Rumor: Interview with a 3D modeler from Blizzard
by Mike Schramm 
Feb 3rd 2009 at 4:00PM
We're going to go ahead and throw this out there, even though it's likely as fake as the 3.1 patch notes that come out a little while ago. But WotLK Wiki has an "interview" up with someone who (without any proof at all) claims to be a 3D modeler for Blizzard, and it's got some interesting info in it about a few of the future patches and the way things work behind the scenes over there.The good news is that we'll someday know if this guy's full of bull or not -- he says that the optional boss in Ulduar will be vehicle-based, and that part of the raid will deal with the boss, while the other part of the raid runs around destroying parts of the environment in vehicles. He also says there's a whole new Azjol-Nerub zone going into the game in patch 3.2, and that the next expansion will likely focus on the Maelstrom and Caverns of Time, which will send us back in time and have Sargeras and Azshara as the main baddies. This could all be complete and total boloney (most of those things have already been rumored before), but at least it's stuff we can verify in the future.
The rest of his insights could just be made up, and unfortunately, he says some unkind things about a few other developers that Blizzard would probably frown upon if they were true. So take this with a metric ton of salt -- I looked around the Something Awful Ask/Tell forums to see if that's where this was originally posted, but didn't find anything, and WotLK Wiki didn't share a source at all, either. But we do have to agree with one of their sentiments: it would be nice if Blizzard was this forthcoming with some of their official outlets.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, Odds and ends, Blizzard, Expansions, Raiding, Bosses, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Gessilea Feb 3rd 2009 4:15PM
I call BS. An interview like this would either be released through an official channel, or would be coming from someone who didn't care if they got fired or not. The first clearly didn't happen, and the second seems pretty unlikely, thus, BS.
Leejin Feb 3rd 2009 4:59PM
Or laid off...but who are we kidding? Acti/Blizz isn't laying anyone off... Lol..
As for MY company now....
Whole 'nother story.
Ecthalar Feb 3rd 2009 6:04PM
any NDA worth the paper it's printed on will restrict the disclosure of employees who are laid off as well, by negating any separation bonus, severance pay, etc. I call total bs. nobody in their right mind would spout off stuff like this and virtually guarantee not only never getting a job in the industry again, but also getting sued for a hefty chunk of change? total crap.
Melenor Feb 3rd 2009 6:58PM
If it were a real 3D modeler from Blizzard, they would only be able to speak in short monosyllabic bursts while flailing their arms at a keyboard. You've seen the game, right?
Lemons Feb 3rd 2009 4:15PM
WoW Insider is turning into a crazy rumor mill nowadays, I guess it's all the speculation about the next patch.
This just in: Furbolgs playable? Believe it or not!
Mark Feb 3rd 2009 5:19PM
You're not kidding. WoWInsider has a glut of lazy bloggers that don't care about checking facts. Rumors and three posts about rolling restarts? Post them all! Got to have content!
(But when content is all fluff, can it be called content?)
WoWInsider should act a bit more like journalists and take a page from CNN.. I mean MSNB... I mean Fox New... Okay, those aren't good examples. Nevermind. WOWInsider is doing a fine job in comparison.
One must simply possess the very lowest of expectations.
nyctef Feb 3rd 2009 6:11PM
I don't know what you're complaining about; it seemed pretty clear from the article that Mike doesn't believe it, and is only reporting on the facts of the case.
kabshiel Feb 3rd 2009 7:00PM
I dunno, the part about customizable druid forms never actually coming seemed pretty plausible.
Paul D Feb 3rd 2009 10:58PM
I understand Wow Insider's position since they don't know who the source is or how to evaluate it. I'm surprised they don't have sources of their own at Blizzard who can give them a hint as to whether the report is correct.
I used to help run the Internet's biggest Star Wars fansite back when the prequel films were still in production, and competition for scoops among both professional and amateur news websites was fierce. Even though we were considered the amateurs, we had strict standards on what rumours we would and would not post. Hot tips from the set or production studios would have to be verified by at least one other source before we would run it, even though that meant passing up a lot of cool rumours that other sites would run. In the end, though, it made us the most reliable source of news, even more so than many professional industry magazines and websites.
Naughton Feb 3rd 2009 4:16PM
Well hell, even i know that Sargeras is gonna be a Main antagonist in the next expansion.
my2cents Feb 3rd 2009 5:01PM
Fake or not, I like the concept he put out for the next expansion. I know this would be hard to accomplish in an MMO (even with phasing) but I'd love to see them implement an entire expansion where you go back in time (in the open world, not in a dungeon) to change the way things have turned out in the present.
I guess it could work if levels 80-85 were in the past, pre-naga world with the Well of Eternity intact, and 86-90 were in the current Maelstrom. Things you do in the past version could somehow serve to weaken Azshara and her minions in the present.
