Design Notes
June 28, 2023
Exclusive Interview with YouTuber Korey
Man’s got more views than the population of Venezuela!
Why, hello there heroes! It’s Beleen, here to bring you something new – and something pink! – on the Design Notes today. As if the title of this post didn’t already spoil the surprise, allow me to squeal with excitement over getting to interview MMO YouTuber, @Koreyx! Korey’s videos have been watched nearly 30,000,000 times, so there’s a pretty good chance you’ve already seen Korey in action. Speaking of action – let’s jump right into this interview already!
Beleen: Hey Korey! It’s so awesome getting to do this interview with you today. Please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your channel.
Korey: Hi, hello, howdy. My Name is Korey and I have a YouTube Channel where I post news and updates for AQW.
Beleen: So what sparked your interest in MMOs and inspired you to start a YouTube channel?
Korey: I always grew up with video games in the house. My dad was very big into it. He was building his own PC and had a lot of the consoles back in the 90s. I would be more surprised if I was not into games. MMOs in particular just came from being bored and looking for free games to play on PC. Back in 2008, the landscape for free to play games was not anything close to how large it is now. Also, around the same time I started playing AQW, YouTube was becoming more and more popular. My friend in grade school, James, told me about YouTube; he wanted to share some cool Lego stop motion videos. The first few channels I made are probably still out there… somewhere online… when I was way too young to be posting videos.
Beleen: Your secret is safe with me 😋 Now, could you share with us your most memorable moment in AQW and why it stands out?
Korey: Being able to search in my inventory and having a cape with my logo on it is very surreal. Still very crazy to me that I have an item in a MMO I play.
Beleen: I know the feeling! My chinchilla, Chongo, was the first in-game item made for me, so I feel the feels you’re feeling, man! Now, if you could be any character from a video game in real life, who would you choose and why?
Korey: Max from Scribblenauts. He has a book where anything you write in it appears in real life. So if I wanted a talking pink dinosaur, it would just spawn. Cure for cancer, sure, here it is. You would become very overpowered as Max IRL.
Beleen: Oddly enough, a pink dinosaur curing cancer is my spirit animal. And speaking of overpowered things IRL, let's delve into the technical side of YouTubing. What kind of equipment and software do you use for creating your videos?
Korey: You do not need much to start making videos. I started on a really cheap laptop that had a hard time running a browser window and a headset mic that I bought to use voice chat on the Wii. Today, my setup is a lot different but none of it is necessary. If I was starting from scratch, I would prioritize getting a decent mic. The second thing I would get is a second monitor; if you are using a single monitor – even if you are not streaming or making videos – you need to look for a cheap one… it is such a game changer. I offered my brother my old GPU that would have been a large PC upgrade for him, and he gave it back to me after he figured out that he could no longer use his second monitor with it since the monitor was old and did not have the right display connector. All of the Software I use is free except for Photoshop – you need to pay the Adobe tax for that one. I use Shotcut for editing videos and OBS for recording and streaming.
Beleen: I remember my first “gaming PC” was an eMachines computer, and it was the cheapest setup a child could buy after raking pine needles all summer long. I’m like 99% sure they stopped making eMachines when I stopped raking pine needles…
And thanks for the helpful advice on the video editing stuff! Now, let’s delve into seriously helpful stuff: how do you handle negative feedback or criticism? Any advice for content creators (or other human beings) dealing with similar situations?
Korey: My mindset on people that will post something negative online is that they are probably not in a good situation and are looking for an outlet. Responding to that in most situations feeds it. Now, being negative and having criticism can feel similar to the person receiving it, but if it is real criticism, I take it and see if there is anything I can take action on, and I have in the past made changes to my channel and content based on feedback.
Beleen: That's a really great approach, Korey. What other advice would you give to aspiring MMO YouTubers who want to start their own channels?
Korey: DO IT. If you think you can do it, stop thinking and upload something. Keep uploading. Watch videos other people make to learn and upload more. Just like with anything, practice is the only way. Content matters over everything; at the end of the day, if you can convey that content in an entertaining way, your channel will grow.
Beleen: Korey the Motivation Speaker could be your next channel idea :p But you’d definitely need a personal assistant to help you out. So! If any NPC from AQW could be your personal assistant in real life, who would it be and why?
