Breakfast Topic: How would you do the Wrath cinematic?
by Alex Ziebart 
Aug 24th 2008 at 8:00AM
I loved the fact that it was more heavy on the story than the previous trailers. The Burning Crusade cinematic had some story, but it all seemed like it was just an excuse to kill some people and then throw in a quotable one-liner. Not that there's anything wrong with one-liners. Yelling 'You are not prepared!' with a few dozen other nerds at BC's midnight release was pretty sweet.
I think that the trailer missed on the adrenaline factor, which is what made the previous trailers so fun. Daniel had some gripes with the Lich King's character, but I think that oomph of adrenaline would've pushed it from 'awesome' to 'completely amazing.' It needed something that gets you pumped. I adored it, but I came out of it going "wow, that was neat" and not "Hell yeah, I'm off to kill some undead, woohoo!" I think the only thing I would have done differently is add some conflict. A battle between the Horde/Alliance and the Scourge, maybe. Quick snippets of random pairs duking it out would've taken away from the 'epic' of this trailer, but I like the idea of a massive battle raging down below. That likely doesn't jive with the storyline they're working with since that dragon is going to be an actual character and/or boss in Wrath, but it would have been nice anyway.
What about you guys? Let's say you were given the opportunity to rewrite the script for the whole thing, what would you do? Would you scrap the whole shebang and start over, is it fine how it is, or are you somewhere in between?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Breakfast Topics, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Caeres Aug 24th 2008 8:11AM
I myself really enjoyed the trailer.
People seem to forget the rpg element of WoW. Its an mmorpg, and when they bring in story elements and actual roleplay, people complain.
Im also completely confused about why blizzard wont make the movie as cg though, they are right up there with squareenix in quality.
the only gripe i have with the wrath cinematic was that it was too short. i would have loved for more to have happened. maybe moving of dalaran, and seeing the horde and alliance landig on the shores like a wwii moment. im sure there will be more cinematics yet though.
Senetien Aug 24th 2008 10:09AM
I shared the general disappointment most people seemed to feel when I saw the trailer(lack of player characters/scenes from northrend zones etc) but I wasn't too sad about it as I thought the cinematic they did produce was still very strong.. After reading your comment however, Caeres, it hit me that they completely bypassed the Kirin'Tor/Dalaran storyline and now I've got to say that Blizzard failed very severely.
Imagine this as part of the cinematic:
The first shot is of a serene Alterac Mountains where the camera is on top of one of the snowy mountain peaks, looking into the snowy part of the region. It then turns 180 degrees while displaying the nature of the zone until it stops, facing down towards the Dalaran bubble. There is no music and only some ambient sounds of the zone nature.
The shot then changes to ground-level where we are right outside of Dalaran in the ruined village part that's currently, ingame, inhabited by various mages/elementals/etc. Only now the village is completely empty and quiet. A mysterious/legendary type of musical theme starts playing calmly and quietly(could start with feint mage-monastery sounds with whispers/chants and an echoing feel to it). The camera view changes a few times to show the calm and silence of the abandoned ruined village.
Then all of a sudden a low rumble begins and the entire earth/surroundings begin to shake. The tremor becomes gradually more violent as the adrenaline levels of the cinematic and the music increase until we see the ground breaking around the Dalaran bubble and the bubble slowly beginning to rise upwards. The music is now strong with heavy chanting and still the legendary/mysterious/magical character.
As the bubble rises up into the air it starts to fade and as it does so the camera soars, in a quick and action-filled manner, upwards along it(but still at quite some distance from it so you can see and get a feeling of the magnitude of the event) higher and higher while we can begin to make out the city inside. Eventually the bubble is gone and the camera flies in a spiral manner between the tower spires/tops of Dalaran towards and finally settling on a top terrace of the highest, most majestic tower/building in the city. There we see the leader of the Kirin'Tor looking out, overseeing the great lift/move with a hard, determined, resolute look in his/her eyes.
This scene, followed by a few other(probably quick) shots of what's happening around the world(the factions and/or main characters gearing up or moving out, ending with a longer shot of Arthas) could have made a much more action filled and inspiring intro. I realize that it's a bit cliché, as a standard "from calmness to getting ready for war/hard times" plot, but I believe that's what has been going on in lore so it shouldn't necessarily be dismissed on those grounds.
