More on classical music and warcraft

Just a quick update on my last post on the music of World of Warcraft. In a comment (the only one…) Mann said that his favorite music in the game is the Azuremyst Isle theme. I just checked it and it actually is very enjoyable and very soothing. The oboe (clarinet too?) and harp theme is very tuned to the surroundings and my dirty undead warlock’s Karma almost got cleansed by it! I had to go pay Prophet Velen an extremely short visit in order to get back to the dark side.

and I totally pwned him!

That got me thinking about the music in the older regions of Azeroth and, then, I remembered my first steps as a Blood Elf on Sunstrider Isle, in Eversong Woods and in Ghostlands. I had forgotten about it but those zones have some of the best theme music in the game. The cello dominating the soundtrack is, obviously, dear to my heart as I’ve been playing the damn thing since I was eight.

That soundtrack came out with Burning Crusade and was written by Russel Brower, Derek Duke and Matt Uelmen. Besides the obvious graphical overhaul since the launch of vanilla WoW, you can definitely tell that Blizzard has paid a lot of attention to the mood and feel of those new zones. The Blood Elves and Draenei starting zones have awesome soundtracks and the whole music of Northrend is some of the best written for a computer game in my opinion.

It’s a funny thing, the cello. Most people just know it’s some kind of big violin but most of them have been affected by it at some level. Whenever you watch a movie and the general mood seems to switch to melancholy/nostalgia, listen carefully to the music. Chances are that a cello took over the score. I read once that the cello had such a profound effect on human emotions because it was the one instrument whose frequencies resonated the most with the human voice. I have to say that listening to Teodora Miteva play the Kol Nidrei by Max Bruch, automatically brings tears in my eyes… and I’m a tough cookie when it comes to letting my emotions seep through!

Me no shed tears

Talking about tear jerking music, Symphony No.3 by Gorecki is absolutely amazing. I can only listen to it on sunny days or when I’m high on serotonin… It was first played in a church in Warsaw to commemorate the atrocities committed by the nazys during world war II. It’s heartwrenching as it is but when you know that the lyrics for the second movement are based on words that were scribbled by a woman on a Gestapo cell wall, it’s, well, too much for words really.

One last thing about the resonance of instruments with humans. In the song Jenny Wren by Paul Mc Cartney, he used an instrument called Duduk. It’s a traditionnal middle and eastern Europe flute thingy and when I first heard it, I couldn’t tell if that was someone’s voice or something else.

Listen to it and tell me that’s not one of the prettiest instruments you’ve ever heard, after the cello…

The kids love it when I pull out my guitar while they're playing Guitar Hero

Sounds of Warcraft

I’m a music lover and I absolutely adore most of the music in World of Warcraft. We owe it to great composers like Russell Brower, Jason Hayes, Tracy W. Bush, Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford and Neal Acree.

Some people will argue that computer game soundtrack isn’t art and that the only real quality music was written over a century ago. I, obviously, disagree and I hate music snobs…

What people think of as ‘Classical’ music has always been the soundtrack of entertainement, although the official classical period only spans less than a century from 1750 to 1820. Starting around the 9th century, sacred medieval music was played during Christian and Jewish lithurgies and while we don’t have much traces of it, secular music of the time was probably played at courts to entertain local rulers. This is the case all the way until the 18-19th centuries when operas were the blockbusters of the time.

Beautiful gregorian score

Today, since Mass and operas aren’t so popular anymore, ‘classical’ music is found in soundtracks. Wether it’s to accompany movies, games or TV series, composers still help us get away from our daily lives. They transport us in different places and times just with sound!

One day, I’m sure, the soundtracks of World of Warcraft will be what people think of as ‘classical’ music. Orchestras will play them at wedddings and celebrations. Some already do like the Symphonic Game Music Concerts in Germany, the Orchestral Game Music Concerts in Japan and PLAY! A Videogame Symphony in the US.

