Virtually Awesome Gifting

Dragonflymuse The family who games together stays together. In fact, that reminds me, I forgot about sharing some recent work I commissioned from a few artists I follow. It’s even on topic because I paid for it with virtual currency. So, first, sharing!

Mischiart was running a special for in-game currency awhile back and I ordered this piece of my Guild Wars 2 Mesmer, Relm Arrowni (inspired by the same Relm Arrowny of FFVI fame, but toned down and set in Tyria). Click the picture and find Mischiart on her deviantart page. She’s awesome, you should also consider comissioning her!

Several details were my idea (such as her pose), but Mischiart brought more awesome details such as the dripping paint line above the knees and shaping her palette like a butterfly (non GW2 players: Purple butterflies are a common mesmer illusion graphic in the game).

Then I commissioned this epic piece from her, titled “The Family Who Games Together” and why I remembered I hadn’t yet shared these commissions.

I wanted a picture of three of my family’s characters together, but one that made at least some sense but also incorporated top choices. The result ended up being two Guild Wars 2 characters and my husband’s World of Warcraft mage but sneakily put together. In World of Warcraft there are 3 types of mages, ice, fire, and arcane. Though the topmost characters are actually GW2 elementalists, they still look like they could be WOW mages.

Likewise, Morbius at the bottom is using purple-coloured arcane magic based in WOW, but it just as easily looks like a tailor-made GW2 mesmer illusion.

Either way, it groups up one of our favourite characters in games for each of us.

At top is my GW2 elementalist, Celes Cherano. Yes, she is another FFVI tribute with toned down backstory and set in Tyria. In the middle you have my son’s elementalist, another FFVI tribute (he just started playing it on an emulator occasionally), Terra Buranford. Finally, at the bottom, my husband’s mage, Morbius, based rather lightly (but with completely different backstory) on Morbius from Forbidden Planet.

Back on topic!

Back for their birthdays in September, we were running rather tight with money. We managed to swing a few gifts for our son, and dinner out for both birthdays at once. I found out that World of Warcraft was taking the ability to win four very awesome mounts out of the game in October. The catch was, none of us were ready to earn one and buying the speed challenge runs necessary cost 100k per person. I only had 40k at the time.

Bank of Doogan (a friend with stockpiled virtual wealth who’s nice enough to loan it out from time to time) to the rescue! I borrowed 200k from him and scored both of my boys their own challenge dungeon mounts and gear set before they were swept off availability.

Here’s one of the four colours after I got my own on horde:

Well…it’s almost time for the next World of Warcraft expansion (this Thursday!) and I still owe Doogan 19k gold and no one is buying anything any more on the in-game auction house *flail*

Don’t get me wrong, as long as it’s taking me to pay back, it was worth it. Now, however, money is even tighter than before and Christmas looms ahead. We can still swing a few real-world gifts (we pre-paid for the expansions back when we actually had some money), but not nearly as many as I would like.

However, there’s always the other games we play together, and maybe even some more virtual WOW gifts if I can earn the gold back for them in time. Right now, I’m working on an entire box of special pokémon (30 total) surprise in their X and Y games. Shhh! Trying to get as many shinies as I can. So…because I’ve turned the game into work I guess I can change my occupation to “Volunteer Pokémon Breeder.” I wonder if anything in my new business is tax deductible?

So what is the “virtually awesome gifting?” Well, it’s the nice side effect, of playing several different games together (and being, as they both admit, a bit better at all of them). When it comes to gifting, whether for birthdays, Christmas, or just because, even when money is tight and you can’t work for money…

Well…there’s always earning stuff in Pokémon…or World of Warcraft…or Guild Wars 2…or LoTRO (less so with that last).

Maybe I’ll get a job who’ll work around my husband’s schedule this season. Don’t worry, we’re not starving (elsewise we wouldn’t all 3 have WOW subscriptions right now). Either way, it’s nice having a back up plan where I can earn or “buy” them nice things in their favourite games and still watch their faces light up.

My son says he likes the gifts I earn them a lot. In fact, they’d be the perfect gifts really if there were something he could actually unwrap. I told him that settles it, on Christmas eve, if I get him something for Pokémon, I’ll just wrap his DS game. If I get him something for WOW, I’ll wrap his laptop up. I love his giggle.

My little Brony Dash hopes you all had a happy Halloween as well. Yes, he’s growing his hair out. Yes, it’s in a ponytail past his shoulders. Yes, he looks a lot like a mini-me here. Yes, our camera sucks.

Also, since it is Memory Monday…a tie in:

I made this meme with my son awhile back after a fishing meme said “Fishing outside. Because memories aren’t made from video games.” Nothing against fishing, honest, great memories there as well, but I also have many MANY fond video gaming memories with so many different people all over the world as well.