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The latest patch 5.4 newsWho's who at BlizzCon: WoW Insider's guide to the staff of Blizzard
by Adam Holisky 
Oct 8th 2008 at 11:00AM
Everyone going to BlizzCon this year will get to roam around the convention hall with some of the very people who bring you World of Warcraft and other Blizzard games. While many World of Warcraft fans might be familiar with the online pseudonyms such as "Drysc" and "Tigole," very few probably know what they actually look like.We've searched the internet high and low for pictures of these folks and have compiled them into a nice and handy gallery complete with some biographical information. The pictures are small and mobile enough that they can be saved to an iPhone or other mobile device that can be brought into the convention hall.
If you happen to be going to BlizzCon be sure to stop and say hello to these Blizzard people. And if you aren't going, check out WoW Insider during the convention for the latest and greatest reporting right from the floor.
Filed under: BlizzCon
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
kidgamer Oct 8th 2008 1:59PM
Almost.
Ghostwalker is actually Caydiem (a Community Manager for the US World of Warcraft forums until 2006 until moving into another position at Blizzard.
Caydiem photo (she's on the left):
http://content.ytmnd.com/content/b/2/5/b252bd98e9e8d71e6bbd29239b7f9ad7.jpg
Grimgore Oct 8th 2008 2:43PM
Would I be wrong in assuming that the majority of players that know who Knaak is think he's a no-talent? I'm kind of surprised he'll be at BlizzCon, and I wonder what kind of reaction he'll receive.
I'm trying really hard to sludge my way through 'Day of the Dragon' but it's just really boring so far. I didn't realize he was responsible for the 'Huma' trilogy of Dragonlance books, which also happen to be some of the only books in that series that I didn't like. It's just my opinion, I'm sure some people think he's great, but I wasn't surprised to find out just how many people feel the same way I do about his 'talent.'
D.O.T. Oct 8th 2008 3:10PM
Actually, you are quite right, he has no talent and I can't believe they allowed him to even write for Blizzard.
With all that money they make from the 10 million players you would think they would be willing to shell out a bit more for a writer with some skill at writing. Knaak's only skill is to kill characterization, plot and excitement.
Even his original work is horrible. I read the Janus Mask - oh boy, was that a waste of time. The characters spent more time going back and forth because they couldn't make up their minds where they wanted to be. No proper characterization, no real motivation, everything is a paper cutout stretched tightly over stereotypes... Ugh.
This is why, even though I'd like to read some of the WoW stories, I don't bother. Talentless hack writers are not worth the time to read as they butcher any and everything they touch.
Terrant Oct 8th 2008 3:11PM
I don't know if Knaak's work is disliked by a majority of people, but the people who don't like him are certainly vocal.
RedBearon Oct 10th 2008 1:50AM
I think Christie Golden will be at BlizzCon as well for the book signing event that Knaak's also attending. I like her writing much better than Knaak's.
anjldust Oct 8th 2008 2:59PM
It's more likely that Kisirani is Caydiem, as she even frequently answers to the name Caydiem, as evidenced by a recent post about the Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day mini-event. (Check WoWWiki for that.)
I believe it more likely (not definitely, just likely) that Ghostcrawler is actually male. Several European blue posters have called GC "he" and "him" (Presumably they're not in on the fact that US blue posters have begun spreading confusion about his/her sex.) Zarhym and Crygil both have also called GC "he", then quickly gone back and edited their posts, adding gender neutral nouns instead (i.e., person/they).
GC has made it a point not to say one way or the other, and has pointed out this fact on a few occasions. He/she has never indicated one way or another. However, devs have noted recently that they're frequently in contact with top-end guilds and arena teams to take their opinions on game balance and discuss ideas. (Not stuff like 'do you like this?' More like 'if we made this change, how would it affect you?') Some of these types of people (none have directly claimed to have been contacted by Blizzard devs, I think they like to keep that under the table) such as members of Curse, Nihilum, and Elitist Jerks, HAVE referred to GC as 'she'. So if they've been in direct contact with the development team, they might actually know. Unfortunately, no one will admit to such. They could just be going along with the crowd who may have just assumed GC was female.
It's an interesting conundrum either way. But GC's almost certainly not Caydiem. (I think he/she is probably just a dev no one is familiar with who decided to take a chance on the forums and enjoyed it.)
D.O.T. Oct 8th 2008 4:20PM
The funny thing is that in one of the forum posts where they were asking about Ghostcrawler's gender, two different devs posted replies about how: "He left his wallet in my office." "She left her purse in mine."
Maybe s/he's a hermaprodite? :P