I’ve actually bought some WoW music on iTunes like Seasons of War or Lament of the Highborn. Take that last one. Sylvanas Windrunner sings it when you turn in the quest Journey to Undercity . You can start that mini quest chain by looting a Lady’s Necklace on Fallen Ranger or Deatholme Acolytes in Ghostlands. This song, composed by Derek Duke and Russell Brower, is a tribute to the elves who fought and died during the Fall of Quel’thalas and the War of the Ancients. Don’t tell me that’s not classical music!

If you didn’t get the quest or just don’t feel like going to Ghostlands you can copy and paste

/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Music\\GlueScreenMusic\\BCCredits_Lament_of_the_Highborne.mp3")

in a chat window in game and you’ll hear Sylvanas singing no matter where you are.

Sylvanas and her pals

Besides that awesome song, my favorite ambiance music is probably in Grizzly Hills. Although some people think it sounds a little too much like the theme of Deliverance, I love that fiddle/violin music and I don’t care if I have to put my pet on aggressive so that Gnoll hillbillies don’t sneak up behind me… Plus, the serene and relaxing atmosphere really helps while you’re fishing for that damn Sea Turtle…

Sneaky little hillbillies...

One last note, thanks to the console commands in World of Warcraft, not only can you tweak many audio/video settings, you can also use them to listen to any song/sound file from the game. Whether you want to hear Illidan commenting on your preparedness or Prince saying how he’s not alone and that he will kick your butt with the help of the legions he commands. Here you can download a text list of all the soundfiles links including the new ones from Wrath of the Lich King. Some of my favorites:

Thorim: In the mountain

/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Thorim\\UR_Thorim_Start02.wav")

Illidan: You are not prepared

/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Illidan\\BLACK_Illidan_04.wav")

Ingvar the Plunderer : I will paint my face with your blood

/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\IngvarThePlunderer\\IngvarAggro.wav")

Prince Malchezaar: You face not Malchezaar alone…

/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\PrinceMalchezzar\\PrinceSummon02.wav")

Archimonde: No, it cannot be…

/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Archimonde\\CAV_Arch_Death01.wav")

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. It always brings back such good memories to hear those bosses’ quotes. Especially when you spent week after week wiping on them and those quotes were slowly driving you and your raidmates mad…

I finally got my pretty Dragonhawk!!

Hallow’s End treats FTW

Hallowed

Hallow’s End started over a week ago and  I finally managed to get the squashling pet I needed for the meta-achievement. A couple of nights ago, while raiding, I made an interesting discovery. The buff from the Soothing Spearmint Candy and the Pyroblast Cinnamon Ball actually stack to 4 times. Meaning the spearmint can give you +44 spell power and the cinnamon +24 spell power. Nice buff for such an easy to get item.

But there is more! Those two buffs stack with your regular +46 spell power food buff (from Fish Feast or Firecracker Salmon), giving you a total of 90 spell power just from food and candies… So make you sure you visit as many Innkeepers as you can and complete all the Candy Bucket quests to fill up on those awesome treats

/drool

Tired…

A fresh week is upon us and I already wish it was over. The last one never seemed to end and just blended into this one. Mind you I’m not complaining. On the contrary, you get a weird feeling of accomplishement (martyrdom?) after working so damn much!

We have such glamorous jobs...

The week in numbers: 96 hours at the hospital in 6 days and around 40 patients put asleep and, mostly, woken up… I got home Sunday at 10 a.m.  and was back at work monday morning at 7 so my week-end lasted a whooping 21 hours!

My girls

No matter which MMO I play, I always end up creating a female toon. That’s the case in World of Warcraft, Guildwars and Warhammer. The only online game where my character is a male is Eve but it’s just a face who is never going to leave the ship and walk around. What does that say about me?  That I’m a caring and gentle person?  Hopefully!