Now I'm afraid we'll never get to see the huge event that the moving of Dalaran is in a cinematic form :( Compared to what we DID get this leaves me very, deeply disappointed.
Guy Aug 25th 2008 2:25PM
I would have made it just like the preview trailer from last year. that was what i expected, it was like the bc trailer minus the random duels. i REALLY liked the preview, and wanted the trailer to be like it.(the illie naration in the bc, arthas naration in the preview trailer were both FTW)
ps... i woulder kind of like to see more class duel jump cuts like the first 2 trailers
ScorchHellfire Aug 25th 2008 10:38PM
/sigh people keep saying this one was too short without realizing in actuality it is longer that the first two by about 30 seconds...
it felt short because it had less random scenes and such...
personally i wouldve just liked some scenes of death knights in action against other players but oh well... the blizz cinematic team only has so much time between the different projects to do these...
Phoulmouth Aug 24th 2008 8:15AM
This just goes to prove people will cry about anything. The cinematic was amazing and ominous. Anyone who didn't like it is retarded.
Bat Kat Aug 24th 2008 8:16AM
I wouldnt change it myself. BC's opening cinematic was fun. It reintroduced us to some of the old characters from the original cinematic and we saw how they leveled up and killed some murlocs.
I think the primary difference between the Wrath and the BC cinematic is how it is conceptualizing how story heavy Wrath seems to be. BC had a story that was somewhat still in the background as we played, but wasn't really up in the front or in our faces until 2.4 and Sunwell came out.
From what I have seen with Wrath the story is going to be pretty much in our face throughout our adventures in Northrend, and if I were to change or add anything to the cinematic, I would maybe have shown some conflict between the mages of Dalaran and the Blue Dragonflight as well.
But overall I think the cinematic gets the point across. This time the game is all about the Lich King.
Geoff Aug 24th 2008 7:38PM
> This time the game is all about the Lich King.
QFT
I like it. I'm hoping this means a lot more fantastic in-game story to tie it all together.
oldwisemonk Aug 25th 2008 11:42AM
I think you can focus on the Lich King and also throw in fight scenes that are still contextual. In the WIII cinematic, orc and human are fighting and get interrupted by a different threat. It was a great way to mix battle with story. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go find the WIII cinematic.
Disturbed Aug 24th 2008 8:29AM
it was nice. nice isnt what i was looking for. i was hoping for excitement. not some guy talking all important. nobody cares! that crappy trailer didnt get me pumped up at all. thumbs down.
kunukia Aug 24th 2008 8:20AM
I liked it a lot. The music is beautiful, and it *almost* got me interested in lore. But better Lore, than mindless Gore. I don't play for the gore (not being a young male).
AutumnBringer Aug 24th 2008 3:50PM
Hey now! Being a somewhat young male myself (and having been a quite young male in the past), I just have to tell ya, we don't all play games for gore. In most games and movies, I've always felt it becomes cheesy once they get to a certain level of bleeding, dismemberment, etc.
However, I do have to fully acknowledge that there are way too many young males whose appreciation of art in games/movies/anything is limited to what's been seen as all the rage in AoC (blood and boobs) ¯\(o_º)/¯ Maybe they should all be plastic surgeons?
Wimpkin Aug 24th 2008 8:25AM
Personally along with everyone else I would have kept with the status'quo. I would of had a lengthy amount of cut scenes of mini battles consisting of;
Gnome Rogue vs Undead Death Knight... Troll Shaman vs Human Priest... Night Elf Druid vs Tauren Druid and Finally Dwarfen Paladin vs Blood Elf Warlock.
That would be my Initial setup for the cinematic obviouslly polished up, with 2-3 moves per clip between battles Ending with the current Cinematic.
Which I still feel has an Epic Feeling to it.
I don't think it was a mistake to have this change in approach towards cinematics opening trailers to the World of Warcraft Expansions. Yet it did leave the traditional way of doing things. In this day and age people need to learn to adapt change and think about the future, for new ways of doing things. Tradition in a sense is a backward way of thinking which will only lead to negative things and back padderling in the way of progress.
so in that sense I commend Blizzards brave way of showing us they arent going to stay Old Fashioned and show us new things. The way things can also be portraid I fell that in this Expansion we're going to see alot of things tht are going to shake the very foundations of Azeroth, along with Wrath of the Lich King being dipped in a Vat of Thick Gooey Lovely LORE.
