We’re about two hours away from recording The Instance #217, making this the perfect time to give away some codes!

One person is going to get codes for Tiny, the Footsteps of Illidan, Slashdance, a Sandbox Tiger, and the Path of Cenarius in the next few minutes right here.

Just post a comment on this blog post that contains a question for the show.  You can ask anything you like.  We’re going to pull one question and add it to the many we’ve already compiled for this episode, and the person who submitted it will get the codes!

Please join us on the Frogpants Studios livestream at 9AM PST / Noon EST on Saturday, February 12 for The Instance #217!

It’s going to be a different episode of The Instance, as we find ways to bid Randy farewell, talk about WoW and Blizzard’s 20th anniversary, and give away a lot of prizes!

That’s right, starting right now and continuing until midnight on Saturday, we’re giving away 40 codes for in-game loot from the WoW TCG.  We’re going to give them away in groups of 3-5, and we’re going to give them to random commentors in this blog and on Facebook, people who follow us on Twitter (Instanceshow, Extralife, Randydeluxe), posters in our forums, and some who join us live for this episode!  Keep your eyes peeled, your ears open and your noses to the ground!

WoW’s user interface is a well-crafted piece of work, no doubt. Without any modifications, everything a player needs to be aware of to relate to the game world is right there in the heads-up display. The built in options allow for the HUD to be personalized to a great degree, so players can manipulate what interface items show to their liking. Continue reading →

The Cataclysm has destroyed much of the face of Azeroth, but for us roleplayers, it’s seen as more of a blessing in disguise. The old lands and many of the ways we can roleplay in them have been renewed. Beyond that, the Cataclysm also brought us a new area to explore; Vashj’ir, a region almost entirely underwater. Let’s dive in and ponder the roleplaying that can be found and made here! Continue reading →

The yearly Lunar Festival began yesterday (Jan 23), and will last until Feb 12. The Festival opens a wide variety of roleplaying opportunities, along with perhaps the most peaceful area in all of Azeroth to RP at. Here are some ideas on how to make the best use of the Lunar Festival and Moonglade for some outstanding RP sessions.

Players with druid characters, and characters with strong ties to the Cenarion Circle, are most likely to be in the RP spotlight during the Festival’s three week run. The Cenarion Circle uses this festival to send characters all over Azeroth to extend due honor to the elders of all races. For druids and other like-minded classes, paying homage to their elders is a sign and show of respect, and of great importance to their order. Continue reading →

Crafting has been on my mind a lot lately, particularly while gaming in Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons. I’ve been doing some comparisons of those two games to WoW’s crafting professions, and have come up with some ideas for WoW roleplayers regarding titles.

Looking at the in game Achievements menu in WoW, I noticed there are not that many titles to be granted for stellar crafting performances. LOTRO has an abundance of these, along with a much better crafting system overall, in my opinion. WoW also is lacking when it comes to rewarding players with fame and notoriety based solely off their work in professions and skills. Taking some inspiration from LOTRO’s crafting titles, I want to share some ways for WoW roleplayers to improvise and adapt the available professions in a better RP fashion.

Continue reading →

We’ve gone ahead and setup an official IRC channel for the network, and that includes all the shows, sites, comics, communities, etc. Please feel free to check it out and use it often! Lots of great people to hang with. Here are the details:

For those wanting to use an propper IRC client to connect: (ie Mirc, X-Chat Aqua, etc)
Host: irc.thinstack.net
Channel: #frogpants (type /join #frogpants)

For those who prefer to use the web client, it is now embedded below the video stream here:
CLICK HERE!

Not familiar with IRC? Here is some good info. Hope to see you there!

Yes, roleplayers, many, many years from now, you’ll look back on this article and proudly proclaim, “I saw it here first.” RoleCraft has declared 2011 to be the Year of the Roleplayer!

Why the declaration? Because I am noticing an overall resurgence in the art of roleplaying, and not only amongst the MMORPG genre. I follow much of the news and media concerning MMORPGs, and there I am seeing a refreshing trend towards making games with a great story, as they should all be made, that I think will naturally lead to more roleplayers and roleplaying. Lastly, I see old and new roleplayers alike who are dedicated to fostering the trade in their favorite games, very often in the face of non-roleplayers’ animosity. Continue reading →

Well, here’s one good reason why:

As we wind down to the end of yet another year and another decade, we have come once again to RoleCraft’s year end review. This edition will reflect and link back to the articles published during this year, along with links to the previous RoleCraft Review articles. So, let’s start with those. Continue reading →