72 replies to this topic

[Nachogw]

Do you guys think there will be a Chinese/Lunar Calendar event for the 2013 New Year?

If so, what kinds of items/titles/events/etc do you think we'll be having?

I personally would love to see a monkish/martial artist armor set for thieves, or at least a cosmetic classic chinese wicker hat skin.

[Korra]

sorry to bring the bad news but Anet is not allowed to put any kind of asian reference in the game. They have even been forbiden by Ncsoft to do cantha for what we know, this might change in the future.

[Nachogw]

Huh? Why are they forbidden to do so?

[Lordkrall]

Korra, on 09 February 2013 - 04:50 PM, said:

sorry to bring the bad news but Anet is not allowed to put any kind of asian reference in the game. They have even been forbiden by Ncsoft to do cantha for what we know, this might change in the future.

...What?
They have a Canthan New Year in GW1 which concluded just a few days ago.

[Khrushchev]

https://forum-en.gui...ion-of-humanity

This post on the official forums is relevant. Official response on the second page. (https://forum-en.gui...e/2#post1385108)

Edited by Khrushchev, 09 February 2013 - 05:16 PM.

[Nachogw]

That really sucks. Either way, Chinese New Year is a RL event, and does not necessarily have to be related to Cantha. Its not fair, in my opinion, that there are wintersday events which are mostly related to occidental festivities and also go agains this ''universal'' setting, while asian events are discarded.

[Lordkrall]

Nachogw, on 09 February 2013 - 05:19 PM, said:

That really sucks. Either way, Chinese New Year is a RL event, and does not necessarily have to be related to Cantha. Its not fair, in my opinion, that there are wintersday events which are mostly related to occidental festivities and also go agains this ''universal'' setting, while asian events are discarded.

So we should cater to every single real life festival in the whole world then?

Wintersday has been a part of GW more or less since the start, also keep in mind that Wintersday is not only based on Christmas but on several holidays around that time.

Cantha New Year (which is GWs take on Chinese New Year more or less) is tied to Cantha. Having it in Tyria, where it has never been before, would be quite weird and silly.

[Nachogw]

No, ''every single real life festival'' perhaps not. But the Chinese New Year (I am not implying it should be Canthan, even if in GW1 it is celebrated this way), is celebrated by more than 3 billion people in RL. It is not a minor festivity.

[Lordkrall]

Nachogw, on 09 February 2013 - 05:25 PM, said:

No, ''every single real life festival'' perhaps not. But the Chinese New Year (I am not implying it should be Canthan, even if in GW1 it is celebrated this way), is celebrated by more than 3 billion people in RL. It is not a minor festivity.

It is a minor festival for most parts of the world.
And why would it, in anyway, be logical for a western world to celebrate an eastern holiday?  If they add Chinese/Asian holiday events it would be tied to Cantha, anything else would be quite illogical, especially seeing as the event from the earlier history of the world did take place in Cantha.

[Captain Bulldozer]

Lordkrall, on 09 February 2013 - 05:21 PM, said:

So we should cater to every single real life festival in the whole world then?

Wintersday has been a part of GW more or less since the start, also keep in mind that Wintersday is not only based on Christmas but on several holidays around that time.

Cantha New Year (which is GWs take on Chinese New Year more or less) is tied to Cantha. Having it in Tyria, where it has never been before, would be quite weird and silly.

Actually, you're wrong.  Canthan New Year was celebrated in Lion's arch every year.  In addition, as there are clearly Canthan refugees in Tyria, it would be unreasonable to expect them to NOT celebrate Canthan New Year.  There's even a vendor in Ebonhawke that sells Red Bean Cakes and Kappa soup for pete's sake.  

I honestly don't know what NCSOFT was thinking about the exclusion of asian themed elements... I am not Asian, nor do I have any specific ties to any Asian culture but I LOVED canthan new year and Cantha in GW1.

[Nabuko Darayon]

This really sadden me

[Lordkrall]

Captain Bulldozer, on 09 February 2013 - 05:32 PM, said:

Actually, you're wrong.  Canthan New Year was celebrated in Lion's arch every year.  In addition, as there are clearly Canthan refugees in Tyria, it would be unreasonable to expect them to NOT celebrate Canthan New Year.  There's even a vendor in Ebonhawke that sells Red Bean Cakes and Kappa soup for pete's sake.  

