by Magistrate - 9 years ago     show comments

Disclaimer: if you’re hoping for any big expansion leaks and announcements, this is not the type of event for you. However, if game development, World of Warcraft‘s history, and similar are interesting topics for you, then this informal panel run by the folks at The Instance is probably down your alley.

Chris Metzen, Randy Jordan, Patrick Beja, and Russell Brower participated in the discussion in addition to the hosts. We broke the video down into bullets below, but it’s important to understand that everything is contextual.

• Blizzard is not abandoning its core values
• Releasing more content quicker is still a goal, and is something they’re thinking about and working on all the time
• They never expected the game to reach the subscription level it did
• They’re continually learning from their experiences, even today
• The team is still trying to figure out the right “rhythm” and “big ideas” that are best for the game
• Developing the game continues to have new issues, and it’s still as hard as it’s ever been (balancing, content, new technologies, art, etc.)
• The team and the game grew incredibly fast, which was a huge test for the company in the early days
• Metzen feels that new titles like Hearthstone and Overwatch bring the company back to its game development roots
• Both those at Blizzard and those outside of it have viewed them as the “Warcraft Company” for many years–new titles seem to be changing that
• Overwatch: more story element development is going into the design of maps and other features than previously thought, although in terms of gameplay it will still lack a cohesive narrative (which probably goes nicely with the graphic novel announced at Comic Con this year)
• Voice acting in WoW‘s early days was restrained more by the rapid pace of development than by an inability to acquire actors or a desire of staff to do a character
• Thrall may have cheated at Mak’gora with Garrosh in the Nagrand machinima by using magic (Metzen didn’t respond) (sorry, had to put this here 😉 )
• At possibility of a Lost Vikings sequel, Metzen replied the usual “Blizzard maybe” but acknowledged that the “docket is a little full these days”
• There has been more of a shift toward more “achievable,” “smaller-scale” products for now (that they are no less passionate or committed to); a kind of “getting back to your roots” thing
  • This stance won’t be “for long,” although he said there isn’t something in the pipe along this line and the statement is more about values
• There’s a strong belief that WoW will be around for years to come, and that its success isn’t wholly gauged by its subscriber numbers, but also the experiences and social engagements that it facilitates and creates (“immersion” and “family/social connections”)
• Metzen gave the Blizzard “neither-confirm-nor-deny” talk regarding future roles and development for the Dragon Aspects
• The team is always encouraging of efforts to get their various titles’ music into “the vernacular,” ie, school functions, etc.

Personal aside: The Instance is awesome and I encourage everyone to follow it. They have some great insights and make my two hour commutes only as bad as their humor.