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Galaxian Highlights 9 | The Eggcellent Order of the Crush

Galaxian Highlights 9 | The Eggcellent Order of the Crush

by | Sep 16, 2022 | Gala Games

Today, we zoom in for a close up on your favorite mad scientist here at Gala Games– Warren!

The world of Web3 entertainment requires masters of many different disciplines working in concert with each other, and Gala Games’ experts are the best in the business at collaborating and creating magical things together. The Web3 frontier is the future of culture and technology, and the brightest minds work hard every day to manifest decentralized dreams in digital reality.

Occasionally logical excellence and brilliant artistic vision coalesce in one superhumanly amazing developer. His unique and multi talented mind is well versed in both the objective and subjective– in fact and fantasy. You’d think such legendary proficiency would make him deifically detached from his fellow humans, but his positivity and refreshingly down to earth attitude is infectious to all he meets.

We’re of course talking about the one, the only… Warren!

What is your role at Gala Games?

Currently, I’m Game/Creative Director for Town Crush. Prior to that I was Art Director on Town Star.

Why did you choose your Galaxian Title?

“Polygonal Pixeleer”. It felt fun and I always liked how Disney called their creative folks “Imagineers” back in the day. That resonated and stuck with me.

What inspired you to do what you do for a living?

I’m not entirely sure I had a choice. I grew up playing video games but from a very young age I was curious about how they were made.

Once we had a computer I could actually type things on, I was hooked for life.

One thing a lot of people don’t know about me is that I’m principally a programmer. I took up art pretty late in my career but my true love is coding. I can happily lose hours at a time tinkering with a piece of low level code, or scripting in a game engine, or anything related to software engineering really.

Favorite book?

It’ll sound trite, but when I think about books that have stuck in my brain and influenced my path in important ways, I have to give it to “The Sword of Shannara” by Terry Brooks. It really kindled my love of fantasy and adventure and I think it’s why I primarily loved RPG games growing up. Ultima, Bard’s Tale, Wizardry … they allowed me to combine gaming, computers, and fantasy all at once.

Today, Warren works alongside many others who are fond of mixing fantasy, gaming and computers.

Favorite part of the Gala Games community?

The answer is … well, the community itself. It’s fun to interact with them on Discord or live at events like Galaverse. Talking to people who are already emotionally invested in what you’re doing is especially satisfying because you can relax and talk about larger plans or longer term vision over trying to sell them on the concept of what you’re creating.

They’re interested in what you’re creating, not WHY you’re creating it.

These are objectively the most important community discussions.

Turtle or Tortoise?

I haven’t eaten enough of either to really say.

What are your favorite games?

I think to answer this fairly, I’d have to give the nod to games that have stuck with me over the years. Games that I don’t mind devoting brain space to, and that I go back to from time to time to rekindle the flame.

Bard’s Tale 3/Ultima 4 — The early games on my Commodore were such wonderful worlds. The hours spent mapping out the dungeons on graph paper, step by step, is a formative memory. Reaching the end of the game with an inch thick stack of well worn paper maps was incredibly satisfying.

Fallout 2 — I forget how I found Fallout now. But once I had, I was hooked. Forever. Being able to putter around that world, leveling up, getting perks, grinding xp, gaining gear, etc. I never actually completed the game but I spent hundreds of hours in that game world, having an amazing time.

Doom 2/Quake 1 — Nothing sparked my interest in a career in game development like those games did. The technology, the graphics, the brutality of the weapons, the … Well, everything. Instant love affair. And when we gained the ability to make our own levels, I dove into that head first. And that, in fact, was what led to my getting started in the games industry — as a contracted level designer.

Favorite music?

I’ve always cast sort of a wide net with music. In high school, not so much. That was heavy metal, all day. But as I got older, I never lost my love of metal but I’ll listen to almost anything these days if it makes my brain happy.

And it varies based on what I’m doing. For example, I’m not someone who can listen to something with lyrics or really dominant sound patterns in it when I’m programming. I need some techno, clubby, background type stuff. Or silence.

But if I’m doing something art related, then it can be anything that gets my blood going. My favorite music is usually Metallica, Slipknot or Slayer. For whatever reason, metal fuels art for me.

Interestingly, over the last few years I’ve gravitated towards SynthWave for both tasks. It satisfies a part of my brain that likes to feel nostalgic but also not sit in the dead quiet of my noise canceling headphones.

Biggest role models?

I have to give the primary nod to John Carmack. Following him through the development of Doom and Quake and the subsequent titles from id Software was life changing. He is the programmer that I wish I could be. I think that’s an important part of having a role model — it needs to be someone who you can aspire to their level but probably never actually reach. John, for me, is a constant source of inspiration.

