Ah yes, that infamous moment when the counter on GuildWars2.com hit zero and my buddy and I raced into the world of Tyria knowing the life we used to know is gone forever… and here I am giving ArenaNet another idea to keep me, and the rest of the Guild Was 2 community, glued in this alternate world.
Note: Not actual sizes; there are no giant frogs in Guild Wars
Long ago, some 250-odd years according to the Mouvelian calendar, a lone ranger and her amphibious friend, The Frog, would occasionally march into Lion’s Arch, the main city in the original Guild Wars. This ranger, all decked out in purple armour, and The Frog would cause every hero across the land to gather in this city to eat sweets, set off fireworks and most of all hear what these two mysterious beings had to say.
For those unfamiliar with the original Guild Wars, and me for that matter, it was Gail Grey, then the Community Relations Manager for ArenaNet, walking into Lion’s Arch as a level nine ranger and the person who sparked my interest in Community Management. What better way to interact with us, the players, then inside the game? Some players probably don’t use Twitter, or even — *gasp* — Facebook. How cool would it be to see Community Managers Regina Buenaobra or Martin Kerstein in Guild Wars 2 taking on your questions, hearing your thoughts or commenting on your ideas?
Another thing, bring back The Frog, or another riddle-speaking being. This omniscient frog would never directly say what he means, but offer hints and roundabout descriptions of new things to come in Guild Wars. Our amphibious informant also fit in so well within the lore of Tyria; The Frog essentially became the “fly on the wall” around the world, claiming he gets all his information through The Tad-Pole Network.
The Frog kept the players guessing and eager for the next update. It was common to see “what do you think The Frog meant by this?” or “dude, I think we’re getting <insert wanted item, functionality or fix here>!” in Guild and All chat after The Frog bid his farewell and gamers had a chance to read the chat log that was plastered over every fan site and forum around the WWW.
Between Gail Grey’s visits and The Frog’s riddles, it sent Guild Wars apart from other MMOs. It added a huge emotional attachment to Guild Wars by ArenaNet taking the time to come visit and, subsequently, tease us with new content information. Time and time again ArenaNet proved they want to listen to us by answering tweets, Facebook comments and Reddit posts, but at some point the developer needs to go where every player gathers — inside Guild Wars 2.
