Dear Blind Mew,
I am just wondering about what the inspirations were for some of the bits of Pirate101 that really fascinate me.

1. Shiruku Neko - Where did the idea of her story come from, and that of the Cao-Lin, her order?
2. The Armada - I am just curious as to where the concept behind an elite army of clockwork beings came from.
3. Mechanical Birds - What is their story and are they going to be readressed?

As a writer I am always fascinated by complex stories and that's what drew me to Pirate101!

Thank you!

I love these kinds of questions!

Shiruku Neko - I believe her name literally means 'Silk Cat' or some derivation thereof. In terms of her story, it's a pretty standard martial arts tale of wronged masters and ancient rivalries. We didn't really have a good example of that kind of story in MooShu, and when the Ninja Cat got concepted, we realized she'd be a perfect fit. The quest also draws a lot of inspiration from Daredevil's backstory, especially if you look closely at her mentor's name.

The Armada - one of the first tasks I had here after my arrival was figuring out who the Enemy was. We needed something big, monolithic, scary, and ultimately impersonal: we're a family game, so we needed somebody you'd ever feel bad about thrashing in a fight. We had a few different ideas we were kicking around (undead, insects, that kind of thing) but none of them seemed "piratey" enough (and, they resonated a little too closely with Malistaire and Morganthe). We hit upon the notion of Clockworks (as opposed to Robots) and it was a great fit. Making them Da-vincian also dovetailed perfectly with the setting. I've always found porcelain masks to be really creepy, and the notion of these not-people pretending to be people, cold and emotionless, worked for me. We also drew a lot of inspiration from two Dr. Who stories - "The Girl in the Fireplace" and "The Robots of Death." Once I saw them in game and animating, with their clicking and ratcheting sounds, I knew we'd hit them perfectly. (continued)

Blind Mew on Jan 8, 2013 wrote:

(continued)
Making the Armada machines helped us find their goal - they want to impose their cold, mechanical precision on the world, take away all the randomness and silliness. That set them up as existential foes to pirates (and, indeed, to everybody). Once the Armada itself was thought out, Kane and the Court emerged in pretty short order. Kane is the ultimate extension of that primal fear of our creations turning on us, that expresses itself in everything from Frankenstein to the Terminator - he's faster, stronger, and smarter than everyone. He's perfect (or so he believes), and thus it is only logical that he should be in charge of the Spiral. After thinking a little while, he came up with a Grand Design and vision that will suit the Spiral much better than the current mess. It didn't even take him very long. I can't wait until the PC meets Kane - won't be int he next update, I don't think, but it will be soon.

The Birds - Some major revelations about them are coming soon. Be on the lookout! This particular plot seed took a lot longer to bear fruit than I'd originally thought, but answers are coming. Don't worry.

Love reading your posts! The Armada are a great choice of villain and it will be tough for you guys to top them.

Love the back storylines, thanks Blind Mew...

LOL, waiting to see an easteregg from the Armada... "Resistance is futile"