Cool hobbies and interests?

When I’m not making games for Gala Games, I’m generally doing programming for fun. I like learning new languages, new text editors, and new workflows. It sounds boring but it’s really not. My brain likes to learn. It feels best when it’s forming new pathways and taking on new information.

As an older developer, I also think it’s an important part of staying on top of your game. If you keep doing the same things every day for years on end, you’re going to stagnate in your career and you’re probably harming your brain long term. It wants to learn. Let it.

Warren pictured alongside stagnant brains.

Favorite Food?

Bacon is the easy answer but if I think about it — my wife and I switched to Keto a few months back so my food preferences are in flux. Right now, honestly, it might be avocados. There is nothing that can’t be improved with the addition of avocado.

Please don’t put avocado on that beauty!

Which Spider Tanks Hat best represents you?

I’ll see your question and raise you an “Eggsecutioner Hood” for the chicken tank. It feels so obvious that I can’t believe it doesn’t exist yet, amirite?

Non-artist’s rendition. He’s onto something. Everybody listen to Warren!

What’s the best thing about working at Gala Games?

The freedom. Gala Games excels at allowing people to do what they do best. I’ve been lucky enough to work at 2 companies now that allow people to shift around between roles and departments as they show an interest and an aptitude for it (the other one being Epic Games).

Gala Games promotes the attitude of “ask forgiveness, not permission”. And I love that. They’d rather have you overreach and need to be pulled back a little, rather than trying to get approvals and permissions before trying something.

Which Town Star character could you replace, if only given the opportunity?

I think I’d be a decent express depot driver. It’s mostly downtime combined with the occasional trip to the big city. I’m in. Lots of free time to work on programming projects.

Many thanks to Warren for taking the time away from his Town Crush laboratory to answer some questions. Hopefully everybody in the community has enjoyed a chance to get better acquainted with one of the many experts that makes Gala Games great every single day.

If you think we’re out of brilliant people to brag about, you’re wrong! We’ll be back in a few weeks with another issue of Galaxian Highlights as we continue to take you on a tour of the team that pushes us forward with hard work, ingenuity and unparalleled creativity.

Want to learn about more members of the team and just can’t wait for the next issue? Check out the last few Galaxian Highlights below!

Galaxian Highlights #8 — Diana
Galaxian Highlights #7 — Rustin
Galaxian Highlights #6 — Laine

Join the best Web3 community anywhere!

The Power of Mercenaries

The Power of Mercenaries

by | Sep 16, 2022 | EPX Battle Training, Gala Games

Today we’ll break down how you can upgrade your Mercenaries as they battle in your name across Elysium.

Last week we discussed how Mercenaries aid in your battles throughout Elysium. Now that we’ve covered some of the basics about what your Mercenaries do for you in Eternal Paradox, you can see how critical they are in your battle for conquest.

Your Mercenaries can often mean the difference between glory and defeat. How can you make sure that you have the best of the best as your trusted allies? Today, we’ll dive into all the ways that you can upgrade and train your Mercenaries to hone your fighting force into exactly what you need them to be.

Training Your Elite

Your Mercenaries influence the gameplay throughout all of Eternal Paradox. Growing and developing their abilities over time will be absolutely essential to triumph in battle.

The stats of your Mercenaries directly affect their capabilities. The Leadership stat , for instance, will allow a Mercenary to command more units in field battles as it rises. This would mean a larger fighting force in any of the many battlefields across Elysium.

Beyond their important role as field commanders, battles in Adventure mode are turn-based — fought entirely by your team of Mercenaries. Clearing higher waves of these battles will bring greater glory and rewards, but you’ll need strong Mercenaries and clever gameplay to get there.

When players clash in the Arena, it will be your Mercenaries doing the fighting. This asynchronous PvP will follow the same combat system as Adventure mode. Your Mercenaries will face off against your opponent’s, and the teams that triumph will climb the leaderboards.

Whenever you gain resources in the field as a Mercenary, they will gather silver points in their pouch for the day based on the amount of resources obtained. More powerful Mercenaries can take on more formidable threats, which can potentially mean more silver points in their pouch each day.

How to Upgrade Your Mercenaries

Mercenaries improve their skills in more than one way as you play with them. You can choose how to prioritize your training to develop their abilities, but all of the factors listed below are avenues to a boost in Mercenary power.

Level

Mercenary experience can be gained by hunting monsters or from event rewards. Using this experience, you can level up each of your Mercenaries. Each level, their innate abilities like HP, Attack, Defense, Speed and Leadership will increase.