Korey: Safiria. First off, and a **spoiler** this would mean she is no longer dead. Second, vampires now exist in the real world. Growing up I thought vampires were pretty lame, but I played Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines and It completely changed my opinion on them. Third, she is very overqualified to be anyone's personal assistant so I imagine she would do an amazing job.
Beleen: Hahaha! That last line has me in stitches! So what was your favorite AQW event (other than Birds with Arms, hehehe)?
Korey: This is a very easy answer: Throne of Darkness! The whole event felt like it had good direction. If I recall, it started in the summer and ended in the fall so it did not overstay its welcome like some quest lines will do. A ton of classes were released during the event. I think it was like one every 2 weeks which is nuts compared to the one or two that are released a year now. Map art was unique and well made. Cutscenes were great. Just all in all a great event.
Beleen: I actually didn’t play it– but now I have just got to check it out! Hey readers: if you want to play through Throne of Darkness too, just type /join darkthronehub in the in-game chat and head there right now! But before I myself head out, I should probably conclude this interview, huh?
Any future goals or milestones for you and/or your channel, Korey?
Korey: It would be nice to hit 100k on YouTube at some point in the future. YouTube gives you a cool silver play button for that.
Beleen: 100,000 subscribers would be HUGE!! I beleen in you! 🤭 And finally, do you have any special messages or shout-outs you'd like to share with the AQW community?
Korey: If you read all of this, I hope you found some of the answers interesting. Big thanks to all the people who watch my channel. Some have been watching for half a decade or more at this point.
Beleen: The Artix Entertainment community really feels like family, huh? It’s so wonderful to have such great friends surrounding us for so many years – and to think I myself started working on AQW 14 years ago! I guess it’s true what they say: time flies when you’re having pun.
Aaaand that cringe comment concludes our interview with Korey! We've learned so much about his passion for MMO games, the content creation process, and some valuable input on IRL and in-game events. It's been a pleasure having Korey here with us today, and the AE team wishes him continued success on his YouTube channel! Thank you Korey for sharing your adventures with us today and everyday you upload a new AQW video 💖
Keep adventuring, keep gaming, and above all else, keep having fun everyone!
Battle on!
Beleen, Korey, and the AQW team
PS: Many thanks to AdventureQuest Worlds hero + wicked-talented artist, Zeyles, who is the creator of the Korey art + chibi Korey used in the image above! Check out his other work here: Zeyles' Twitter
February 08, 2023
Teasing a new game feature on Friday :o
Friday: Hero's Heart Day returns AND a new feature's foundation arrives :D
Heya heroes! Friday is almost here, so that means a new game release is on the horizon – it was written by me, but made possible by your amaaazing AQW team, and includes the first look at a 🌟 new game feature 🌟 that you will all surely love! I don’t want to ruin any surprises… so imma drop some hints here and see what inevitably gets leaked on Twitter. 😆
Being nice and kind, it's always on our mind,
A smile and a wave, that's how you behave,
With a heart full of love, no matter the darkness above,
You'll make someone's day, with a single display!
When you spread happiness, you light up the room,
With your kind actions and a cheerful tune,
It's so warm and bright, like the morning sun light,
Bringing joy to this rhyme, one kind act at a time!
So be a ray of sunshine, wherever you go,
With a smile on your face, and kindness that glows,
And soon, everyone will be smiling as well,
When they witness the power of your friendship spell!
Feeling the love IRL <3
Heroes Heart Day may be celebrated in-game, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t spread some positivity, kindness, and love in the real world today! I *know* that everyone has the power to make a difference in someone's life, even in the smallest ways. Whether it's holding the door open for someone, offering kind encouragements, complimenting someone on their outfit, or lending a helping hand, every act of kindness counts. We should all work together to create a brighter, friendlier world by being there for one another and spreading kindness wherever we go! 💕
So no matter if you are in-game or in-real-life, go out there and be kind, be helpful, and make someone's day a little brighter. You never know… your act of kindness could be just what someone needs to turn their day – or life – around!
Looking forward to making the world a happier place with my heroes 🥰
xoxo Beleen!
(Alina note: this is the first release to include a new feature the team plans to add onto over time based on your requests and input. We're all excited to see what you think, and very grateful to Beleen for inspiring this latest feature addition!)
