Posted by iTZKooPA on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 - 12 Comments
Tags: columns, guild history, guild statistics, modern marvels, player statistics, server first, server history, statistics, the next expansion, who killed onyxia first, wow statistics
The New Herodotus
My name is iTZKooPA and I’m a History Channel addict.
/me waits for other members to say “Hi, iTZKooPA.”
I watch numerous other shows across the greater TV universe, but the History Channel is one of the networks I always check first. I don’t know what it is about the History Channel, but the endless stream of “useless information” sucks me in, especially when Modern Marvels is on - and running the Engineering Disasters series. I guess I just enjoy little known facts about often forgotten people, places or events.
This unknown hunger for information has driven me to act, as well as absorb. When I was a part of a hardcore raiding guild in vanilla WoW I took it upon myself to record our accomplishments for posterity’s sake. I didn’t care that the GM put up screenshots, soon to be followed by videos, of our server first kills. To me, my few lines of text were needed, you might say unique. I was a cog in the machine - a DPSer - not one of the heroic few that were often recognized outside the guild - our main tanks, GM, officers and some healers. My voice was different, it wasn’t from the fearless leader trumping up “his” accomplishments, or a reckless hero blood-drunk off his own success, but from lonely assassin just jotting down philosophical meanderings while cleansing his blades.
I fired up the document during one of the fabled IRL gatherings not knowing what to expect from those gathered. Much to my surprise it was a hit. People had long forgotten many of the hardships we suffered during the Blackwing Lair days, the pain of farming nature resistance gear for Ahn’Qiraj, or reputation farming for Naxxramas. The 250th member of the guild - alts not included - was but a grain of sand caressing the ocean’s waves. And who in the guild didn’t ride the Menion taxi? Nine people, by my count, never rode it. These “fun facts” started up entirely new conversations that continued beyond the party.
Go ahead, dig out some old screenshots, or click through your FRAPS archive. I’m sure there are plenty of old memories, good and bad, that have been tucked away in your HDD that you’ve inadvertently kept or forgotten. Feel free to share them, we all love a good story.
It took me awhile to get here, but here’s the point. Imagine if Blizzard kept some of these facts for us. The game already shares a collection of personal stats, why not apply the same idea to the upcoming guild overhaul? It’d certainly add some social awareness to the game. First member, longest-standing member, most charitable, most greedy, highest crit, most deaths, the list can go on and on. Let’s take it one step further, let’s apply the compiling of fun facts to servers in general. Who was the first character created? Who’s logged the most hours? Who really did kill Onyxia first on Magtheridon-US (ATR!)? Much of this information is already tracked and logged, we just need Blizzard to share it with us. Frankly, it’s just a merger of the current Achievement system with hidden statistics and social engineering.
It wouldn’t be as eloquent as my hand-written history, but I know that if the idea ever came to fruition I’d lose a ton of time to reading about guild history on Magtheridon, and comparing my home server to others. For those who don’t care about history, at least you could fact check everyone else’s claims a little better, without having to leave the WoW Armory or your game client.
P.S. Your statistics can be accessed from your Achievement page - hotkey Y.
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By Mezz on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 3:07 pm
First
By littleraven on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 3:47 pm
im for it
By Laeltis on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Genious.
By Zerth on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Who was the first person on PL to say “First”?
By Spikolie on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Hi, iTZKooPA!!!
By iTZKooPA on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 5:43 pm
@Zerth
Good one. Would you like it on the blog, or the videos, or as a whole?
By Daemonbane on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 6:09 pm
nice speech, your a good writer.
By jrakthorn on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 7:50 pm
My wow screen shots do tell quite a bit of far forgotten history
it dates all the way when i first made my very first world of warcraft character, who was an ally warrior
to the final day i played him, and me making my shaman in an attempt to play with my friend from my school
to the day my friend came back from moving to chicago
to me dinging 80
and most recently , to me clearing HM ulduar mimiron
By Pegraath on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Mine are stored on an online album, and consist of various Doomguard pics, me and my mounts (Red drake, Epic carpet, and Violet Protodrake), and posing with the Frostscythe of Ahune (which I still can’t bring myself to disenchant!). The oldest one I have is after me casting Curse Of Doom for the very first time (at level 60) and a Doomguard appearing. In the screenshot I’m mid-cast of Enslave Demon (which didn’t work - I had to run!).
I also have a handful of our Raid Community’s boss first-kill pics which are all dated.
By 4KhazModan on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 9:15 pm
My screenshots are not nearly as sentimental as yours. I have some from back at level 27 when i first learned how to take them. I have taken some whenever I aquire AWSOME looking gear. But my favorites are the funny ones. I have one of a horde alt in the starting zone and I saw a boar was bugged and was on top of a cactus. I said “OMG…..SPIDER PIG!!!!” and snapped the shot. That one is my favorite. But I also have ones of me dinging 80 and my guilds first naxx 10 bosses down.
By Alayea on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 1:33 am
I save some gchat conversations on occasion by using screenshot and then typing the dialogue on a .txt file.
By Lafetus on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 10:06 am
My most memorable screenshot was lvl 47 on my blood elf paladin, my first ever made character in front of one f the emerald dragons and I was absolutely amazed by it.
Although my favorite screenshot in my gaming history are my screenshots from when I played Maple Story and joined my friends guild on a beginner character. So many new players asked me how to join a guild on a low level so I told them all you have to do is push Alt-F4. Little did I know that alt-f4 doesn’t close the game for maple story but alt, makes you jump, and f4 makes your character frown. So I have screenshots of 10+ people jumping and frowning over and over again. Not my goal but was quite hilarious!