Game Insider #22: Oct '08 Newsletter

[Batleth]

One Year Anniversary
Celebrating Our First Year of Adventure!

Can you believe it? Just a year ago the Pirates Online crew set off for adventure, since then millions of you have joined us online - plundering, pillaging, and pirating! It's been a great first year - a year that saw the introduction of awesome new features like Privateering, high-level ghost ships, powerful new weapons, creepy new enemies, informative Game Masters, Web site polls, blogs, and much, much more - and we can't wait to show you what's in store for year two!

In the months ahead, you'll see major changes to our Web site, plus new game features that will make the Pirates Online experience more exciting than ever before!

We're celebrating our one-year anniversary with a spectacular contest - while Jolly Roger has his own plans about how we'll spend the anniversary, either way, we know Year Two is going to be even more thrilling!

Thanks to all our players, especially all our Founders for such a great year. Aye, here's to many, many more.

Check out these amazing statistics from our first year:

• 121,602,136,104 enemy ships have been sunk - fine cannon work, mates.
• Players have logged over 5,445 cumulative years of gameplay since we first set sail.
• 1,296,495 Privateer ships sunk in Privateering - keep it up mates, Garcia and le Porc need you!
• 699,840,750 gold has been spent on ... wait for it ... CLOTHING! No wonder you're the best-dressed Pirates in the world!
• 216,631,461 of Jolly Roger's Skeleton Army defeated! Thanks for doing your part and helping rid the Caribbean of this dreadful scourge.

The Curse of the Muertos Moon

The Marceline Guild Reveals Jolly Roger's Evil Plans

Did you happen to notice that our one year anniversary falls on October 31 - or that in the Caribbean, October 31 also happens to be the night of a full moon? Indeed, it's a spooky coincidence.

In fact, All Hallows' Eve is measuring up to be a very strange time in the islands with tales of curses and all.

To find out more about this curse, we met Host GM Captain Walter, who along with his crew, the Marceline Guild, have been warning Pirates of the ill winds coming toward the islands ... Read more about the impending curse, click here.

Talk Like A Pirate Contest Winners
"Aye, you've got quite the salty tongue!"

We asked you to give us your best original Pirate saying and boy, did you respond! We received thousands of entries! Thanks to all our players that participated. Check out the Top Five Talk Like A Pirate Contest Winners selected and voted on by the Pirates Online Crew! The winners get their phrase put into the game as SpeedChat and will receive an official, limited edition Pirates of the Caribbean Online T-shirt with the Top Five Talk Like A Pirate sayings printed on it.

Captain Redwood - "You need a sharp sword and sharper wits."
Galen Quicksteel - "Ye be one doubloon short of a full hull mate!"
Angel Firehawk - "Watch yer tongue or I'll pickle it with sea-salt!"
Gunns - "May a stiff wind be at our backs, the sun on our faces and our cannons fire true!"
Isis - "Salty as a Kraken's kiss."

Mysterious New GM
Friend ... or Foe?
A new face has been spotted around the docks of Port Royal - he's a mysterious figure and there's not much known about him except that he is looking for a crew - a stout and able crew to help bring down a fleet of treasure ships.

Treasure fleets? Aye. The real mystery is who is this Pirate and what plunder does he look to take from our pockets? Rumor is you'll be able to find him wandering the various ports of the Caribbean taking stock of the Pirates lot during the final weeks of October.

Developer Spotlight
The Year Ahead
In the past year, we've seen many changes in the Caribbean, but what lies ahead? In response to your recent questions, we asked the man in charge of Pirates Online development for answers - here's what he had to say:

My name is Greg Wiatroski and I am the lead developer on Pirates of the Caribbean Online. My job is to oversee the development of all in-game features. I work very closely with the Community, Marketing, and Publishing teams to decide which of many great ideas we want to make happen. Then we have to decide how and when they will get done. I work with a great team of artists and engineers who are all really committed to making Pirates Online a truly great game. Read the full interview here.