SWTOR Face Q&A

Want to know a little more about SWTOR Face? Check out this interview with the owner/main blogger, John Gatt.

Site name: SWTOR Face

URL: http://www.swtorface.com/

Your name: John Gatt

Started: July 2011

Type: Blog, news feed, community focus

In your words, how would you describe your site? Do you have a particular focus or interest?

The hardest thing about finding news on a particular game is that it’s often spread across many sources. Some sites specialize in particular classes and others might have a guild focus. But sometimes you might find a gem of information on a site that you might not normally visit. Not only do we provide a regular blog on the latest official information, we also have an extensive list of current, active SWTOR sites and an extensive active RSS feed that links the latest news from all of those listed sites. This makes it extremely easy to see a snippet of all the latest news across all the sites covering SWTOR.

Secondly, we are about the community. Who is behind the blogs? What are the news sites about? Who is that person in the podcast I listen to every week? Knowing whose advice you’re getting is get as important as the advice itself. To that end we’ve started contacting bloggers and site owners and providing them with this Q&A, which we will publish on SWTOR Faces, so that readers can get to know a bit more about them.

What’s your role on the site?

Webmaster and blogger.

How many people work on your blog/site (including writers, editors, webmaster, etc)?

Two.

When did you start blogging (about any topic)?

1998. My first blog was on a site called Rogue Squadran, following the X-Wing vs Tie-Fighter and then X-Wing Alliance. My site was then taken over by a large corporation called PlayNow where I blogged for about a year, mainly covering Star Wars related gaming. I had a break from gaming for a few years while I was running a hardware website called VIAArena.com. About three years ago I started a new gaming site called Gaming Face, which I still run. SWTOR Face is a focused version of Gaming Face.

When did you start blogging about SWTOR?

I mentioned SWTOR a few times on my Gaming Face blog in mid-2010 and started to focus fully on it in July 2011 when I launched SWTOR Face.com.

What, if any, MMOs have you played?

My first MMO experience was Star Wars Galaxies. I purchased Galaxies during an extended stay in San Francisco. I was away from home for five weeks and had lots of time in the evenings. I became one of the first Jedi in the server I was playing and spent over five years in the game! I, like many other SWG gamers, was very disappointed with the direction Sony took with the NGE. I then went on to play Word of Warcraft. I spent about three and a half years in WoW, a lot of that time as a guild leader and uber-dps huntard. It wasn’t Star Wars, but it’s definitely a universe I appreciated and became fond of. Over the last few months I have tried out Rift and even gone back to WoW, but I am really only just killing time, waiting for SWTOR.

Are you attracted to SWTOR because of the gaming experience, Star Wars, or both?

For me it’s Star Wars. Yes, I do love MMO games, but I am a massive Star Wars fan. I met my wife at a Star Wars fan club 17 years ago. I have two children named after Star Wars characters, Mara Jade and Teneniel Djo and I have the Rebel logo tattooed on my right arm!

What is your most memorable experience in gaming?

I’d have to say in the early days in Star Wars Galaxies, just after I unlocked Jedi, spending hours grinding experience, only to have Bounty Hunters attempt to gank you. The thrill and rush I got then, knowing I could lose days and even weeks of experience, was unbelievable. I don’t think my heart has ever pounded so much with any other game! No other gaming experience has come close to the whole initial Jedi experience and grinding up to Knight and entering the Force ranking system. When Sony introduced the combat upgrade and the village it definitely changed the whole feel of becoming a Jedi. Even being a Jedi in the SWG world was a different experience. Before the combat upgrade, even pulling out your lightsaber gave you a temporary enemy flag, allowing any player to attack you. It was quite an adrenaline rush.

What was your first Star Wars experience?

In the back of my Dad’s Ford station-wagon at the drive-in. It was 1978, I was 7 and we had gone to see Clash of the Titans and the second movie was this odd flick called Star Wars. I was instantly hooked.

Republic or Empire?

Definitely Republic. I have the Rebel logo tattooed on my arm and I played Rebel all the way through SWG. I love X-Wings and everything to do with being a Jedi. Yoda is the man.

What excites you most about SWTOR?

The story. Being a massive Star Ward fan I am truly excited to hear and read some of the stories. I’ve read some of the comics from this era and it’s fascinating. Not only will I be able to play a game style that interests me, it will provide me with an invigorating storyline.

SWTOR Face Your News Now!: Stage 2 Guild Alignment Begins !

