Vote City of Heroes for a Chance to Win!

MMOsite.com is holding their 2012 Reader’s Choice Awards and City of Heroes is nominated in two categories, Best Community and Most Classic MMO. City of Heroes has already climbed the ranks quickly and is battling toward the top spot in both categories.

We would like nothing better than to see City of Heroes take top honors, but we’ve also thought of a way you can be a winner, too!

Below you will find information on how to enter a contest to win a Commemorative AP33 Unity Rally Patch! You can earn multiple entries by completing each of the tasks listed in the giveaway widget below. Yes, it’s a real world task force!

THANK YOU FOR VOTING!

(Note: Comments are moderated before posting, so don’t worry if your comment doesn’t appear immediately after you submit it. Thank you!)

Temporary Post Sunset Blues…

Many of you were most likely logged in for the final moments of City of Heroes before the servers were shut down. We were. It was both uplifting and heart wrenching. We all know what made it a sad time. The MMO community we have called home for so many years was at an end (though we do hope it becomes a temporary closure.) But the day was exciting, nonetheless, because the world was full of life!

There were so many people present that day,. Our global lists hadn’t seen so much green in quite some time! We were able to reconnect with several old friends. Many sent touching messages of thanks for the work we’ve done for charity. Even more made promises to remain heroes regardless of where they might go. It was yet another example of the City of Heroes community in action and the way the players interact to inspire one another. Check out the absolutely awesome quote The Korean Times used from author and CoH advocate, Mercedes Lackey, “The City of Heroes community evolved over time to become one in which sharing was the norm, helping was second-nature, and cooperation was commonplace.” (link to article) This is so hard to make clear to someone that didn’t play the game and didn’t experience it firsthand, but it is truly the case. 

This cooperation and caring is what makes a charity drive like Real World Hero come to life and thrive! Donations seem a little lower this year. Shouldn’t that bother us? Well, we did begin the drive earlier than usual so that we could share it within the community while City of Heroes was still online and we know we’re not the only ones that spent a lot of time thinking about the game closure these past couple of months.  The end of CoH was disappointing enough. Real World Hero is doing just fine!

We’re always saying thank you to everyone that supports Real World Hero. But, truly, THANK YOU! Please keep in touch wherever you go and wherever you game. You are still heroes to so many that receive your generosity and kindness. You will always be heroes to us.

Please remember that the 2012 Real World Hero charity drive doesn’t end until December 15th. Any amount of help is welcome, donations or support. Talk up Real World Hero to your next game community. It might just surprise you to find out that there are more heroes lurking out there than we ever realized.

(FIXED!) ChipIn Issue Preventing Donations

The ChipIn service we have used to process donations for the past four years has experienced an interruption today. We do not yet know if this is a temporary condition and are looking in to alternatives to keep the Real World Hero charity drive running until December 15th as planned. Hold tight while we figure this out and please do come back to make your donation at a later time if you were unsuccessful on this visit. Thank you!

Update: (11/20/2012 9:00am PST) ChipIn service has been restored. The donation drive continues!

Real World Hero 2012 and Beyond: Here We Go!

The 2012 Real World Hero Charity Drive is underway!

Things are a little different this year, because of the pending closure of the City of Heroes MMO which has been our home for the past several years. Still, we are determined to continue on and have felt the support of quite a number of our fellow heroes. The auction is indeed underway and has a lot of bid-worthy swag. We are working on additional events to share time with our community in game and promote Real World Hero.

Most importantly, we want everyone to know that the charity drive is not ending on November 30th when the servers go dark for City of Heroes. As terribly sad and upsetting as it is, we hope the Real World Hero charity drive can continue on and do good for a long time to come. We ask that you take Real World Hero with you into whatever game or community you may find yourself and let us know where you are. We hope to find welcome among the broader world of gamers and invite them to take part. The folks at Paragon Studios often said that City of Heroes had the most amazing, giving and kindest players…lets show them and the gaming world at large that no matter what, that is -exactly- what we remain.

Let’s make this a really great time of fun, good works, and community! We won’t have spiffy gold titles anymore, but we will always consider you all to be Real World Heroes! (with a little invisible title floating just above your heads.)