October 06, 2022
Happy 20th Birthday, AdventureQuest
They level up so fast, don’t they?
The game that started it all just turned 20 years old! 🥳
Back in the day, the original AdventureQuest (commonly referred to as BattleOn) dominated high school computer labs since it was legitimately one of the two online games available at the time. Sure, there were other Flash-based mini-games out there like Frog in a Blender and Gerbil in a Microwave,* but none of these time-killers compared to the full RPG experience of AQ.
* Gosh, the early 2000s had a sick sense of humor…
Before AQ came along, the only way to play a full RPG video game was to buy a physical game for your PC or console. That. Was. It. You (aka your parents) would have to shell out like $50 to buy a game cartridge or a CD, oooor you’d have to wait weeks for a certain game to become available at Blockbuster.** Of course, there was always the option to play games at your friend’s house, but it wasn’t much fun playing a single player RPG with only one save slot 😭
** I am seriously aging myself with all these archaic references.
But then!! AdventureQuest came along in 2002 and revolutionized the gaming experience! No longer did you have to worry that your eMachines computer wasn’t powerful enough to run the latest CD-ROM; AQ made gaming possible anywhere, so long as your computer was hooked up to the internet (back then, it was called the World Wide Web dial-up connection). High school and middle school computer labs were prime gaming grounds thanks to AQ’s browser-based gameplay, a F2P model that was unheard of at the time, and some of the worst graphics you had ever seen!
Fast forward 20 years, and AQ is still free-to-play with much better graphics than before (except that default character face — goodness gracious!!). If you wanna check out the game that started it all, check out that default face I mentioned, and check out the birthday celebrations happening now in the OG AQ, then tickle this link right here!
Update: AE’s 20th Anniversary in AQW
There are some things in life that are out of our control. Sometimes it’s pimples, sometimes it’s terrible fashion trends, and other times it’s devastating forces of nature. Hurricane Ian wrecked Florida last week; our thoughts, prayers, and positive vibes go out to everyone affected by the storm. Thankfully, all of the AE team and their families were unharmed, although some suffered property damage and went without power & water for many days. *gasp* Does that mean y’all went without coffee too?! *sobbing hugs*
Hard to work on anything — esp computer game stuff — when you don’t have any power. That being said, we have to push back AE’s Anniversary event to the following Friday, October 14, 2022. I knnnnoooww I said it would begin Oct 7, but good luck voicing complaints to a Hurricane 🤷♀️
The 20th Anniversary event is still so enormous (and somehow got even bigger, thanks Artix lol) it will span the course of 2 weeks PLUS we’ve got Mogloween nipping at our heels AND ermahgerd there’s so much going on this month and in this run-on sentence SO here’s the current updated AQW release plan (barring any other force majeure events):
October 7
- seasonal Mogloween events return
- seasonal AQWorlds Birthday maps + gear return
- Artix 20th Anniversary Collection Chest
- 14th Birthday Gift I: Free inventory + bank slots
October 14
- AE 20th Anniversary Event, Part I
- Artix 20th Anniversary Collection Chest update
- 2022 Achievement Tracker gifts
- 14th Birthday Gift II: 500 free AdventureCoins
October 21
- AE 20th Anniversary Event, Part II
- 14th Birthday Class: ArchMage
- 14th Birthday Gift III: Multi turn-in / buy / sell / enhance
October 28
- 2022 Mogloween event
- Wheel of Doom Treasure Chest update
- 14th Birthday Gift IV: Cosmetic / outfit slots
As if all that wasn’t enough, there’s all kinds of other stuff you can do in the meantime, like gettin’ yer gauntlets on the new Star Swords and collecting viscera (uh wut?) during the newest Carnax adventure. I saw somewhere on Reddit that there’s this heccin sweet house item but idk if that is for realsies or is just joke. It was these 2 dragons coming down through the ceiling as if home insurance would be a-okay covering that claim.
“First Hurricane Ian, and now DRAGONS?” No wonder why insurance companies are leaving Florida…
Well just like everyone else at AE, I have got to get back to work! BTW: when I wrote this, it was Wednesday, so that means we should ALL have worn PINK! 💞
xoxo, Beleen :D
July 29, 2015
Chaos Queen Beleen Shop Leaving
Last Chance to Get Chaos Queen Beleen Rares!
