Breakfast Topic: Is Blizzard wasting their time?
by Mike Schramm 
Jun 9th 2009 at 8:00AM
Hometownkid confronts the QQ over on the forums, and wants to know why people think Blizzard is "wasting their time" when they do things like upgrade the Druid art and creating things like the Ulduar bosstiary when they could be making more quests or new PvP areas. Personally, you've never heard that argument from me -- like Hometownkid, I'm pretty sure there are different teams working on different things within the game, and it's hard to believe that one new piece of art would otherwise be a new form of quest. While Blizzard does take their sweet time, I still trust they're making new content as fast as they can.But there is an argument there -- if Blizzard were a different company and didn't do things like make Failocalypse, would we all be level 100 by now? They've always said that they would update the graphics incrementally, but certainly other companies have revamped the whole game all at one time before. I guess the question here is: would you trade Blizzard's well-worn ways for the promise of more content?
I don't think Blizzard has been completely out of line, but sure, you could argue that because of the way they do things, they're slower on releases than other companies might be. But would you?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Siorra Jun 9th 2009 8:07AM
I wish people would stop whining about stuff they don't atually have a clue about. There's deffinitly more than 1 person behind a desk in Blizzard HQ.
Xanwryn Jun 9th 2009 8:38AM
Agreed. There are multiple teams of people that work for a game. Game development isn't as black and white so much as there is only "programmers" and "management."
There's also many other positions such as art and graphic designers (the artists design most of the artwork for the game, shit like concept art which is then used by people such as 3D designers, graphic designers are also used a lot to make shit like icons for both website and the game itself).
You also have animators and 3D designers, which are bloody important people. 3D Designers make all the models (and possibly the textures for those models as well) you see in the game. The artists over at Sons of the Storm ( http://sonsofthestorm.com ) make a lot of the artwork you see in game, and some of it is even turned into 3D models (such as weapons, NPC's, objects like chairs and barrels, etc). Animators are pretty straight-forward, they animate objects that move (character movement, the way cloaks move in the "wind" or how grass waves about, how you look when you attack, etc).
I also personally believe the game designers get like one of the hardest jobs. Since these people (*cough* Ghostcrawler *cough*) make a lot of the gameplay structure and rules of the game. You know why that weapon does 151 DPS? Because the game designers wanted it to have that much. You know why that piece of cloth armour gives so much Intellect? Cause they decided it.
Also, don't neglect the writers. Bloody important people for a good game too IMO.
Jon Do Jun 9th 2009 8:40AM
Of course Blizzard has chosen to use some maintenance money to improve their product with features that most of us don't use. The prime example that comes to mind is in-game voice chat, which is 'value added' for Blizzard (since they can port such capabilities to future games), but seems a waste of money for most customers who still use other products such as Ventrilo.
Whether that money might have been spent on additional personnel to develop new quests, as opposed to, say, higher stock dividends, is an open question.
And to throw more fat on the fire, people have screamed for 'new lower-level content' for as long as I have followed WoW blogs and forums. But adding, for example, a bunch of new Duskwallow Marsh quests really completed the zone, but seem to add less value to the game than endgame content, particularly when they add a class that starts at a higher level than those quests.
Bottom line: Blizzard seems to be doing ok running their WoW business. My only 'complaint' would be that they failed to deliver on the 'one expansion a year' promise - but as it turns out, I can't keep up with the pace of new content anyway, so it matters not to me.
Jon Do Jun 9th 2009 8:45AM
And I might add another question...
Why are the two top blogs at wow.com based on drood forms discussion, again...?
Maybe WoW *is* dead, after all.
Aedilhild Jun 9th 2009 8:52AM
Agreed. How many here have managed a multi-departmental entertainment software company? None. Although players certainly have the right to criticize Blizzard, they lack the credibility. We have firsthand experience with gameplay and related support, and precious little more.
Here is the problem: Blizzard's development process — its workday — is apparently so poorly understood by the World of Warcraft community that these complaints are taken seriously.
I suggest that a few Blizzard employees set aside a week with a camcorder and an editing room, tour the design stations, conduct a few interviews and offer a few astute observations on the challenges of design — then post the video, and thereafter refer any loudly discontented players to it. It could be a meme or a forum signature: "Watch the Video."
dawnseven Jun 9th 2009 10:29AM
"And I might add another question...
Why are the two top blogs at wow.com based on drood forms discussion, again...?
Maybe WoW *is* dead, after all."
Just because the topic du jour isn't of interest to you doesn't mean it's crap. :D
Aykwa Jun 9th 2009 11:15AM
There's also a question of psychology progression, higher levels, and more quests. Already, many a new player get discouraged once they try to level a new character and find themselves virtually alone in Azeroth, staring at doing another 50 levels alone. This is a game of progression, but at some point does the current end state become so far away that new players are no longer interested? It's a bit of a paradox and I'm sure Blizzard has considered it. With SOOOO much one can possibly do in this game, how fast is too fast, in terms of new content? Balancing the need of new players versus current players (and even hardcore players versus casual players) is not an easy task. Rush too quickly and you'll get fewer new players, go too slowly and you'll keep fewer maxed out players. In either case, they lose potential revenue, and so I'm sure they try to keep it in a sweet spot to keep the most people happy as possible. Sometimes we forget that the people who post on the forums are not the average player, but probably a bit more active than average.
V Magius Jun 9th 2009 12:16PM
@Aedilhild
I haven't watched it yet, but isn't that shown on the "Making of" DVD that came with the Collector's Edition?
