![]() Roiling waves ramble up a sandy coastline, then dissolve into white foam. The latest area of the game that the team is working on is a dense ocean/jungle/swamp environment. ![]() Subtleties like these make the world feel real. Technology like this is easy for the creative people on the team to use, and they've found plenty of ways to take advantage of it: during our demo we saw strands of ivy hanging down from a stone bridge fluttering in the wind. So, on a calm sunny day banners on castle walls and character's cloaks may gently rustle in the breeze, whereas on a stormy day, plain tattered flags and streamers will whip about in the storm. For instance, any surface in the game (including parts of the character models) can be tagged as cloth, and the level designers can control the wind in any part of the level. Surveying the new coastal areas A number of tools allow the designers to really bring this world to life, so that the rough sketches that line the walls can make their way onto your computer screen without losing their visual impact. Larger-than-life natural forces - like jungles, glaciers, or lava - always seem poised to overwhelm settlements and their inhabitants. In the world of Guild Wars, nothing is clean and tidy: monsters ripple with scales and claws and ridges and horns, fabric is tattered, stone is worn, and buildings are lived in. Concept art lines the walls of ArenaNet HQ, all of it absolutely dripping with character. Rumble in the Jungle While the initial years of the game's development were spent perfecting the technology, it's clear that the last year or so has been focused entirely on art and content. See our earlier preview for details! This past week we visited ArenaNet's Seattle headquarters to really take a close look at the creation of the game and the latest developments as it moves toward a release later this year. ![]() We also talked about the graphics, which defy expectations, as if fantasy paintings have come to life. Previously we talked about the unique business model behind Guild Wars, where no monthly fees will be charged, and regular "chapters" nearly as big as the original game will be released to retail every six months to expand the world. It's been a couple of months since we last spent some quality time with Guild Wars, the massively multiplayer action RPG currently under development by ArenaNet.
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