Which is a Step in the Right Direction.x
Amradorn Aug 24th 2008 8:27AM
While I think its a good quality trailer my gripe with it is that it's far too focused on Arthus. Sure, ok, he's the main baddie in Northrend, but doesn't the story really center around the player base and their struggle to defeat these guys? Why no screen time for the players? I mean come on Blizzard, we are why your making this game in the first place.
bugmaster Aug 24th 2008 8:26AM
all it needs is gnomes
Mainstay Aug 24th 2008 8:29AM
I really liked the cinematic, I thought it went over really smoothly. It wasn't quite as pulse pumping, but I think it was just that people weren't so like "omg that's so cool" when he raises the dragon.
Personally, I think the way the video is, it's kind of a hint that Arthas might actually get redeemed at some point in the story. Would be better then just another raid boss where it's like "oh yay I killed another lore figure."
Draenors Aug 24th 2008 8:30AM
The trailers for vanilla WoW and TBC showed several parts of the actual game you can experience as a player. You can be a dwarf hunter with a bear. You can be a night elf druid with shapeshifting abilities. You can be a human mage and sheep your enemies. As stated above, there were some action in these trailers.
An important aspect of creating what we refer to as "art", I think, is to make variety. And the Wrath trailer is quite different from the two previous. And I do think it's pretty cool. The way we hear Arthas' father speak to his son in a flashback is probably awesome for lore-fans. Blizzard has stated that they want players to get very close to the Lich King and this trailer does it well.
If I were to change anything myself, maybe I would add some action. Perhaps I would add some short sequnces where you see the other dragons fighting the blue ones, the mages or Dalaran or the Alliance/Horde against the Scourge. But I do think the trailer is fine as it is, and Phoulmouth probably does have a point that we should sometimes stop complaining for no good reasons and just enjoy the show.
Jamie Aug 24th 2008 8:38AM
I thought the trailer was brilliant, knowing the story and how the words of his father playing against this stunning imagery made it for me. To me, this level of maturity in the video really emphasises how much Blizzard has learned about Warcraft and that it has a very precise direction it wants to take it in.
If you just wanted to see random classes fighting for no reason (again) then just turn up the metal soundtrack and go watch some PvP videos on Youtube :P
schm0 Aug 24th 2008 8:43AM
According to the history of the world (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082517/) as soon as art was born, soon after came the world's very first critic.
Everyone who saw the cinematic will offer their "tuppence" on the issue, but in the end you have to admit that the production quality was top-notch. The first two cinematic trailers had a common theme in that they highlighted the new races and offered a view of the "progression" of some of the characters. The new cinematic offered a different, more linear presentation of the conflict presented in Wrath.
However, for those who are familiar with lore or have played Warcraft III, the fall of Arthas is a sad tale of the virtuous hero turned totally-evil-possessed-undead-army-king guy. The voice of the late King Menethil lends itself to users who may never have played the previous titles of this game as well as giving a nod to those of us immersed in the lore. The irony of the statements, interspersed with the incredible action scenes towards the end made this cinematic fantastic to watch.
The only thing that bugged me? Well, Arthas sure is dramatic about his actions. I mean, he held that sword out at full length for what, 30 seconds? And why is he taking so long to decide to raise the undead dragon? Perhaps the soul of Arthas is realizing the error of his ways, perhaps even regretting them as he recalls his father's words, only to realize that his fate is sealed and he can not alter the path he has chosen?
We'll find these things out in due time, but for now, I give Blizzard kudos for focusing on the lore rather than just some random player character's brought to life in full cinematic detail (and then throwing in a bad guy before and after.)
Seamus Aug 24th 2008 8:46AM
I thought it was great. Arthas is really a tragic figure and the the irony of his father's voice-over with a scene of the "current" Arthas was really moving. I actually went back and started watching the WCIII cinematics on youtube. Although I played WCIII years ago, I had forgotten how much storyline was there and how interesting the character Arthas was.
dave Aug 24th 2008 8:54AM
Yeah I loved it, I do agree though that if the pan out shot of the hordes of scourge were instead a pan out shot of hordes of scourge engaged in an epic battle with the Horde and Alliance, that would have been cooler. But still, it was really good.