If you haven't played through the Chaos Queen Beleen release, then you are missing out! You can begin your war against the pinkification of Lore when you /join drearia! If you are a FAN of the color pink, adorably fiending things, or fan-favorite artist Nulgath, then you want to make sure you don't miss the Chaos Queen Beleen Rares shop!
The Chaos Queen Beleen shop holds:
- Cutie Makai Bank Pet
- Chibi Nulgath Bank Pet
- Chaos Beleen Sparkles
- Purified Axe of Nulgath
- Purified Blade of Nulgath
- Purified Scythe of Nulgath
- Purified Polearm of Nulgath
- Nulgaleen Horns Morph
- Nulgaleen Locks Morph
- Chibi Nulgath Helm
- Icy Chibi Nulgath Helm
- Pinkitron Armor
- Chibi Head Pilot
- Icy Chibi Nulgath Kitty Helm
The items in the July Holiday Rares shop also leave tomorrow night, so be sure to snag anything you want now, before they are gone until next year!
July 03, 2015
This Weekend: Beleen's Chaos Incarnate
Save AQWorlds from Chaos Queen Beleen!
Beleen, Artix Entertainment's bubbliest, most positively-pink developer has discovered the sad, abandoned village of Drearia and vows to bring it back to life. But after accidentally stumbling Nulgath the ArchFiend, lord of the Oversoul and former ruler of the Underworld, her powers of randomness and cheer... mutate in the STRANGEST way possible!
Starting tonight, /join Drearia and battle your way through Beleen's re-envisioning of AQWorlds... cuter, pinker, and with MUCH more Chaos! If you don't want to battle through a pink world, we need YOU to stop her!
Find the rare gear shop in your game menu, with new (unpink) items from Nulgath!* Then head into Beleen's adventure and begin the battle (plus, get some super-sweet monster drops, if you're lucky)!
* If you follow my Twitter feed, you know that I am absolutely crazy about the chibi nulgath! I could not stop turning it into more and more gear. Real Fiends go Chibi!
A Message from Beleen
Weeeeee! I just know you are going to love-love-LOVE this special… albeit CRAZY!... release that me and the AQWorlds team have spent 3 weeks developing. It was A LOT of work (requiring A LOT of caffeine), but it was totally worth the long hours and coffee-stained smile because I really wanted to make my Chaos Beleen storyline the most fun and memorable release in the game’s history.
…aaaand not to mention, I kinda wanted MY release to totally PWN Cysero’s and Artix’s events. Teehehhehee >:D
But! In order for that dream to come to fruition, I am going to need your help. I need YOU to join the #BeleenTeam and help spread the word of this weekend's Chaos Queen Beleen event!
Invite all your friends to come play AQ.com tomorrow night with us, and if you happen to know someone who used to play AQWorlds, let them know that I designed this new release and I would love it if they came back and played AQW with me! Woohoo!!
Thanks so much for making my fantasy (…of forcing Artix to wear pink, LOL!) into reality, and I really hope you enjoy playing tomorrow’s Chaos Queen Beleen release alongside me, Artix, Nulgath, and 30000 of our closest friends!
Pink On and Battle On!
xoxo Beleen =D
Summer 2015: Return of the Living Devs Continues
So far, we've seen one release from each of our three returning devs - Artix, Cysero, and Beleen!
Make sure you've played through all three stories before next week, when Artix re-returns with his Living dungeon release! He, Dage, J6, and the rest of the team have a titan-sized adventure planned for you... next week!
July 02, 2015
This Friday: Chaos Queen Beleen Release!
AQWorlds Weekly News for July 3, 2015
Hiya hero! I am SUPER excited to announce this week’s newest release:
Chaos Queen Beleen Art Print Now in HeroMart!
Make your way to HeroMart.com, our online, real-life merchandise store to find the new Chaos Queen Beleen Arti Print! Inspired by Beleen, marketing writer for Artix Entertainment, and created by Nulgath, master artist, this 8.5x11" limited edition print will bring chaos and craziness to your room, dorm, office, or castle!
June 29, 2015
I’m Having Too Much Fun!
Beleen’s Chaos Queen Release Launches this Friday, July 3
Tehehehe… Artix’s eyes will bleed RAINBOWS when he sees this!!
