Guild Wars: Eye of the North Interview
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"Gwen has a love/hate relationship with the fans," Grubb said as he delved deeper into the Eye of the North storyline. She's initially present in pre-Searing Ascalon at the beginning of the first Guild Wars game as a young girl who offers the player a few initial quests and then disappears when Ascalon is destroyed by the Charr. Her fate was the subject of much speculation among Guild Wars fandom, but according to Grubb, in some cases that was because people hoped that the cute little girl had managed to survive and in others it was because they hoped they'd never see the little irritant again. Grubb himself admits to a bit of annoyance at the character. "Gwen trapped me on a pier when I started playing Guild Wars," Grubb said. "I couldn't get her to move out of the way and as a new player; I had no idea how to get away. I can understand why some players dislike her."
That love/hate relationship made Gwen the perfect character to be the emotional center of the expansion and the perfect bridge to the sequel. "Gwen isn't the perky young girl players remember from the first game," Grubb said. "A lot of things have happened to her in the eight years since the Searing. She's been hurt, damaged both physically and spiritually, and she's very, very angry." According to Grubb, the resolution of Gwen's tragedy is in many ways symbolic of the expansion itself. In resolving Gwen, the team found it easier to revisit the loose ends left by the storylines of Prophecies, the first Guild Wars title. Through her, the team was able to bring in the Ebon Vanguard and remnants of the kingdom of Ascalon. "Her story allowed the team to give the Charr an interior life, to explore who they are and set up the 'new' Charr that will become a playable race," Grubb said. From a game design perspective, through Gwen, players will be able to resolve their own attachment to Guild Wars and be ready to move on to the sequel.