Otherwise, I could swear it already exists.
theseacucumber Jun 10th 2009 3:50AM
I personally love the fact that Blizzard puts in pop culture references and in-jokes, that's a company that I can justify handing over $20 each month for. I play a mage, so we aren't without our own problems (blink anyone?) but I prefer a more personal Blizzard than one that is purely focused on the classes, instead of the environment.
I don't mind that we aren't at 100 yet, it'll be all the better when we get there. I particularly like the grey & white items, which contain the most interesting items in the game, like the dalaran coins, and the fish main hand weapon.
Eisengel Jun 10th 2009 7:25PM
@Aykwa
I agree, but I also think there is another problem of scale. As you go up the progression chain WoW has always required you to raid with larger and larger groups. That has been cut back a bit recently, which I am happy about, but I still have not seen the inside of Ulduar yet and my guild's Naxx runs have dried up. The problem is that the highest levels of progression in the game don't necessarily require you to do any better, they require you to herd N many more people together. In the solo game you had to either improve your game or out-level the mobs. The higher levels of progression no longer depend on you getting that much better since that responsibility is divided 10 or 25 ways. I would much rather see everything be 5-man.... but getting progressively harder, so you can only down the bosses if all the people in your group really are good, or if they out-level or out-gear the content... just like in the solo game.
I can put out about 4k DPS on my Spriest in Naxx 10 on some bosses (unflasked), and she only has partial T7, so I'd consider myself a pretty good player, but because I don't have 9 or 24 other people to run with regularly, I can't progress. To me it feels like Blizzard is punishing me for living where I do and having the work schedule that I have. It worked fine for the solo game and for running 5-man instances, and I'm a pretty good player, but now I'm not allowed to continue progressing just because there aren't enough people to run something with me.
I wish Blizz would re-examine this escalating content chain they have put into place. While I can understand the reason behind the party mechanic and having 'epic encounters' requiring more people, it makes the entire process of leveling through 80 levels seem like a bait and switch; "Oh, you know your class well and have been honing your game for 80 levels... well too bad, you need to find 5 to 20 more random people or you can't continue".
...?
MusedMoose Jun 9th 2009 8:10AM
Just because something worked for other companies doesn't mean it's going to work for Blizzard. Simple as that.
As for whether I think Blizzard is wasting their time on things like the bear forms, I would have to say no. I'm not sure how many people work on WoW, but I'm dead certain they don't devote the entire team to one single project at a time. *grin* Also, from what we've seen from Ghostcrawler and the other devs, they have a lot on their plates, and not everything gets taken care of right away. So while we might not see progress on something for a long time - like the druid forms - that doesn't mean it's been dropped or is being ignored.
And one other thing: personally, as an office worker and aspiring writer, I know better than to try to second-guess the production and workload of a company that delivers a game to twelve million people worldwide. *grin*
M Jun 9th 2009 8:42AM
To follow this up a little.. these other games that come out with super amazing eyecandy or totally revamp the graphics, etc. How many of those games are still around? Not many.
Game play and story are much more important than pretty pictures or pixellated boobies or whatever. (AoC sighted in the bargain bin for $10 now)
ao.dom Jun 9th 2009 9:51AM
M, too much content in a short amount of time is what killed EverQuest, which was at one time the leading MMORPG.. But look at them now.. 10 years and 15 expansions later, they are about 1/3 of their highest customer base.. Yeah, let's force Blizzard to pump out content like Octomom for the few hardcore no-lifes and leave the casual gamers, which is the majority, behind.. Blizzard gets more money from casual gamers than hardcore gamers.. Even if the casual gamer doesn't play, they're still paying monthly..
Evigrof Jun 9th 2009 8:12AM
I love new content more than anything, but if it doesn't look good I wouldn't play it. I am not a fan of EVERY piece of art in the game, that is just a personal taste issue. What I do like is they are continuously working and improving it.
dan Jun 9th 2009 8:35AM
i agree, they are doing fine
Pexxle -=Silver Hand (RP)=- Jun 9th 2009 8:57AM
Agreed, whoever is upset at them revamping old artwork i think is foolish. I am not even a Druid, nor do i have an alternate druid toon and i tire of seeing giant pawed 3 claw cats etc...
Worcester Jun 9th 2009 2:34PM
I'd like for those complainers to show off their "Game of the Year" awards. If they have more that Blizzard, let them complain. Otherwise, maybe we could just let this company do what it does best and leave them the hell alone?
Shilling Jun 9th 2009 8:12AM
Those companies that do big overhaul type updates tend to only manage a couple of them, ever. Incremental is a lot more reliable and a lot more fun, I think.
Also yes, the guy painting a cat texture cannot go and redesign your talent tree instead. He's an artist, not a game system designer or programmer. Same goes for all the other roles in the WoW development team.
Things like the mini-game are likely done when they have a spare programmer going for a few days - he can't just jump in something else at random and he can't 'help' another programmer, because programming just doesn't work that way. Really, a flash game won't take long for these guys to make, and is straightforward. WoW is not straightforward, it has got to be a logistical nightmare to develop for.
Some QQers really don't think things through.
Muffiny Jun 9th 2009 8:13AM
To be honest, I wouldn't trade how Blizzard works currently for anything else. The fact that they make awesome things like the Failoc-alypse gives them their charm.
Sure, they may not be perfect, but what other company is? Blizzard in my opinion does a lot of things the right way.
And they have a sense of humor, like a lot of people these days seem to lack, and I like Blizzard all the more for it.
dawnseven Jun 9th 2009 10:32AM
Well said.