Comments on: The Remarkable Bard

By: Nerfbat » Massive Guys on Massive Games: Episode #4

Nerfbat » Massive Guys on Massive Games: Episode #4 — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:06:02 +0000

[...] can be found at http://www.nerfbat.com/donate/. - More about why Ryan loves Bards can be found here. This entry was posted on Sunday, July 27th, 2008 at 23:06 in Podcast. You can [...]

By: Drugstore Space Cowboy

Drugstore Space Cowboy — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:05:12 +0000

��a bard-only free-for-all PvP-centric skill-based non-item-centric science-fantasy worldbuilding Shwayderfest.�

Hot damn! That would be nice.

By: Grish

Grish — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:59:43 +0000

I played a bard in FFXI. Bards were like rock stars in that game–worshiped and highly sought after–because they were the only class that made that horrible level grind semi-tolerable. At least that is how I remember it.

By: BenjaminEllison

BenjaminEllison — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:13:02 +0000

Bard Buffs ftw! I loved playing a Skald in DAoC - especially once they opened up FFA PvP.

I’m fondly remembering Sir Robin’s Tale theme music while playing the Bard’s Tale (on my C64, sigh).

By: Darius K.

Darius K. — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:29:58 +0000

You can thank Jason Booth for the AC2 music system!

By: Ryan Shwayder

Ryan Shwayder — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:10:27 +0000

I loved LotRO’s music system at first. Now I don’t really like it. At first, it was all people freestyling and trying to make up a song then play it real time. Now it’s mostly people with macros or G15s playing real life songs automatically. That people can play real life songs in a fantasy world annoys me a bit, but that they took all the skill out of it bugs me even more.

My favorite music implementation was another Turbine game: Asheron’s Call 2. There were a dozen or so different instruments, each of which had a few musical sequences they could play. They were timed so they’d play together accurately, so you could have as many players as you wanted playing their own instrument and it sounded decent together. The people who practiced together could time their transitions to the other musical sequences and it sounded awesome.

The AC2 system was brilliant because every single person could use it, and as a result, most people did. In LotRO, only a few people were ever good at freestyling (I like to count myself as one of those), so it went from the rare good musician but a lot of terribly annoying noise (some people would grief by just smashing their keys in crowded places) to the rare good musician with other people automatically playing the greatest hits of the 70s, 80s, 90s, and today.

By: horder

horder — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:11:57 +0000

Let’s also not forget that bards played an important role in RL history, too. As they travelled along from place to place, the local nobility would often trip over themselves to accomodate them, knowing full well that a bard who was unhappy with the way they were treated could easily pen a song that would decimate the the noble’s reputation in the surrounding areas. So yes, the bard actually did have the ability to strike fear in the hearts of the mighty. And of course music really does have the power to sway emotion, so powerfully that bards were probably the closest of any class to actually wield magi-like powers in RL. LotRO does the best job of music generally. I’ve watched some wonderful concerts put on by people who’ve taken the time to master the music aspect of that game. It adds a whole new layer to the experience & community.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:48:36 +0000

Dark Age of Camelot skalds were badass.

Because they ran around with a huge maul or two handed axe, though, not because they sang.

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:01:33 +0000

My love of bards began with Bard’s Tale… f’ing Fire Horn! Yeah!

By: J.P. Lapointe

J.P. Lapointe — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:19:17 +0000

“…a bard-only free-for-all PvP-centric skill-based non-item-centric science-fantasy worldbuilding Shwayderfest.”

It isn’t? Dang. Well, I’m sure it will be fun, just the same.

Poody