SWTOR Face Your News Now!: Stage 2 Guild Alignment Begins !:

Back in March we initiated our Pre-Launch Guild Program, where members of the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ community could search for already established guilds or register one of their very own through the Guild Headquarters page. We are thrilled to announce that we have begun the second phase of our Pre-Launch Guild Program!
With Phase 2: Alignment, we are introducing new features which allow guilds to set their allegiance with other guilds in The Old Republic. Now a guild leader, along with members who have the proper permissions, can select up to three guilds as either Allies or Adversaries, depending on their faction affiliation. Qualifying guilds that are marked as Allies and Adversaries of other guilds will have the highest chance of being placed in the game together, allowing these guilds to coexist on the same server. Read on

Pop Culture an Amazing Game Video

This is real cool stuff! Wish I could edit videos like this! enjoy.

Jabba the Jedi in this week's screenshot

An interesting screenshot from SWTOR this week ... we get to see a porky Twi'lek Jedi Padawan fight off something called a Guid near the Kaleth Ruins on Tython.

This screenshot gives us a better idea of the customization available in SWTOR. You will not be limited to sleek fit body styles and you will have the option to make your Jedi look more like most of us MMO gamers! WH00T! We can have 1000s of unfit geeks with sabers ingame! If you pick a fat Jedi, can you put him on a diet?

Stage 2 Guild Alignment Begins !

Back in March we initiated our Pre-Launch Guild Program, where members of the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ community could search for already established guilds or register one of their very own through the Guild Headquarters page. We are thrilled to announce that we have begun the second phase of our Pre-Launch Guild Program!

With Phase 2: Alignment, we are introducing new features which allow guilds to set their allegiance with other guilds in The Old Republic. Now a guild leader, along with members who have the proper permissions, can select up to three guilds as either Allies or Adversaries, depending on their faction affiliation. Qualifying guilds that are marked as Allies and Adversaries of other guilds will have the highest chance of being placed in the game together, allowing these guilds to coexist on the same server.

Another feature being implemented with Phase 2 is the ability for guild leaders and members with the proper permissions to invite friends to join their guild via email. You can start recruiting new members today!

To learn more about guilds in The Old Republic, check out the Guilds Game System page for details, and to search for or join a guild, visit the Guild HQ now! Also be sure to visit the Guilds FAQ for answers to commonly asked questions.

To join our guild or set your guild as Allies or an Adversary you can find Squad here or Visit our official guild site here

Gaming Face: G33K & G4M3R GIRLS Video Extended

Gaming Face: G33K & G4M3R GIRLS Video Extended: With the success of The Guild: Do You Wanna Date My Avatar it was only a matter of time before we got more quality geek toons! This will be added to my mp3 collection! check out Team Unicorn's latest song "G33K & G4M3R GIRLS"

Read on 

G33K & G4M3R GIRLS Video Extended

With the success of The Guild: Do You Wanna Date My Avatar it was only a matter of time before we got more quality geek toons! This will be added to my mp3 collection! check out Team Unicorn's latest song "G33K & G4M3R GIRLS"



Featuring the four members of Team Unicorn (Michele Boyd, Clare Grant, Milynn Sarley and Rileah Vanderbilt) and featuring cameos by geek icons Seth Green, Katee Sackhoff and the amazing Stan Lee! Directed by David Yarvo

Download the song on iTunes!:

Lyrics:
Greetings friends….
Don’t you want to meet a nice girl?

(First verse)
I, know a place
Where the gamer scores are so extreme (bloop boop boop!)
Dune, D & D,
Where Rand al’Thor still reigns supreme
Questin’, in Hyrule
Dominating Final Fantasy (Seven) (yeah yeah, siete)
Those boys
Losin’ sleep
Tryin’ ta keep up with our leet speak (what up, n00bs?) (n00b sauce)

Drinking With Jedi, Talking About Combat Styles

After watching the combat video last week it got me thinking about sword fighting styles ingame. I was lucky enough to get to spend some time with the real Jedi from Episodes 2 and 3.

Left to right Adam Gill (friend), Kyle Rowling (Joclad Danva, General Grievous Actor not Voice and Count Dooku body and stunt double ), the sexy Sandi Finlay (Sly Moore), Matt Sloan (PLO KOON), Michael Byrne (Darth Sidious stunt double) and me John Gatt ( Jedi Wannabe).

Will we get a full set of styles to chose from like one hand and two hand dual sabers and duel blades? Will our specials reflect our weapon of choice?

