulations and thanks to everyone who participated. Check out the winners on the Events Page!

Battle On and Warm Wishes from your friends at AQWorlds! Have a happy holiday season… or else! =D 


Mayjor moglins quest guide:

T'was the night before Frostval- Battle frosty ( /join snowpath)

Chapter 2- Click the sock in yulgars inn ( /join yulgar then go to the left room)

Chapter 3- Click the piece of paper under the big tree in battleon town ( /join battleontown)

Chapter 4- Battle a sneevil toy maker (/join factory)

Chapter 5- Battle santy claws (/join northlandlight)

Chapter 6- Return to Battleon town and click on the golden moglin on the tree (/join  battleontown)

Hope this helped!

SIGNED XAN POSTER

And It's For A Good Cause
Those of you who have been around for a while know that around this time every year I start trumpeting as loudly as I can about Child's Play.

Child's Play!

This is a great charity set up by the guys over at Penny Arcade, that brings the gamer community together to help kids in children's hospitals all over the world.
It runs year-round now but they try extra hard during the holidays to get the gaming community together to show the rest of the world what we're made of.
For the past couple of years we were able to actually be sponsors of Child's Play which due to circumstances beyond our control, we were not able to do this year... although many of us dug down into our pockets and gave personally.
We've decided to try something a little different this year.
We printed up this high-gloss, 24" X 30 3/4" poster of XAN, on foam-core and got as many of the AE Team to sign it as we could.

Xan!

It was signed by me (Cysero), Artix, Zhoom, Safiria, Warlic, Thyton, Beleen, Tomix, Ghost, J6, Llussion, Ai No Miko, Jemini, Korin, Geopetal, Aisha, Faith, Alac, Rolith, Nythera, Zazul & Yergen Von Shmergenbergen.

The picture was taken before we got everyone to sign it, but the names are all on there!

There is only 1 of these in the entire world, and it could be YOURS! It is now on EBAY for the next 6 days and 20 or so hours.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE AUCTION! This is ourONLY auction so don't be fooled by fakers and scammers.

100% of the profit from the auction will go directly to Child's Play so not only will you get a one-of-a-kind collectible BUT you're also giving to help out some sick kids and support the gamer community!

Please, do whatever you can to show the world what we already know... that Artix Entertainment fans are the best fans on Earth! Even if you don't win the poster, Childs Play could use your help!

Thanks for bidding and Happy Frostval to you all!

Frostvale 2009 coming very soon

*Ho-Ho-Holy-Moly!

we've got over 75 items this week!

Where do I start? This week is going to be packed with new stuff. I was kidding around in my last design notes about not being able to count the new items coming out, but this time I'm serious, I actually can't count the number of items! At my last count it was 75, but who knows what more we can come up with for you tonight! It’s hard to really show you how much that is, but think of any other games out there that come out with an update only once a month, or a few swords scattered about for you to collect...what we have for you is so much better! Some of the items will be rereleases of last year’s Frostval items, but for players who experience their first holiday with us, you won't be disappointed. So let’s see if I can make a list! (Beleen checked it twice.)

Released this Friday, we have:

Frostval Items: Armors, swords, axes, staves, helms, pets, maces, capes, daggers, etc. I can count them all, but let’s just say there's more for you to buy than what fits in your backpack.

Frostval Gifts: Buy these in Battleon and keep them safe, they open up on New Years to reveal a new Set!*

Pet of the Month: A new pet of the month is here! He's a little late, but he made it! You can go buy him at Aria's in Battleon.

Frostval Maps: We have 5 new maps for you to explore**.

King Coal: This is a NEW new map, which will stay as a permanent addition to the Frozen Northlands. The king has caught a nasty cold, and it’s up to you to cure him!

New Items: King Coal will have bunch of items for you, including at least 5 new armors, 10 weapons, and a helm or two.

Ummm...I'm sure there was something else, but I'm having a memory lapse, there's so much to keep track of...I'll keep you posted if I remember what I forgot!

Did you know that there is only one week left till the holidays? I hope you got all your presents bought and wrapped! Don't forget, you can now buy AE upgrade cards at a store near you. I ran all over the place this year trying to find some.*** If you do get your hands on one, they make great stocking stuffers. You can slip one in to your younger brothers or sisters, or even put one in your parents stocking. They might not know what the game is, but you're never too old to play! My mom has an account, her name is J6s Mom, you can't miss her. If they aren't interested, you can always buy one for yourself, just forget about it, and you'll be instantly surprised when you pull out the card this year.

So come join us tonight for the release, and if you see me around I promise I'll try to talk this time! I'll be too excited for the holidays to hold it in.

*This is a different set than Tinsel's presents. So if you've been keeping up with her, you'll have two new armor sets to open this year!

**5 new maps to re-explore if you were with us last year.

***Ask Cinazool, I drove her nuts looking through every store

Hey! Don’t forget about Quibble!

Silly J6, I know you are already having snowball fights in Frostvale while wearing your new Color Custom Clawsuit Armor, but how could you forget about Quibble Coinbiter? 

That’s right! Quibble is back in Battleon. YAY! He’s got a bunch of brand-new slightly-used items from the future for you to get your mittens on. Remember, you never know when his inventory will run out or if these items will end up going rare… so make sure to get the gear while the gettin's good! A few of the holiday surprises you can find include:

Hailblade

Dragonbow

Noble Blade

Dragonburst Gun

Amethyst Rune Blade

Tri-Gun

Woah! Look at all those items…and there’s even more (but this post is already waaay too long to list the rest)! Hehehe, I just love Frostval, don’t you? Don’t forget to Battle On and Bundle Up! =D

Oh! And EpicDuel is releasing a huge update today as well! What can I say—we all love releasing on Fridays!

   

Achoo-adin

December 17th*, 2009

Chilly release tonight!

Frostvale's tonight, but it is 101° on the inside for me...

When I felt a cold coming on earlier this week, I did what you would expect any red blooded Florida-ian to do. I went to the Sushi restaurant. Along with a hot bowl of udon noodles I asked for a glass of water. See, the water was for my little container of "take this before you actually get sick and you will not get sick" medicine that I bought at the grocery store. It said on the side in bold letters that it was made by a school teacher. Having never used one before... I simply poured THE WHOLE THING into my water. (All 5 days worth) Seconds later my glass of water turned into a orange, bubbling science volcano that was moments from overflowing. I grabbed the cup and ran full-speed towards the rest room... but only made it half way (right in front of the sushi chef) before the orange volcano erupted and bubbled ALL OVER the floor... there was a bubbling trail all the way to the men's rest room. The other customers and waitresses were frozen with eyes wide open until the silence was finally broken by Rolith's /facepalm .

I probably caught my cold when the rest of the team put me up to modeling for those new AQWorlds ads. LOL, View at your own risk: Advertisement #1 and Advertisement #2 . If you, um, did not get the inside joke... these ads are a spoof of some other games which are using ads featuring scantily clad women that are all over the internet. They are also a direct result of my response, "What do you mean our ads need more skin? I would not have any character do something that my character would not do!" which was followed by a sinister, "Really....?"

Frostvale begins tonight!

The team has been working very hard on the special Forstvale release for you tonight in AQWorlds. Also, it is looking very positive for a launch of the PTR tonight (Featuring a lot of new stuff that I have not seen yet). If that was not enough, there is a huge release in EpicDuel, and big releases in DragonFable and MechQuest. How are you going to decide what to do first?

* Nope! No time travel faeries, that is the correct date. I wrote this yesterday in a feverish dream featuring a crowd of talking reigndeer who assured me it was a good idea to post the story.

* This has to be one of the best releases ever! I can't wait!