I also really like the concept he mentioned for 3.2 and for the optional boss in Ulduar. I'm going to assume this is all fake, but I'm hoping it's true because I really like what I'm hearing =)
M Feb 4th 2009 9:27AM
I agree. I couldn't think of a way to work in the Maelstrom and modern Azshara in 4.x, but having the Emerald Dream (green), Grim Batol (black), and resolution of the Infinite flight (bronze) is all a very easy possibility. Those remaining portals in the Chamber of the Aspects must lead somewhere, eh? I'm not sure what could happen with the Red portal.
We see more of the development of the Infinite dragonflight with the Bronze dragonflight quests in Dragonblight, so they're obviously building it up for a resolution soon. Another CoT instance or two, or even a raid, and we'll be ready for a showdown with the leader of the Infinite dragonflight in 4.x.
Let it be learned, then, that the leader was manipulating time and events to try to avoid his own death, only resulting in increased focus on himself and -causing- his death. (Minor attempt at avoiding spoilers, though it's not hard to figure out who I suspect the leader to be).
For 3.2, the "secrecy" leads to easy speculation based on other things Blizzard has said. The Nerubian areas are supposed to be huge. Currently, they are not. They are not discussed in 3.1 or 3.3 patch ideas, so the only logical place (so far) is 3.2. It's a likely place to face down Yogg-Saron, perhaps discovered to be the corrupting force behind Malygos thus enlisting the assistance of the Red dragonflight. His exposure in Northrend is growing a lot faster than the Infinite dragonflight's, so resolution to his problem is due within 3.x for sure.
After 3.1 (probably 4.x), the next hero class could easily be a Runecaster, due to rediscovered histories from excavating Ulduar.
Spooner Feb 3rd 2009 4:25PM
yeah almost everything coming out of WotLK Wiki unless screenshotted from the beta a while ago I consider complete BS. Chris from over there is also a bit of a prick.
Rumors are fun though but it's pretty commonly accepted that the next expansion is either going to be Deathwing or Maelstrom/Old Gods. Once old gods arch is done then the Sargeras arch can hit and by then, WoW will be old enough that it will probably fade.
Eternauta Feb 3rd 2009 4:32PM
Some things never fade.
I'm sure WoW is one of them (alongside Spider-Man, Magic the Gathering, and the Simpsons).
Magma Feb 3rd 2009 4:25PM
Yes, Let's all call fake, scam, bs, because nothing that's ever a rumor could POSSIBLY be true. Ever.
schmots Feb 3rd 2009 4:27PM
Official info on next patch. Everyone is phased on a different zone.. it goes from being a MMO to being a SMO. Officially.
Arashikou Feb 3rd 2009 8:12PM
SMO? Singly Multiplayer Online? Substantially Modified Organism? Somewhat Mystifying Orange?
outlier Feb 3rd 2009 4:28PM
We're at a funny time in the game. The expansion is relatively new so we dont know what the next one will have..at all.. we can guess but no one is sure (Blizzard its self is probably still punching numbers and looking at possibilities). And we just had a patch release, so we dont have a new patch on PTR to talk about. We DO know Ulduar is coming but everything else is really speculation. Even stuff in PTR isnt for sure, remember Death Knight Tank Weapon? 72 Stamina enchant? I'd say best bet is just earn as much gold, rep gear as you can now while u can and when something actually hits live, you'll be ready. Speculation on what can be takes away from something you can ACTUALLY do at the moment. Besides, even when new content does eventually come out, patch expansion etc, people will just wonder what is next. Personally, I would like wowinsider to focus on guides and articles referring to the current game more.
Meira Feb 3rd 2009 4:29PM
" The main idea thrown around when the guys were designing paladin t8 was to have something the Scarlet Crusade would wear. One of the sets is red. Think like, badass Inquisitor. Fire is a theme in it (...)"
Paladins, behold!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/PeterArbues.jpg
Just paint it red and it's Tier 8!!
(In case you don't know, Peter Arbues is a famous Inquisitor of the second half of the XV century)
/silly off
In a serious note, this interview is kinda meh, it just confirms players' expectations and rumours, and in some parts is rather unprofessional (seriously, "Fuck your plague, I'm purifying you in fire."?, I was expecting less useless profanity)
sgtrama Feb 3rd 2009 4:30PM
This would be a really good way to never get hired in the industry ever again. Forget about being ballsy enough to violate your NDA after getting a job at one of the best places to work as a game artists, but THEN going around bashing other devs?
NO ONE in the game industry is this stupid. The industry is hard enough to break into, getting a job at Blizzard is even harder. Why would you throw all that away AND the chance of EVER getting another job just to leak a few things that were ALREADY rumored that no one is going to believe anyway...