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Gunz is a game that constantly evolves - what was good back then may only be average now. From those early days where you had to hold your Enter key down with a heavy object to get into the over packed servers, to the point where the anticipated G-Gunz version draws ever near, IGunz has traveled (and will continue) a journey that can be both frustrating and enjoyable at times.
A very brief timeline of IGunz so far:
So what has exactly changed in Gunz, from the past to the present? Gathering ideas from various veterans and my own personal experience, the list below states the most prominent changes in Gunz to date.
1) Skills of the players
'Pros' during the period of two servers may have certain moves easily countered with today's average players. "Back in the day it was all 'SS and butterfly' at the start. Months on, players have found their favorite/preferred moved and developed their own play style from it," explains Jaz2005, "I'd say everybody is unique." As new glitches are discovered and levels increase, the skill standard is constantly raised. Who knows? If IGunz survives future years, would certain steps be changed? Could this possibly mean new members would find it increasingly difficult to adapt to the standard of the average player (or is the new player able to learn the concepts and moves faster as a result)?
However, regarding subject of K-styling, JinDaYi mentions "[It] doesn't make them any more "skillful" just because they can press a key or two in succession."
2) Maps and Game Developments
The Lost Shrine is currently the newest map, along with the fairly recent addition of Port. X-Trap was also implemented, though it incited critique from some players claiming it caused the lag problem to escalate further ("Lag is getting worse with every update" - Jaz2005). Although it has managed to provide temporary relief for a while with each patch, Xtrap still has difficulty in preventing hacks from manipulating the game altogether. Opinions are mixed on this subject; full thread for on Xtrap discussion can be viewed here.
New servers were also added according to the amount of players that played Gunz - in the end, the six servers became reduced to five. Servers 1 and 2 are the most densely populated at the moment. There also have been suggestions on creating and extra Elite channel for those servers, since some players have to wait a while for the constantly full channels to free up.
3) Guntrix and Venister
There was once upon a time when Venister (a.k.a Joongpil Cho) was the International Branch Manager, until Guntrix was introduced and assigned the job instead. Although popular opinion mentions Guntrix as more 'active ' and 'involved in the community' than Venister once was, it would be difficult to forget him entirely. Venister's avatar and his signature "Sorry for my bad english" endings on his posts still bring back memories.
Guntrix occasionally hosts mini-events and gives out prizes to the winner(s), such as candy and seaweed (more information can be found here).
4) Locust Plagues/Hacking
Gunz is known for its notorious history of hacking - a glimpse of the whole situation can be seen below:
(We can't forget those insane massive hacks, either).
EDIT: According to Spanklord, the usage of a Name Hack was very widespread - even in clan wars, claiming that "nearly everybody used it at some point." The Name Hack consists of viewing everybody's name above their heads (including your team, yourself and the other team). Thanks to Spanklord for this contribution.
5) Faith in MAIET and Community attitude
"Judging MAIET's past, you have to be aware things will never be a smooth ride, more like a bumpy back road race... but who can say they haven't enjoyed the ride so far?" says Jaz.
Although MAIET planned the full version of I-Gunz to be released almost one year ago, time passed and the community gradually stopped hoping for the full version to come out. Even with the prospect of G-Gunz over the corner, some of the community remains doubtful on whether or not it will truly be released (the deadline has also been extended to November).
In that year where the community waited for the full version of international Gunz to come out, the attitudes towards MAIET declined drastically: some they claimed that MAIET didn't 'care' about I-Gunz, nor were they going to earn money with the 'lack of organization' displayed by MAIET - after all, how are they going to earn money selling Premium Items if aren't even available? In conjunction to the severe hacking situation on Gunz, as well as the patches that did more damage than fixing, it drew the popular conclusion that MAIET's promises would not often be met - and the only thing that kept Gunz going was the unique game play it offered.
However, Jaz objects: "In that year, people have lost faith in the company, with isn't 100% a bad thing. They now just playing for fun, which is how online gaming should be."
Considering his opinion, would it be right to assume that Gunz without premium items and quest modes has made the community a better place?
So, looking back, how far as Gunz progressed and where has it ended up? It may not have the best graphics available and the ping system can annoy the hell out of some people, but (in my opinion) it's also a game that manages to be memorable, interesting and fun. What will the future bring for I-Gunz?
Only time will tell.
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Thanks to Jaz2005, JinDaYi, King Banana and Aculard for their invaluable help.
Comments on this article? PM me (Argument).
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