I honestly don't know what NCSOFT was thinking about the exclusion of asian themed elements... I am not Asian, nor do I have any specific ties to any Asian culture but I LOVED canthan new year and Cantha in GW1.

Having a few NPCs and decoration is not what I would consider "celebrating". Every quest and the final took place in Cantha around Shing Jea Monastery.

True, the few Canthan refugees could fix something up, but they are quite few and it is quite possible that most of their traditions are forgotten, seeing as they most likely fled several generations ago.

I have yet to hear or see anything about this supposed prohibition from NCSoft so I call BS until something links a source for it.

[Azure Skye]

Lordkrall, on 09 February 2013 - 05:38 PM, said:

Having a few NPCs and decoration is not what I would consider "celebrating". Every quest and the final took place in Cantha around Shing Jea Monastery.

True, the few Canthan refugees could fix something up, but they are quite few and it is quite possible that most of their traditions are forgotten, seeing as they most likely fled several generations ago.

I have yet to hear or see anything about this supposed prohibition from NCSoft so I call BS until something links a source for it.

Though,I think they are keeping it till the Cantha expansion, just like your other post said. I do want to know, if they are going to do other lesser events then the big ones like Wintersday and Halloween.

[MrIllusion]

Not sure about the reason for this.

If I had to wager a guess, it's that NCSoft didn't want to cannibalise Blade & Soul with two MMOs having overlapping themes.

That, or it's to reduce interference during the Chinese launch.

[Perm Shadow Form]

Wait, so Cantha wont be in GW2?
If they officially confirm this, I'm quitting GW2.

Edited by Perm Shadow Form, 09 February 2013 - 07:37 PM.

[Lordkrall]

Perm Shadow Form, on 09 February 2013 - 07:33 PM, said:

Wait, so Cantha for be in GW2?
If they officially confirm this, I'm quitting GW2.

Nope, they have not confirmed that it will be. It is however rather likely that we will get there at some point in the future.

[Craywulf]

Well it's obviously a very complicated decision as it has to do with stepping on Asian culture. This post by
Heinel from official forum seems to explain situation eloquently ...

Quote

If it is just a cultural consideration it definitely can be rectified. I’m Chinese myself and I know where they are coming from. A universal “Asian” theme was never a cultural issue because it doesn’t actually exist in the real world. It’s fabricated fantasy just like everything else, but with a slight different flavor is all. Plenty of Asian MMOs have those kind of themes. Ragnarok Online was considered a major success in Korea and I think it still exists to this day, the game must have lasted at least a decade. The entire game was modeled after real world cultures, including Asian influences, even East Asian influences. They never actually put hard references to any specific cultures however, which is what you can be dinged for.

Chinese names like Mei Ling and Japanese names like Akihiko is not acceptable because you can actually tell they are Chinese or Japanese. When you put them together it doesn’t make sense. How do they even communicate (and why would they speak with each other anyways)? Why are these names clearly sound like they’re from different languages and have completely different naming rules and conventions? Let’s not even talk about the disproportionately fewer Korean names, because all of these names are problematic.
Then there’s the issue of the “dragon empire” that dominates the other two close proximity vassal states like it’s feudal time all over again. What’s more, the two vassals hated each other forever! Just like it’s in the real world too! Not everyone likes this part of the real world’s history. I’m sure it’s interesting to outsiders, but if you think in the shoes of the actual people who have to deal with this, especially in the shoes of Korea and Japan, who is still facing this very same issue to this day, it suddenly doesn’t sound all that fantastic, really. (And what do you mean Cantha swept the kurzicks and luxons up in one fell swoop anyways? You think the idea that China sweeping up Korea and Japan in one fell swoop will fly at all? Think of the political implications! There is no way this can stay, no matter how you twist it.)

Moving on to the Ministry of Purification, which I can also pinpoint on to real historical events. They are too long ago for me to personally experience, but my parents experienced it. It has also caused them to migrate out of China over and over (yes, this is legit). Again something that people would rather not see in entertainment. It almost feels like those propaganda movies the Chinese government churn out of the assembly lines.

