Diablo 3

I like the way the Diablo angels look with wings made of white ribbons.

I've always played Blizzard games, and Diablo 3 is no exception. When I played World of Warcraft, I would spend an hour a day combing the forums for strategies and/or reading patch notes. Diablo 3 is no exception. I wanted to show you a list of interesting facts that I found.  But to understand them, you might need some information first.

My favorite class to play thus far is the demon hunter. I like how lean
he looks, and the dual wielding crossbows that shoot out like machine guns
is kind of awesome-looking. It makes me feel powerful.

The game has several layers of difficulty of which "Inferno" is the hardest.  Hardcore is a kind of character that you make that when it dies, there is no resurrection.  The object here is to be so confident and skilled that you play a flawless game. So here's the list:

• On average players have created 3 characters each. I thought this was interesting. I have exactly three characters. Hmmmm.
• 80% of characters are between levels 1 and 30. This is also me. I haven't had time to play because of writing and/or editing commitments I made with friends online that I wanted to get done, and because the drama with my dad is unending (since mom went into the nursing home in April he's lapsed into a terrible depression--a thing I did not expect).
• 1.9% of characters have unlocked Inferno difficulty. The only person I know personally that is doing this right now is my really smart friend Kevin, who goes by Modhne in-game, and runs the most successful guild on Ravencrest-US and has done so for the last four years. It's called Requiem--I always liked the name.
• 54% of Hardcore players chose a female character. I wonder why this is? Two of my characters are females--my barbarian (I love smashing things to bits) and my sorceress (I love smashing things to bits)...hmmm maybe I'm using Diablo 3 as therapy... I must say that smashing things to bits does help alleviate the stress that I feel whenever I get another phone call telling me that dad is headed to the emergency room or that mom has missed yet another dentist appointment because she threw a fit (mom has severe dementia). In case you don't know, I live in a different state and am unable to render much assistance right now because I dropped two weeks of vacation in the last two months to rush to their aid. I have a job where the only time off you take is done with vacation or sick leave. We do have a care provider hired to help dad every day though and that's been a big help.

Fan art. This is a witch doctor. Pretty cool huh?

Do the ladies of Diablo have all the style? Is that why
so many men are playing female characters? I guess I'm
assuming more men are playing than women...

• The majority of Hardcore deaths (35%) occur in Act I Normal. I'm surprised by this. I thought that people would be more prone to die in Act II or further on. Maybe they just underestimate things.
• The most common level 60 build in the game is only used by 0.7% of level 60 characters of that class.

Below, you will find a 7 minute animated sequence called "Wrath" in which the angels go up against the demons and specifically Diablo. It was made by Blizzard. And who doesn't like epic battles between angels and demons (here's looking at you, Ciara)? But I'm guilty of this too. My own book SLIPSTREAM is ultimately the first installment in a story/slugfest between angels and demons. If you have the time, click play, sit back, and watch the tale unfold. If anything, the storyline of Wrath is good writing (and we all like good writing tied with strong paranormal images of kickass-ness, right?).

I know Alex C. is playing Diablo 3. I have yet to make it out of Act II yet. I kind of like group play so if the people I play with are busy doing their level 60 characters, I kind of find something else to do.

So do any of the above statistics surprise you? Do you think it's okay for a person to use video games as therapy for real life? Have you ever tried a video game personally, or do you shun them and shun those who play them?

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Lightning Flashed

Today I'm entering Cherie Reich's second annual flash fiction blogfest. You can sign up for it HERE. 

HERE ARE THE RULES (Taken from Cherie's blog):

1. Entries must begin with the two words: Lightning flashed.
2. Entries must be 300 words or less and be in prose. Cherie is not versed enough in poetry verse to judge it properly.
3. Entries must be posted on your blog between May 21 - 23.
4. You must sign up in the linky on Cherie's website to have your entry be counted.

On May 25, Cherie will announce the six finalists and open voting through May 28th.

On May 29th, Cherie's 3rd year blogversary, she will announce the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners as well as a random winner selected from the participants list. All ties will be broken by Random.org.

NOW WHAT ARE THE PRIZES?
First place - $25 gift card from Amazon
Second place - $20 gift card from Amazon
Third place - $15 gift card from Amazon
Random prize - $10 gift card from Amazon
The contest is international.

For my entry, I wrote a short piece with a dark fantasy flavor. It's in third-person omniscient and 287 words.

Lightning flashed.

Rain wreathed around the obsidian parapets and domes of Zanda in a gossamer death shroud of winter. The moisture left the cobblestone streets glimmering black. Kian and Renfro stood beneath the notice of powerful men in the long shadows cast from the Blades Acuuarum, the training grounds of the Cataclysm Slayers of Zanda. Freezing water dripped from Kian’s long eyelashes; his cloak was soaked completely through.

They’d been out here for two hours.

He rested his armored palm against this ancient edifice built upon the edge of the Well of Zanda. The Hall of the Blades Acuuarum had been erected by Blackstone Giants, quarried from the pits by slaves who toiled with pickaxe and shovel at the base of the Mountains of Illusion that rose like the sharp finger bones of massive skeletal warriors in the East. Each considerable rock in the foundation stood taller than Kian; its weight unfathomable to him. The fortress itself was monolithic; it soared above the two thieves with one-hundred foot bulwarks.

On the far side of the fortress lay a sheer drop of almost a thousand feet into the turbulent fluorescent waters of the Well of Zanda. At night, the Well was a terrifying sight. By day, it wasn’t much better. The waters flowed a putrescent green and circulated in a counter-clockwise motion around a blackstone mountain that rose from the very center. The mountain was home to the Librarium Apocalypto, the palace of the Dreaded Irtemara, and the Basilica of Zanda. These three structures fused together into a towering castle that rose above all things in the city. It was accessible only by a single bridge in the shape of a serpent’s tongue and flanked by unmoving colossi.

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Where I announce winners from my blog tour

I survived my first ever book blog tour. It was a lot of fun, and I wanted to thank everyone that hosted me as well as all the people that followed me to all of those links. I think that two weeks was just about right. Here are the winners of the Amazon Gift Certificates and the blue crystal spiders I was giving away. I've contacted most of them and have heard back from all but two:

1. Barbara Jean Byrem - Alex's blog
2. Andrew Leon - from Rach Writes
3. Tonja - from Theresa's blog
4. Elise Fallson - from Dreamer's Perch
5. Matthew MacNish - from Dead End Follies
6. Elizabeth Veradan - From the Character Depot
7. Rebecca Bryant - from the QQQE
8. Callie M. Leuck - from Cherie Reich, Author
9. Carol Coffelt a.k.a. the Huntress- from In Time...
10. Caroline Valdez Miller - from Golden Eagle
11. Theresa Milstein - from Laura Diamond's blog

Now I have to figure out what to do with my Slipstream Blog Tour tab. It's been there so long I'm not sure what to do with it. Hmmm. I'm sure I'll think of something. Have a great Monday.

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Can you help me spot the cat?

I got this email from my friend William. Supposedly there's a cat in this picture. I've looked at it but can't find it. My eyesight isn't all that great. You can click on the picture to make it bigger. If you find the cat, please indicate where it is in the comments :).

Have a happy Thursday.

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