Equipment

Each Mercenary has six equipment slots. You can obtain gear throughout various activities in Eternal Paradox, but you can also craft powerful equipment from materials you find in the field.

Each piece of equipment has stats and bonuses specific to that slot. Finding and creating more powerful gear and choosing how to combine the right bonuses for your playstyle refines your Mercenaries talents, so they are the most effective they can be.

Some equipment you’ll come across will be part of a larger set. These equipment sets will give a larger bonus for having all six pieces equipped.

Skills

Each Mercenary has a unique set of skills that are divided into two categories: Mercenary Skills and Field Battle Skills. Mercenary Skills are that warrior’s distinct actions in the turn based combat of Adventure mode or Arena battles. Field Battle Skills aid in battles where your Mercenary stands command of an army in the field.

Each skill levels by fulfilling several requirements, including collecting a set amount of a specific resource per level of that skill. The maximum level of any skill is eight. Since each Mercenary’s set of skills is unique, as these skills level higher they will specialize more and more into their specific area of strength to stand out amongst the pack.

Awakening

Awakening allows your Mercenary to learn additional skills and also increases their base stats. Awakening has three stages for any Mercenary:

  • Stage 1: Obtain an additional stat buff and unlock your Mercenary’s third skill
  • Stage 2: Obtain an additional stat buff and unlock theLeader Skill for your Mercenary
  • Stage 3: Obtain three additional stat buffs

Each time you Awaken a particular Mercenary, you’ll be required to spend more powerful Awakening Stones that can be found in exploration sites in the field.

Rank

A Mercenary’s Rank can be anywhere from one to six, and is increased using Mercenary Essence, which can occasionally be found while hunting monsters or during events.

Every rank a Mercenary gains will increase the number of stars displayed in their portrait, as well as increasing their base stats like Leadership, Attack Power, and Stamina.

Immortal Stats

Immortality is the final way that you can upgrade your Mercenaries that we’ll dive into today, but it is likely the most sought after. Unlike the previous methods, Immortality isn’t subject to the whims of the broken timeline each time the Ring of Ruin resets the conflict. Immortal Stats your Mercenaries gain will never reset, and will give them a permanent boost in every repeat of the eternal cycle.

Immortal Stats can be gained slowly as you accumulate experience with nearly any activity in Eternal Paradox. Buffs provided by Immortal Stats can vary greatly, but stacking these up can provide your Mercenaries the upper hand each time the cycle repeats.

Specialize and Customize

How you approach the continued upgrades to your Mercenaries will dictate how you specialize and what types of gameplay your commanders are best suited to. If you want to focus on a certain type of gameplay, you can concentrate on growing the power of the ideal Mercenaries for that. A well rounded team, however, will be necessary to some degree to dominate the battlefield. Don’t work so hard on your strengths you forget your weaknesses.

Each Mercenary has an inherent Attribute: Water, Fire, Wind, Light or Darkness. Each of these indicate certain strengths and weaknesses against opposing monsters or Mercenaries depending on their Attribute. This makes the choice of who to upgrade and what talents to focus on much more strategic, since you’ll want some variety in the types of Mercenaries you rely on.

While most Mercenary skills and abilities are useful in multiple forms of gameplay, some choices are clearly better suited to certain niches. Upgrading Mercenaries that shine in the areas you play most could be your best chance to beat the competition.

  • Adventure Mode: AoE skills or attacks that exploit the weaknesses of boss monsters will be extremely advantageous to surviving wave after wave in turn based battles
  • Hunting Monsters: Mercenaries with strong Leadership and strong Field Battle Skills will excel at hunting enemies in the field.
  • Field PvP: When fighting enemy troops, high damage and high leadership Mercenaries will serve you best.
  • Arena PvP: High attack speed is often essential to deliver the first strike. Mercenaries with HP recovery, resurrection or the ability to debuff enemies will be especially effective.

No matter what you’re specializing in, you can’t really make wrong choices. Improving any Mercenary can help you in your battles, as different Mercenaries can be more effective in different parts of the game. Allies with a variety of specialties and strengths may be your safest route to a well rounded conquest strategy. Due to the cyclical nature of time in Eternal Paradox, every few months you can try out new strategies and see what is most effective!

The Power of Command

Mercenaries serve you in nearly every aspect of Eternal Paradox. Along with improving your Castle, training and upgrading your Mercenaries is your clear path to consolidating your efforts in Elysium and achieving true power!

Your influence in Elysium is only as good as the Mercenaries who execute your will across the land. How will you choose to upgrade your commanders?

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The information contained in this document is subject to change with or without notice.

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