Mr. & Mrs. Wentworth
(aka Joel & Karen Garcia)

The 4th Annual Charity Drive is Coming!

The 4th Annual Real World Hero Charity Drive
November 1, 2012 through December 15, 2012

We are heroes. This is what we do!

The City of Heroes community continues to be our inspiration and home as it has been since the beginning. Preparations are being made for the 4th annual Real World Hero Charity Drive, even when the game which inspired the event is going dark.

The purpose of Real World Hero has always been to encourage heroic action in our daily lives, to remind us that while we face crisis and injustice without superpowers we are not powerless. The little things we CAN do are important! The Real World Hero charity drive is not the biggest in the world, but the nearly $30,000 donated by hundreds of real people has done good work. We are so very proud to be part of your heroic deeds and look forward to moving with you into new communities.

How to get involved:

 

 

Paragon Studios: Dinner’s On Us!

Hello Heroes!

This donation goal has been reached in under three hours!

It is time for the next #SaveCOH action item. Actually, the goal is to make sure that the Paragon Studios team knows just how much they are appreciated. We can’t all join them for a farewell roast, but we can take care of the bill! Nothing elaborate or audacious, just a visit to a local restaurant that the team has frequented over the years, a chance to gather once more with friends and co-workers. If NCSoft chooses not to take care of you any longer, then perhaps heroes will.

Please visit the ParagonWiki on the Titan Network to learn more. Thank you!

CLICK HERE

 

A City in Need – NCsoft closure of Paragon Studios and City of Heroes

Dear Heroes and Friends,

We are all stunned by the events from this weekend and we’ve had a lot of you contact us, in and out of game, about the future of Real World Hero. We had just begun preparing for this year’s drive when NCSoft released the news. At this point in time, we’re still determining direction, but we will do -something-. Helping charities will continue to be a passion of ours and we encourage you to remain heroic. In the meantime, please visit the “Save Paragon City!” forum on the Titan Network and support their efforts to save our home.

~Mr & Mrs Wentworth

All Bids Are In Concluding the 2011 Charity Auction

Auction week has come and gone. The bids have all been tallied and the 2011 Real World Hero Charity Auction has raised $2276.97 for charity.

Thank you to Paragon Studios and all of the people and players that donated items to the auction and placed bids. There were over 1300 bids in all! Congratulations to the winners and thanks to the rest for bidding things up. We’re collecting donation receipts and will begin shipping items to the winners this coming week.

But the Real World Hero Charity Drive is far from over! Donations can still be made through December 30th, 2011. We’ll be doing more in-game events, so keep your eyes and ears open for the details. Keep spreading the word in-game and out!

Awesome Player Alert! @Fantastic Flying Red

I received a message from a player I know that went above and beyond to tell others about Real World Hero. @Fantastic Flying Red does a lot through his workplace in support of the Wounded Warrior Project, and he is a big fan of our support for Operation Gratitude as well. It turns out he is also part of a Civil War reenactment group and took it upon himself to add a message about Real World Hero in the latest newsletter, sent to the 5000 members of that community.

I know this is the “time of giving” and all, but outside my life as a college student, worker bee, reenactor, every so often I get to game.  Yeah I said it, I’m a gamer.  Anyway, one of the renewed projects this year is called real world hero.  Last year our gaming comminity raised over 11,000 for the charities listed.  One that has returned is operation gratitude.  This charity sends care packages to over seas active military. Since we have so many vets and we are a veterans organization, please if you can make a donation.

Visit http://realworldhero.com/ and click the chipin link. The link to the charity can be found there as well If it asks about a server use infinity.  Through this game I’ve made some really great friends – some of whom I will see when I’m in NOLA and they are a kick a** community.  If you can donate please do, if you can’t you can at least see what your kids are up to when they play that MMORPG.  Thanks All.  Kind of ironic I would be asking for assistance of active duty military today of all days.

Thanks, Red! I know there are a lot of us that have made great friendships through the CoH community. Thanks also for doing so much to tell others about Real World Hero. Go Infinity!