…also, I am NOT a paid artist…
=D
June 26, 2015
NEW Print at Heromart: Chaos Queen Beleen
Embrace the Chaos with Nulgath's New Print
Make your way to HeroMart.com, our online, real-life merchandise store to find the new Chaos Queen Beleen Arti Print! Inspired by Beleen, marketing writer for Artix Entertainment, and created by Nulgath, master artist, this 8.5x11" limited edition print will bring chaos and craziness to your room, dorm, office, or castle!
Nulgath the lead designer for Oversoul and long time artist for AdventureQuest Worlds brings his unique art to HeroMart. We appreciate him taking the time between waging wars and gathering minions to create this awesome art piece and the in-game Items!
The Chaos Queen Beleen print comes with the exclusive Chaos Beleen armor! The Locks of Love and Spikes of Love helms pictured above will be available both with the HeroMart print and from this week's story release shop.
Next Friday in AQWorlds: All Hail Chaos Queen Beleen!
Beleen, Artix Entertainment's bubbliest, most positively-pink developer has discovered the sad, abandoned village of Drearia and vows to bring it back to life. But after accidentally stumbling Nulgath the ArchFiend, lord of the Oversoul and former ruler of the Underworld, her powers of randomness and cheer... mutate in the STRANGEST way possible!
June 24, 2015
AQWeekly Newsletter: June 26 2015
Deadmoor Spirit release written by Cysero
Everyone’s favorite Mad Weaponsmith, Cysero, specially designed Friday’s upcoming release: Deadmoor Spirit!
Click to read this week’s brand new newsletter and discover all the new NEW happening this week!
June 18, 2015
AQWeekly Newsletter: June 19 2015
New layout. New adventures. New story written by Artix!
Hi! You’ve got mail!
Click to read this week’s brand new newsletter—not only was it personally created by Artix himself, but Artix also wrote this week’s new game release: Ebil DreadSpace. AQW’s summer event starts off with a blast… off into space!
June 11, 2015
VelocityAE - NEW MOBILE GAME!
Retro Arcade Game Made in a Day
If you thought Flappy Bird was hard, you gotta try this app. It is hard, retro, hard, simple and super hard. Lasting 10 seconds pretty much means you are a gaming god.
Surprise Mobile Game Release
Available now on iOS and Android devices! Introducing VelocityAE… brought forth from 1980s with a time travel device.
“Buuuuuut wait, this doesn’t look like ANY game Artix has ever made before!”
Right you are. And that’s because it wasn’t really made at Artix Entertainment.
“HUH?!?”
Hehe, let me explain:
If you’re a long-time player of Artix games, then you probably recognize this fellow.
That’s Rolith, our resident code monkey. He’s been Artix’s longest coder, cracking away at DragonFable in 2006, and has dabbled in just about every Artix game ever since.
But, man, Rolith LOVES his job. When he’s not typing code at breakneck speeds here at the Secret Underground Lab, he’s at home writing even more ridiculous code “for funsies” (Rolith’s words exactly). I bet his dreams are in C#.
| So it should come to no surprise that Rolith decided to make a game in his spare time... because, funsies. So one night, Rolith started building something he was really passionate about (retro arcade runners), and 24 hours later… VelocityAE was born. |  |
It’s a rare sight to see Rolith beam as brightly as me, but when Rolith came into the Secret Lab the next morning flashing a HUGE smile, everyone knew that he was up either up to no good ~or~ was extremely proud of something.
But before anyone could ask him why, Rolith quickly pulled aside Cysero and Korin, asking for their help to build some assets for his overnight game. Cysero whipped up the 8-bit artwork for the spaceships and Korin was on 3D mesh duty.
“Have you told Artix about your game, Rolith?” Cysero asked.
“Um, No...” whispered Rolith, “Don’t tell Artix about Velocity yet. I think it would be so funny if this 24-hour game got more installs and plays than AQ Dragons-- which, took Artix 6 months to make.”
Korin smirked. “So it’s a secret, ay?”
So yes, Rolith kept Velocity a secret from Artix (AND ME TOO, GRRR!!) until the game was completely polished and ready for app store submission. This is not the first time Rolith made a secret game project-- does anyone remember Pony vs Pony?