My main toon

The way I look at it, all it means is that I’d rather watch a girly character run around on my screen than a hairy, bulky behind. Not that there is anything wrong with it, it’s just that, well, if I wanted to stare at a buff, manly, unshaven figure, I would just put a mirror next to my screen, kinda…

It’s a fact of life: feminine lines are more pleasing to the eye than their rough and choppy male counterparts. Curves are prettier than angles and, since  I’m colorblind (protanomal to be precise) I can’t see male Bloodelves…

I learned how to tank on Mount Hyjal...

There also something to be said for the dichotomy of the fragile, “weak” figure nuking to smithereens some random mobs or tanking a huge boss. Take my protection pally for example. I love the esthetics of this frail, pale and frankly sickly looking Blood Elf tanking Prince in Kara or being submerged by a ton of mobs and erupting victorious from the pile of corpses. AOE grinding is more fun when it ‘looks’ like you shouldn’t be able to make it!
The same goes for my Death Knight who is even more pale and fragile looking under her black/purple spikey armor.

As everyone, I rolled a DK

My only male character in WoW is, of course, a Night Elf Hunter. He was my first steps on Azeroth and by level 4, I had grown tired of him… The Nelf Hunter is the most common race/class combo in the game. I thought that this was only the reflection of most people’s first few hours of game time (mirroring mine) but, when you look at every 5 level brackets from 10 to 80, the statistics are pretty much identical throughout. Just check  the Warcraft Realms Census.

So what makes this combination so popular? I think it comes from several factors. First, the elves are deeply imbedded in our fantasy (sub)culture. From Tolkien to Dungeons and Dragons, they are a reckognisable and familiar token of those universes. On the same level, in my opinion, as dragons themselves, which you can’t roll… yet… You could argue that Drawves are also representative of that paradigm but those exist, in some way, in the real world and that makes them less “mythical”. Players want to have some familiar faces around them in this huge place. It’s only some time later that you tend to challenge yourself by venturing outside of your comfort zone. Keep in mind that the bloodelves were only introduced with Burning Crusade.

Secondly, people like having a pet. Whether it’s to be able to offload the dirty jobs or for the feeling of companionship, which you can often find lacking when you spawn on Azeroth, it seems like a logical/natural path to follow. The Warlock, eventhough a pet-class as well, doesn’t really feel like your playing with “someone”. It could just come from the inability to pick your minions’ names, from the way you can’t raise them or, more likely, from the fact that you can only have one of 6 or 7 different models. Your pet won’t feel special when you go have lunch with your fellow Nether demon lovers. Even if its name sounds like an iPod in a blender.

Obligatory night elf hunter...

Finally, I was trying to remember why I chose to make a night-elf hunter and what could have directly influenced me at that moment. The original WoW trailer shows a Dwarf hunter launching his huge bear against a Tauren shaman. The bear gets crushed by a single blow but it still looks awesome to able to control such a wild and furious animal.

Then if you look at the user-guide (that I had just read religiously at the time) mentions hunter as deadly marksmen, capable of bringing their enemies down from a distance with bows or rifles. Skilled survivalists, they can track enemies or lay traps to damage and entrap their foes.. On the Nightelf page, you can find this: As a race, Night Elves are typically honorable and just, but they are very distrusting of the ‘lesser races’ of the world. They are nocturnal by nature and their shadowy powers often elicit the same distrust that they have for their mortal neighbors… that and they have Shadowmeld!

So we have, ranged damage dealers with pets which can be used to tank or help dps. They can lay traps, tame beasts of any color, furry or scaly. They are honorable, nocturnal and can vanish. Damn, this is making me want to play one! Maybe  I’ll try it, just for a few hours/days/months…

By the way, I know that it’s illegal to read user-guides or manuals. I usually throw them in the fire like everyone else. It’s just that when you’re waiting for your new game to install, you’ll read anything to make time seem to go faster… Mea maxima culpa, sue me…

Archeology is going to be so much fun!