So it seems like I too have a lot of reasons to hate Cantha, but I do still enjoy it for what it offered. The art style touched the tip of the iceberg that is Asian art, and Kaineng city is still a city that is a big change of scenery compared to every other fantasy-themed cities. Fortunately, if NCsoft has not banned the Kodan sanctuaries and Kodan naming conventions, it means they they are actually open to having Asian influences in the game. Cantha can be saved, ironically, by Ministry of Purification. Simply have them burn all records and re-invent history from scratch. Cantha will only be recognized as a nation that only exists in fantasy, and has none of the aforementioned hic ups. It happens to have a very large overpopulated city that is a structural model of New Delhi, while its aesthetics take inspiration from classical East Asia (or else where, or invent your own mix, at least for this part of the game you cannot go wrong). There was never a Dragon Empire. There was never any sort of split. It appears that everything is as harmonious as can be. The plight of the poor versus the wealth and the issues with a bureaucratic, corrupt government exists, but corruption is legitimate anyway, and is treated the same way as in South/South-East Asia. This is workable, and should not step on anyone’s toes, and still retain all the intriguing aspects of Old Cantha for Tyrians to enjoy.

Edited by Craywulf, 09 February 2013 - 07:56 PM.

[Kaiarra]

Captain Bulldozer, on 09 February 2013 - 05:32 PM, said:

I am not Asian, nor do I have any specific ties to any Asian culture but I LOVED canthan new year and Cantha in GW1.

Totally this. I will be really upset if they decide to totally scrap Cantha, as I adore the Asian theme in GW and WoW (ignoring the pandas) - saying they can't add Asian themed areas because they want to keep it 'universal' is just ridiculous.

With regards to the C New Year, sure, I'd love to see how their artists dress up LA for such an event but... I think they have more important things they need to work on currently; maybe they can add it in next year as a bonus event.

[Perm Shadow Form]

I loved how vastly different Cantha was from boring Tyria, especially architecture and mythology or whatever its called.
Tyria is just a generic fantasy world.

[Nabuko Darayon]

Craywulf, on 09 February 2013 - 07:54 PM, said:

Well it's obviously a very complicated decision as it has to do with stepping on Asian culture. This post by
Heinel from official forum seems to explain situation eloquently ...

Well frankly it's ok if the want to remove Asian reference and create a Cantha-only continent. As long as they keep the scenery of the Cherry Trees, oaks and stuff like that.Luxons and Kurzicks may now live in harmony, I don't care as long as you can see them wondering around and what about having a major Luxon city (or ruins of Cavalon)... as for the asian names I have no problem with it as long as they don't completely redo Cantha scenery and art. As for history we can start from scratch, that's what the GW:Beyond is all about. We defeated Shiro, removed the affliction, Jaded sea started getting aquatic, Trees in Echovald Forest came to life, there's a lot of possible story that can be created around CANTHA (in a non asiatic reference), just like Tyria was re-vamped.

[Lordkrall]

The Kurzick and Luxons do no longer exist.
They were forced into the empire or killed.

[Perm Shadow Form]

No one ever said (as far as I know) that the newly formed empire was evil and the emperor was a dictator.

[Lordkrall]

Perm Shadow Form, on 09 February 2013 - 08:22 PM, said:

No one ever said (as far as I know) that the newly formed empire was evil and the emperor was a dictator.

I would say this is a rather good example how the emperor in Cantha was soon after Winds of Change

Quote

The Ministry of Purity set out to do what the other Celestial Ministries would not: to cleanse Cantha of the Afflicted, crime, and all other hostilities. Their leader became corrupt with power, however, and was slain, but the Ministry of Purity remained and continue to lead the way to a more peaceful life. The Ministry of Purity paved the path for Canthans' mentality of increasing xenophobia. This mentality cultivated in 1127 AE, when Kisu's successor, Emperor Usoku, raised the Canthan military by spending millions in gold and conquered the still-warring vassal states of the Luxons and Kurzicks, forcing them fully into the empire once more. With this done, he then drove out all non-humans and closed the borders to Cantha. Said to be tyrannical and fierce, those who disagreed with Emperor Usoku left their homeland and sought refuge in Elona and Tyria.

[Perm Shadow Form]

Well damn, sounds interesting, unlike the current boring story we have.
We could play as the remaining underground Luxons or Kurzicks.

