Also on AOL
- Autos
- Technology
- Lifestyle
- Gaming
- Finance
- Entertainment on AOL
- Lifestyle on AOL
- Sports on AOL
- Travel on AOL
- More on AOL
Featured Galleries
Joystiq
© 2013 AOL Inc. All rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Trademarks | AOL A-Z HELP | About Our Ads

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-23-2009 @ 10:37PM
Badger said...
I have never liked the official "Warcraft" fiction. The stories very rarely break new ground, instead choosing to retread the history behind the setting over and over again. The novels are often focused almost exclusively on action, rather than striking any balance with description and character development. The comics are also poorly drawn, in my experience, but I'm simply not a huge fan of Manga. (Note: Not referring to the comics about Wrynn and his allies. I don't know enough about those, but the art style does seem a bit busy to me.)
Perhaps most frustrating is the common assumption that anyone reading the official fiction is already intimately familiar with every detail of "Warcraft" history. Some folks might get hooked on something entirely new if the writing were more open to those who haven't already played a "Warcraft" game.
Admittedly, however, I often approach publications like these on the assumption that they're meant to be nothing more than marketing tie-ins. I'm a writer myself so I'm probably biased toward extreme cynicism.
Reply
7-24-2009 @ 8:13AM
stephen2553 said...
I've read Arthas and reading The first book in war of the ancients, i liked them but I have to agree with a lot of this. I find it hard to figure out what the hell is being described until somone mentions its a Doomguard or Mal'ganas. If you know enough about warcraft its only a small inconvience but if you just like fantasy books and are trying warcraft you wont have any idea whats going on
7-24-2009 @ 9:45AM
snowleopard233 said...
I agree with this. I don’t understand why Arthas was as celebrated as it was. There was little there that you wouldn’t know about if you had played Warcraft 3 and there was little that you would have been able to understand had you not. The whole thing just felt like a more-fleshed out retelling of the original storyline but without any of the suspense from wondering what was going to happen.
I’ve read a lot of the submissions for the writing contests including the winning ones and most of them are far more interesting than anything I’ve seen Blizz churn out. Why? The writers take risks. They explore new territory and create new characters with storylines that are fresh and interesting. Most are unwilling to tamper with the core canon, so they instead create stories that explore the often considered mundane aspects of the universe; like a peon’s life, a Tauren’s battle in Alterac, or Blood Elf politics in the wake of Kael’thas’ betrayal.
I’d like to see more risky stuff like this but on a larger scale. Let’s see some more stories that concern relatable, vulnerable characters rather than just retelling the same tired stories about outlandish heroes that drop-kick everything in site (I’m looking at you, Knaak).