World of Warcraft

Being an ongoing player of an MMO often leaves you wondering what’s next for the game. After all, even the average player has put a relatively significant amount of time into developing their character, and knowing the game’s direction is important because you’d like to know whether you approve or not of the upcoming changes. This is especially true given the number of “wow killer” MMOs that are soon to be released such as Warhammer Online and Age of Conan. Personally I doubt that either of these are ready to take on Warcraft yet, but they may leech some of the playerbase, to be sure. Being an avid fan of the Warhammer Universe, I’m excited to at least try the game out.

Unfortunately Blizzard has been somewhat tight lipped as to what the expansion really has in store for us. We’ve heard some tidbits about new monsters, dungeons, and of course the new “hero” class, the Death Knight, but the nitty gritty has thus far been kept away from public view. The most recent interview (found here) does help to shed some light on Wrath of the Lich King’s upcoming release. Here are some of my favorite parts, in no particular order:

“We now feel that the main villains of The Burning Crusade could have been a little more visible from the moment you entered Outland. For example, players could go all the way to level 70 without catching a glimpse of their nemeses. In Wrath of the Lich King, we’re going to engage players in the conflict with the primary antagonist from the beginning. By giving them Arthas as a clearly visible arch-enemy to focus on, we also create a stronger sense of purpose and a narrative pull that will continue to increase as the player progresses.”

“The method of transportation we settled on is a giant turtle with a deck mounted on top of its shell, very much like the turtles from Warcraft II. It’s simple, effective, grounded in Warcraft lore, but it’s also one of those light moments that are so important to create the iconic Warcraft feel.”

“There’s a story arc that ties all the zones of the expansion together, and the snow becomes a visual component of this common theme. The relatively green and “temperate” starting areas will be fairly densely populated, but as the story progresses we expect players to get more spread out.”

A more involved story line is definitely something I’d be interested in! I’ve always liked to think that the World of Warcraft Universe is more about developing the game’s (and your own) storyline as much as it is the “epix.” Here’s to hoping, eh?