The Dark Lady appeared and drew birds in the sand with my tears

The sea was angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to return soup at a Deli. It is a gloomy October day, the kind you learn to live through around these parts where, sometimes, Autumn seems to be the only season ever invented. It is around 9 pm when I finally arrive home after a long, dreary day of work and a 1 hour drive through fog and drizzle. My shoes are off and I’m slowly starting to feel like the day has ended at last. My only plan is to spend the rest of the evening in front of a soul-warming open fire in the chimney and next to my sweetheart.
On cue, she appears with a warm cup of coffee and all feels good in the world. She sits next to me slowly and proceeds to remind me of the concert we are supposed to attend a little later that night…

He was ten stories high if he was a foot. I can see directly into the eye of the great fish! Mammal! How can I possibly get up from the couch, get dressed and head out in this depressing weather? The singer we are supposed to go listen to is Andrew Bird. A very good friend of ours works for a small independant label in Western NY and they’ve just signed him up. We promised her to go listen to him if he ever came to Belgium and that day is here…
After some discussion, some coaxing and, probably, naughty promises; my soul is sold to my devil and we head out in the, now, pouring rain…
At around 10.30 pm, we finally get to the place. It’s an old train station turned into a  concert venue. We get some drinks and proceed to the stage. I’m exhausted, my whole body begs for mercy, I want to be home and the flatish beers aren’t helping.

The man and his violin

Andrew Bird gets on stage, tunes his violin, turns some knobs, clears his throat, makes the usual speech in which he loves *city* in *country* and starts playing. Just his violin at first, then some more violin on top of parts he’s recording and replaying. Then the magic happens. His voice/whistling blends with the sound of his many violin ‘solos’ overlapping each other in a sublime harmony. There is no more rain, no more fog. I don’t remember the day I just spent at the hospital, I am not tired anymore. I don’t wish to be anywhere else than right there and then, holding my beauty with one hand and a flat beer in the other. And this goes on for 2-3 hours of perfect bliss. Even the beer starts tasting good. All in all, after fighting exhaustion and the elements; and against all odds, we’re attending one of the best concerts of our lives. And I should, my live concert cherry was popped before my 14th birthday when I attended ‘Monsters of Rock’. I was dating an older girl from Australia and she got me to see Metallica, ACDC, Motley Crew and Queensryche live in Hasselt Belgium…

So get out there, Andrew Bird is touring the US and Europe for the next couple of months so check out his official page. You’ll thank me if you get so lucky to see him on stage. One last thing, he’s kind of shy so don’t mistake the fact that he usually keeps to himself for vanity, his heart lives light-years away from that. Further than the Kessel Run!

Shardz

I wanted to share a little trick for all the warlocks out there. If you’re waiting for your raid to gather and get their butts to the Crusaders’ Colyseum, you can fill your Abyssal bag in a couple of minutes without having to kill a single mob. Just  find a charge or melee target around the Argent Tournament Grounds and Drain soul the heck of them until either your bag is full or your lazy raidmates have shown up.

Gief me your soul, little target dummy!

Actually, if you weren’t lazy yourself, you would have been prepared for the raid and you could be sitting at the Summoning stone, probably starring at your toes like that one time when everyone else knew the Obsidian Sanctum wasn’t a Nexus instance…

Better yet, you should already be inside the instance putting up a Flasher TV for everyone’s convenience…

Creepy flasher with horns or Azerothian plasma TV?

But you’re a lock and, as such, you are supposed to be evil. If we started helping people out, it would definitely give our class a bad name. Don’t judge me, it’s not like you’ve never banished an elemental in Wintergrasp some Ally ninja had tagged away from you… Just because you’re a slow clicker doesn’t mean it wasn’t YOUR mob. So why not indulge and help him/her waste 30 seconds of his precious farming time? It’ll make you feel a little more evil inside and, thus, a little more warlocky. Just make sure not to screw with people of your own faction, that’s just mean. When questionned by the WPD, you can always argue that you were in an altered state state of mind after seeing the price of Eternal fire at the AH and that Greed had burned another hole in your soul…

You can't look this sad and not have a soul!