Guild Wars – characters and popular culture

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I’m playing Guild Wars, an online multiplayer roleplaying game – an MMORPG.  It’s a beautiful game.  The “campaign” (area) I am in, Prophesies, has a medievalist fantasy look to it.   I’m currently in the “presearing” world –  a lovely, bucolic, mostly peaceful world.  I know that bad things are going to happen, and the world will change.  Here is a lovely view of my world.

Guild Wars Prophesies - presearing - lovely view

Guild Wars Prophesies - lovely view

Here is my elementalist character – Amarez.  An elementalist is a magician who can channel the “elements” (fire, air, water, earth), to defeat enemies and help her comrades.  Think Storm in the X-Men movies and you’ll know what I mean.
Guild Wars - Amarez, the elementalist

Guild Wars - Amarez, the elementalist

So, yes, it’s a medievalist fantasy game (like Lord of the Rings, the movie), but look at her hair style.   Doesn’t her hair style have an oddly contemporary look?  It’s quite attractive and not fantasy medievalist at all!
   
That’s because games are part of popular culture, which sometimes makes for an odd combination of things.  The designers have to come up with something that people feel comfortable identifying with.  In this case it’s an attractive short layered haircut, with bangs, in a medievalist fantasy world
   
When you play popular MMORPGs, you also have to get past the popular culture thing, even if it’s not how you would do it.   You can see that my elementalist is, thankfully, mostly covered, but that outfit is way too skimpy for me, and she’s much too busty for my taste!  As the game progresses, I’ll be able to cover her up a little more – I can get her new “armor” in the form of a longer pareo type skirt.  I don’t think I’ll be able to cover up her bustline, but I’m going to check.
  
You know, that top she is wearing has got to be “magic” armor.  How the heck does that top stay on?
amarez – mszv

California – it’s the weather

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If you haven’t lived in coastal California (west of the inland valleys, west of the major mountain ranges), it’s hard to describe how comfortable it is.  Perhaps a bit of data will help –

City-data.com (http://www.city-data.com) has a wonderful collection of metrics on US cities and towns.  Let’s look at Menlo Park, a town in the San Francisco Bay area, near the town where I live.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Menlo-Park-California.html

Average Climate in Menlo Park, California – based on data reported by over 4,000 weather stations

Menlo Park, California - Average Temperatures (F)

Menlo Park, California - Average Temperatures (F)

Menlo Park, California - Average Preciptation (in)

Menlo Park, California - Average Preciptation (in)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Menlo Park, California - Cloudy and Sunny Days

Menlo Park, California - Cloudy and Sunny Days

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What does this tell us?   Spring, summer and fall have warm (not hot!) days and cool nights.  In winter the weather is mild (doesn’t freeze) and it rains a bit.  It doesn’t rain in spring, summer or most of fall.  There are a sunny days, even in winter.

It’s also not humid, so it’s really, really comfortable.

I’ve tried to think of a few disadvantages to the weather.  When you live in the land of perfect comfort it’s hard to come up with anything.  Let’s see – you have to remember to bring a jacket in summer –  after the sun sets it gets chilly.  And night swimming isn’t great around here –   it’s hard to force yourself to get into a pool when you are wearing a jacket over your swimsuit.

If you enjoy four distinct seasons this isn’t the place – we have seasons, but they are subtle, more wet and dry, a Mediterranean climate.   You have to enjoy looking at a dry land for much of the year  – golden hills in the distance, punctuated by the green of the trees.  When the rains come everything gets green.  And – oh yeah, we do have natural disasters.
      
It doesn’t matter – I live in paradise.
amarez – mszv