Tragic Jotun
January 25, 2012 at 8:26 pm | Posted in Guild Wars 2, mmorpg | 14 CommentsTags: Guild Wars 2, MMO, mmorpg
Original Jotun Concept Art
Arenanet has shown that they are interested in making Tyria a world, not just a setting. Race after race that in any other game would have little explanation, but in Guild Wars 2 are fleshed out and complex.
So it is with the Jotun and admittedly they were barely touched upon in the original Guild Wars. But Guild Wars 2 is different in so many respects that it is largely different from Guild Wars as well.
The only games I’ve played over the past few years that spend this much time on backstory and lore have ended up being my favourites. Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Fallout, Elder Scrolls. Who else cares to pretend that the history of a world matters as much as the current events?
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If the Jotun are a mercy race I will be as nice to them as I can, but I will throw the last blow should there be a first.
(I will say Anet has more then succeded in making me feel sorry for them, history seems good at doing that)
Comment by Endo— January 25, 2012 #
I forget if the jotun are one of the races you can sympathize with, or if thats even still in the game, but when I think of Jotun now I think of the short story from a while back, Mr. Sparkles, and yeah, not much sympathy here.
Comment by Hunter— January 26, 2012 #
I can’t say I feel sorry for them, they have gotten exactly what they wanted; just sometimes you don’t realise what your wishing for.
Comment by Melski— January 26, 2012 #
At some point I wonder how much of a commentary the Jotun are on real life cultures.
Comment by Hunter— January 26, 2012 #
So…. I’m thinking they might have some nice magic loot in those mountaintop monuments.
Comment by Yarr— January 26, 2012 #
Bound to be something to it, but I’m not sure how much treasure we’ll find just lying around.
Comment by Hunter— January 26, 2012 #
I dunno about these guys, but the Ettin just seem way more magical, especially in the blood department. We all remember the Bloodstone Caves and Sparkfly Swamp, right?
Comment by BarGamer— January 26, 2012 #
Ettin to me seem pretty dumb in comparison to other ogres. I always though the magic in ettin blood was a result of other races experimenting on them anyway.
Comment by Hunter— January 26, 2012 #
Yes – And I think it’s no coincidence that the most most popular fantasy book ever published (presumably!?), LOTR was based on a fully realised fantasy world and history. I do hope that they find some more visual way of communicating the lore, though, than leaving thousands of books lieing around in dungeons, as in Elder Scrolls.
Comment by roqoco— January 26, 2012 #
LOTR does have a good world. However, even that story doesn’t have fleshed out villains. Orcs, Goblins, Men from the East: all of them are just evil and want to kill good guys. Why? Who knows that is just the way it is. Hobbits, (good) Men, and to some degree Elves are fleshed out in the story.
Comment by ualtar— January 26, 2012 #
Well gollum sort of gets some good backstory, and the elves of mirkwood aren’t exactly heroes in the hobbit. There are various villains that get some explanation and orcs in general being bred as a twisted version of elves doesn’t leave much room for backstory.
Comment by Hunter— January 26, 2012 #
Elder Scrolls goes further than just books, its just if you want a more detailed and specific explanation you’ll have to read the books. The lore is spread out in so many conversations and little pieces it would be hard to put it all together unless you did.
Comment by Hunter— January 26, 2012 #
Reading about the lore of GW2 is delightful, I’m spending a lot of time, while waiting for the game’s release, getting involved into the history of Tyria.
ANet is doing a remarkable job, I cannot wait to enter by myself in the world of Tyria!
Comment by Anisca— January 29, 2012 #
The wiki can definitely be a good read if you’re into lore. I’ve definitely spent time reading one lore page only to be linked to others and then still others from there.
Comment by Hunter— January 29, 2012 #