A Couple of Thoughts about QuakeCon 2021

Taken from QuakeCon's fan kit.

There were many reasons to wait for this year's QuakeCon, mostly due to Microsoft acquisition and Quake's 25th Anniversary. If there's anything to take away from it, it's that Bethesda haven't changed a bit. Technical difficulties during event's beginning were just perfect. I wasn't even annoyed that it affected Quake side of things as in fact it was funny to see them cut off Phil Spencer in favor of Quake World Championship 2021.

Besides that, I would say that QuakeCon 2021 was pretty humble and quiet overall. I'm not interested in The Elder Scrolls Online, Fallout 76 and Deathloop, so these three just went by for me. As for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition... Look, I don't want to poke that meme. There's not really much to talk about, so let's just get to it.

Recalling Warcraft 3 RPS and Other Reminiscent Titles

Warcraft 3 Pre-ECTS 1999 Screenshot. Taken from Blizzard Archive.

Some games are undergoing fundamental changes throughout the development process. That's one of many aspects of video games that usually fascinate me, sometimes even if the game itself doesn't interest me. I often find myself looking at Alpha or Beta versions of specific title with genuine curiosity and Warcraft 3 is no exception here.

It's no wonder that this game had an interesting journey, given its importance to Blizzard Entertainment and gaming industry as a whole. A lot of fans are most likely familiar with early Alpha iteration of Warcraft 3 from 1999. For a long time it stood out to me as a unique game due to the fact I simply haven't seen (or remembered) anything like that.

However, lately that has changed as I've ended up stumbling on two old games that are (to me) pretty similar to "Warcraft 3 RPS" and I wanted to take a quick look at them to see what could've been.

Modest Thoughts about Realms Deep 2021

Realms Deep 2021 Key Art.

Saying that I anticipated Realms Deep 2021 would be quite an understatement. After its great debut a year ago, I was very excited to see what it's going to be like this time around. As days went on and harsh reality kept reminding me about itself, expectations for Realms Deep were growing through glimpse of hope for bright days to come...

And, in all honestly, I wished I kept that in check. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this event and there were some good and interesting games. However, I definitely expected something a bit different. That's really on me, but I would still like to talk a bit about both good and bad parts.

Self-Reflection via Multiplayer Burnout

One of the last screenshots of my Death Knight.

We're living in strange times and many people struggle to make ends meet, myself including. This Summer has been very difficult and nasty for me and my family due to extensive financial issues that are only getting worse. As everything keeps falling apart while I fail to succeed, that led me to think a lot about myself and how I could change such routine.

Which led me to take a closer look at my current stand on multiplayer games as I believe that it provides good perspective into me as a person with several flaws. And that's what I would like to explore that in-depth, unlike spiralling into full on mental breakdown in Low Spec Breakdown.

Embracing 3D Realms' Acquisition

Taken from Embracer Group.

Acquisitions within gaming industry grew massively lately with one of the most popular examples being Bethesda joining Microsoft. From these massive deals to more humble agreemants with smaller companies, Embracer Group is one of the prominent players in this field. On August 5, 2021, they've announced a new wave of acquisitions, which included 3D Realms and its development studio Slipgate Ironworks through their subsidiary Saber Interactive.

It appears to be a very logical and solid move by Embracer, given their focus on classic franchises and AA projects in order to establish themselves as a strong party in niche spheres. At the same time, Slipgate had previously worked with Saber and THQ Nordic, so it really makes a lot of sense.

Since 3D Realms is one of the gaming companies I'm interested in at the moment and Realms Deep 2021 is right around the corner, I wanted to take this opportunity to just talk about it... Even though I'm sure I still lack some critical information needed for proper verdict instead of  gravitating towards mostly positive perspective.

Chains of Domination: Apathetic Domino Effect

Chains of Domination Fallen King Key Art.

It's fitting to start this post in similar manner to its first part of this series. While I'm slowly making some improvements in personal side of things, my observation of current developments in Warcraft series goes on. Without much enthusiasm and actual dedication, but at the end of a day I set myself a goal to see this mess from start to finish, and I commit to it.

Let's get "Battle for Ardenweald Finale" out of the way here as I talked about Tyrande in Shadowlands and there's nothing really new. Just more mockery of High Priestess of Elune that's forced to roleplay Demon Hunter cosplay with this "scary power of the Night Warrior" that is there, but it's not. Blizzard's cinematic team can do a great job, but it's clear that narrative really hurts their work. From boring anime-like fighting scenes to cringe dialogue/writing and conclusion is just pure humiliation of Tyrande. It's just... eh?

By the way, did you notice how they reused Wrathion's jump from "Ny'Alotha: Wrathion's Scene" in "Kingsmourne"? Alright, that's funny.