Finally Rolith approached Artix and said, “I know you got a ton of games coming out this Summer, but what would you say if I had one ready to go…. right now?” A skeptically-curious Artix was given Rolith’s iPhone and he started playing. He died 3 seconds later. “Hard. Retro. ...and SUPER HARD!” exclaimed Artix as he spent the next 17 minutes replaying the game over and over again, trying to beat his high score. He didn’t last longer than 10 seconds. “I love this! How long until we can release it for the players”
Rolith smirked.
Artix went o_O, leaned in and asked, “Did you, uh… already submit it?”
Rolith was taken aback. “Should I have waited?”
“No, no…. this is great!” Artix reaffirmed. “At least you did not use your spare time to making another game about Ponies! Let it go live secretly, we can make fixes and then tell the whole world about this!"
“Wow, what an awesome story!
I wanna play that game too!!”
I bet you do. And you’re in luck, because VelocityAE is up on the iTunes App Store and Google Play right now. Please show Rolith and his hard work some love by giving VelocityAE 5-stars and help us spread the word.
June 09, 2015
BioBeasts Breach Battleon!
Unlock exclusive BioBeasts Armor Sets in AQWorlds
Are you as excited about BioBeasts as we are?!? The creative minds behind EpicDuel are proud to announce BioBeasts, a free single-player arcade-survival game coming soon to iOS and Android. Your mission: escape, mutate, DESTROY!
Play as a mutating monster fighting its way through a robot-controlled laboratory. But you’re not just some ordinary monster… you’re a BioBeast, and as you grow stronger and more powerful, you evolve and mutate! Wicked.
Use simple tap controls to unleash devastating damage upon the onslaught of bad guys trying to capture you. It’s a fast-paced fun game that’s simple to pick up but hard to put down.
“We cannot wait for you to unleash the BioBeast within you(r phone)!” – the EpicDuel Team
Exclusive Items, aww yeah!
We know that you and all your friends are going to LOVE this game. And that’s why we need YOUR help telling everyone about BioBeasts!
This is kind of like a contest…except everyone will win prizes if we all team up and work together! All you need to do is Like the BioBeasts Facebook page, and the more Likes we get, the closer we will be at unlocking exclusive BioBeasts-themed Armors, Helms, Weapons, and more in AQWorlds.
Here's what you have to do:
- Like the BioBeasts Facebook Page
- Tell your friends to Like the BioBeasts FB Page
- New Items will unlock in-game at Battleon when each milestone is reached:
- Helms unlock at 7,000 Facebook Like
- Back Items unlock at 15,000 Facebook Likes
- Swords unlock at 25,000 Facebook Likes
- Armors unlock at 50,000 Facebook Likes
- BioBeasts Pet unlocks at 100,000 Facebook Likes!
The Electro BioBeast gear is free for ALL players. The Hazardous BioBeast gear is available for Legends. Every item is 0 ACs for free storage!
Click here to Like the BioBeasts Facebook page, and we will be one step closer at obtaining these exclusive BioBeasts-themed items for AQW!
Thanks so much for supporting BioBeasts, EpicDuel, AdventureQuest Worlds, and all your favorite Artix Entertainment games.
You’re the best!!
xoxo Beleen =D
BioBeasts Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BioBeasts
BioBeasts Homepage: http://biobeasts.artix.com/
BioBeasts Twitter: https://twitter.com/BioBeasts
EpicDuel Homepage: http://epicduel.artix.com/
June 04, 2015
Spoiler Alert: Chaos Queen Beleen
The first glimpse at this summer’s upcoming release
Okay okay okay, so Nulgath doesn’t know I’m about to do this… which is why this post will be super short… but look what he just sent me:
Chaos Beleen Concept
EEEEEEEE!!! Now, this is only a sketch, so Beleen’s final chaos form may look a bit different than that. But man oh man oh MAN I am LOVIN’ what Nulgath has worked up!
What are your thoughts? Share them on my Twitter!
xoxo Beleen =D
June 03, 2015
AQWeekly Newsletter: Releasing June 5
Have fun battling on all weekend long! Super big thanks for playing AdventureQuest Worlds with us, and thanks for supporting the game! *high-five Legends and AdventureCoin buyers*
Battle on!
Beleen, Alina, Artix, and the AQW Team
AQ3D
BattleGems
BioBeasts
Dragons
Undead Assault