[AKGeo]

Nachogw, on 09 February 2013 - 05:25 PM, said:

No, ''every single real life festival'' perhaps not. But the Chinese New Year (I am not implying it should be Canthan, even if in GW1 it is celebrated this way), is celebrated by more than 3 billion people in RL. It is not a minor festivity.

Yeah, all in one region of the world.

Sorry bud...it just doesn't fit into the game world as of this moment.

[Daesu]

Lordkrall, on 09 February 2013 - 05:21 PM, said:

So we should cater to every single real life festival in the whole world then?

Why not?  I love special events and holidays so the more the merrier.  Every year I celebrate Deepavali, Thaipusam, Good Friday/Christmas, Vesak day, Hanukka, Kwanzaa, Hari Raya Puasa/Haji, Chinese New Year, New Years, etc.

You can celebrate them wherever you are.

Big disappointment that GW2 is not going to have Canthan New Year.

Edited by Daesu, 09 February 2013 - 11:55 PM.

[AKGeo]

Daesu, on 09 February 2013 - 11:47 PM, said:

Why not?  I love special events and holidays so the more the merrier.  Every year I celebrate Deepavali, Thaipusam, Good Friday/Christmas, Vesak day, Hanukka, Kwanzaa, Hari Raya Puasa/Haji, Chinese New Year, New Years, etc.

You can celebrate them wherever you are.

Big disappointment that GW2 is not going to have Canthan New Year.

GW1 didn't have canthan new year either for the first 1.5 to 2 years it was live. Why's that? Because Cantha didn't exist outside of lore and planning stages, then Factions was released after Chinese New Year celebration that year.

IF we get Cantha in GW2, then yes, you'll see Canthan new year. That's the only precedent set.


Another theory is that the Tengu, who maintain that asian culture (or at least is hinted at it, through their dialogue and voice actors), if made into a playable race will be the ones to bring "Canthan New Year" or a similar styled celebration to Tyria. They probably still celebrate it behind their walls.

Edited by AKGeo, 10 February 2013 - 12:07 AM.

[Daesu]

AKGeo, on 09 February 2013 - 11:58 PM, said:

GW1 didn't have canthan new year either for the first 1.5 to 2 years it was live. Why's that? Because Cantha didn't exist outside of lore and planning stages, then Factions was released after Chinese New Year celebration that year.

IF we get Cantha in GW2, then yes, you'll see Canthan new year. That's the only precedent set.

If you want to go by the lore, Cantha already exists in GW2.

[Soliari]

If i remember correctly (i may be wrong) but in GW2 lore the crystal dragon (Kralk?) set off south, made a mess at Glints cave, nest, hole thingy, and then disappeared, thus cuttting off Cantha from Tyria. So, since weve now kicked the living doodoos out of Skeletan, its entirelly possible that at some point, there may be an expansion adding Cantha, with Kralk as the main enemy for it, this would also fit in with the lore/story side of GW2 and open up such things that are related to Canthan regions. Since Skeletan is currently the only Elder dragon in the game, yet they are kinda the point of it, seems unlikely that we will never see the others. On another note, its believed that, from the lore anyway, both Skeletan and the sea... dragon...elder...thingy...with no name are the reasons Tyria are cut off from Elona. Infact the only Elder dragons not involved in stopping us reaching GW1 exp areas are Jormagagag, Skeletan and the great destroyer, and of these one is dead... not really a spoiler, one is hunting Asurans and eating dwarves (past tense) and the other is at the dentist. So if GW2 devs follow the lore, which the seem to be doing, we will one way or another see all these things in GW2, just gotta be patient.

Btw Elona may be Cantha and Cantha may be Elona, cant remember which is which :-S

[FoxBat]

Guild Wars 2 isn't being sold in China until late this year. Why would they be pandering to Chinese festivals now?

The official reason the Cantha quarter got nuked is because all three great east asian countries hate each other and don't want to see recognizable aspects of their distinct cultures intermixed as happens with existing Canthan architecture. Diversity is originally a colonial western value don't you know. Anyway since Anet is nervous about how badly GW1 failed in that region, yet still seems to want to make a go of it in GW2 soon, they are likely going to play it safe on that point if any Canthan content is ever reintroduced.

Edited by FoxBat, 10 February 2013 - 12:55 AM.