Over a lot of beers Kyle made me appreciate the importance of stage fighting. The techniques are not just about blocking and swinging. You need fineness in the moves and I was reminded of it as I watched Episode 3 last week.

Kyle helped choreograph the final fight between Ben and Anakin and helped to come up with an amazing ending to the fight, but George wanted to keep the final blow simple. In one way, when I see that final blow where Anakin loses an arm and 2 legs I'm like WTF? Show me how he did that, and in another way I appreciative that it's quick and doesn't take away from the drama of Anakin's defection.

In all my gaming years I have seen a lot of sweet moves in games and some of the Jedi styles in SWG were some of the best (pre NGE as for some crazy reason a lot got removed). What I've seen so far from SWTOR is looking good and I hope BioWare have put as much time into special moves as they have in to things like voices.

An interview with Kyle here and an interview with Matt here.

Star Wars: The Old Republic official Rating T for Teen

Star Wars: The Old Republic

Platform: Windows PC

Rating: Teen

Content descriptors: Blood and Gore, Mild Language, Sexual Themes, Violence

Rating summary: In this massively multiplayer online (MMO) role-playing game, based on the Star Wars universe, players engage in a fictional conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. Players can choose from classic Star Wars roles (e.g., Jedi Knight, Bounty Hunter, Trooper) and complete quests to determine their path down the light or dark side of the Force. Players use light sabers, laser blasters, and telekinetic powers to battle a variety of human-like enemies and fantastical creatures (e.g., aliens, cyborgs); battles frequently depict characters getting shot with lasers, slashed with light sabers, or shocked with lightning bolts. During the course of the game, players are presented with interactive cutscenes in which their choices play a vital role in the outcome of their story (e.g., using electrical attacks on restrained characters to collect information; killing someone instead of letting him go). Some sequences depict brief instances of blood and gore: to complete one quest, players must dip a skull in a pool of blood; in another mission, players deliver a severed head to a specific location and place it on a pike. Players can freely explore many areas in the game, including clubs that depict scantily clad female dancers with exposed cleavage; some sequences include dialogue with sexual innuendo (e.g., "An hour. I think I'm insulted. We'll need the whole night," "I'll be sure to make conjugal visits," and "Come, dear, let's forgo the nuptials and proceed to the honeymoon."). The words "damn" and "hell" can be heard in dialogue throughout the game.

Online Notice:
Includes online features that may expose players to unrated user-generated content (Windows PC)

http://www.esrb.org/ratings/synopsis.jsp?Certificate=31564

WoW Patch 4.3 Raid Preview: Dragon Soul

Official News on patch 4.3 and Dragon Soul

World of Warcraft patch 4.3 will offer players the opportunity to take the fight to Wyrmrest Temple and beyond, assisting Thrall and the Dragon Aspects as they seek to bring an end to the Black Dragonflight once and for all. 10- and 25-person raids will get to take on Deathwing himself, with three levels of difficulty to consider and epic gear to claim.

Forged by Deathwing during the War of the Ancients, the Dragon Soul harnessed the power of the other dragonflights, until it was ultimately destroyed. After recovering a version of the artifact from the Caverns of Time, Thrall and the allied dragonflights now rally at Wyrmrest Temple in a desperate bid to use its might to defeat Deathwing.

Created by the titans as a sanctuary for all Dragonkind, the crumbling Wyrmrest Temple is now the final hope for the forces allied against the black dragon Neltharion, once the Earth-Warder and protector of Azeroth, now Deathwing the Destroyer. It is here that the remaining aspects -- Alexstrasza, Ysera, Nozdormu, Kalecgos, and Thrall -- have gathered to empower the Dragon Soul -- Azeroth's last chance to stop the great behemoth. As they begin to charge the Dragon Soul with energy, Deathwing and his entire army assault Wyrmrest Temple. Players must thwart the attacking forces long enough for Thrall to charge the Dragon Soul.

Before you face Deathwing the Destroyer, you must prevail against six mighty bosses.

The most powerful elemental still under Deathwing's sway, Morchok -- once a passive guardian -- is now convinced that his only respite will come with Azeroth's demise. Morchok rages against the foundation of Wyrmrest Temple, Azeroth's last beacon of hope in the Hour of Twilight.

Countless ages ago, Warlord Zon'ozz and his soldiers waged endless war against the forces of C'Thun and Yogg-Saron. Millennia have passed, but the warlord still serves the chaotic might of the Old God N'Zoth. Deathwing has now unleashed this legendary faceless one to crush the defenders of Wyrmrest Temple.

Read on!