Blizzard developers lead visual tour of Cataclysm zones
by Matthew Rossi 
Dec 9th 2010 at 5:00PM
I recently spoke to a friend in game about the new zones developed for Cataclysm. Some of them are so packed with visual highlights (like Vashj'ir or Deepholm) that I found myself spending more time ooohing and aahing over new sights and sounds than actually playing. The combination of new and alien vistas, gorgeous new effects, and stunning creatures (seriously, whoever designed the new sea life in Vashj'ir is a bloody genius) has kept me more or less dazed the whole time I've been mucking about down there.
If you're a gawker like me in Azeroth's hottest tourist spots, the folks at G4 have these video tours of the new zones for your perusal, hosted not by David Attenborough (although that would be cool) but instead by Blizzard's Alex Afrasiabi, the lead world designer. This is sort of like having a tour of the Labyrinth hosted by Daedalus. The zones in question, Vashj'ir, Uldum, and the redesigned Stormwind, are some of my favorites (although I am bummed out there's no tour of Deepholm, possibly my favorite new zone), and I really enjoyed listening to how Blizzard designed Stormwind from the ground up for Cataclysm. So go check those out.
If you're a gawker like me in Azeroth's hottest tourist spots, the folks at G4 have these video tours of the new zones for your perusal, hosted not by David Attenborough (although that would be cool) but instead by Blizzard's Alex Afrasiabi, the lead world designer. This is sort of like having a tour of the Labyrinth hosted by Daedalus. The zones in question, Vashj'ir, Uldum, and the redesigned Stormwind, are some of my favorites (although I am bummed out there's no tour of Deepholm, possibly my favorite new zone), and I really enjoyed listening to how Blizzard designed Stormwind from the ground up for Cataclysm. So go check those out.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm has destroyed Azeroth as we know it; nothing is the same! In WoW Insider's Guide to Cataclysm, you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion, from brand new races to revamped quests and zones. Visit our Cataclysm news category for the most recent posts having to do with the Cataclysm expansion.Filed under: News items, Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
tatsumasa Dec 9th 2010 5:17PM
ot but needs posted, if you currently do a google search for wow armory, the first site that comes up is NOT the armory, it looks like a gold farmer/account hacker/keylogger one since the 'y' is actually a 'v' and whois reports it to be suspicious.
hpavc Dec 9th 2010 5:19PM
The David Attenborough tour would be cool.
Worc Dec 9th 2010 8:52PM
That's awesome.
RetPallyJil Dec 9th 2010 5:31PM
Looks like that Oceanography degree came in handy at last.
Vogie Dec 9th 2010 5:37PM
Now they need a designer with a degree in Music Ed.
Get on that Bard class STAT
Noyou Dec 9th 2010 10:37PM
I miss playing bards from Ultima and D&D. Yeah bards be cool. :)
Cuban Dec 10th 2010 4:50AM
I have a music ed degree!
And I design shows, teach performance, and overall create shows from the ground up for Indoor and outdoor!
I can has job please?
joe Dec 9th 2010 5:37PM
I agree the new zones look great, but they feel a little cramped to me. I find I have a hard time focusing on what's going on around me. Anyone else? Maybe I need to play around with my view.
John Dec 9th 2010 5:38PM
Vashjir is not at all cramped. In fact, agoraphobics and hydrophobics probably should steer clear of it.
Investigator Dec 9th 2010 6:01PM
I dunno about cramped, but they certainly seemed "busy" on release day because well.. there were 100x more people online than usual. Today on the other hand I could actually hang out for a few minutes in Vashj'ir and take in the sights without having to contend with constant insta-spawning mobs.
If you want cramped, go run the old instances, Deadmines or BFD or SFK. Hadn't been there in ages, and boy after getting used to all the head space in WoTLK instances, I really got that authentic crawling-through-a-small-tunnel feel.
Jamesisgreat Dec 9th 2010 6:23PM
Bejasus - talk about insta-spawning mobs! Even when a zone doesn't feel that busy, the mobs seem to spawn unbelievably fast. I was playing through the worgen stater zone last night - was sent to a village to kill two named mobs and 4 generic mobs. Due to insta-spawning I must have killed about 30 or 40 generic mobs, just to get to the named mobs and back. Felt like one of those quests where you have to defend against unending waves of mobs.
Malsi Dec 9th 2010 5:52PM
The scenery/visuals are all nice and dandy, but I'd much rather they show us a sneak peek of updated character models! It's not that I don't appreciate all the work that Blizz has put into the world, I really do, but I am just tired of the fact that a female dwarf could cut glass with her cheeks. Now that Worgen and Goblins are playable, the difference between the races are more obvious.
I'd also just settle for an appearance tab.
IrrelevantMoralizing Dec 9th 2010 6:00PM
No matter what they do, there's always someone that's like "They should be doing X instead". At least you're not like the guy that commented on the L80ETC video saying the music guys should be fixing his quest bugs instead of making music.
DarkHonor Dec 9th 2010 5:54PM
You should go to Deepholm. Best zone in the game. Anyone with me?
jfofla Dec 9th 2010 7:02PM
In the tour of Stormwind they pointed out the portals to the new zones.
Where are those in Orgrimmar?
Jake Dec 10th 2010 8:47AM
whoa, whoa, whoa...
Does that shaman on the left up there have a RED T10 belt? WHERE DO YOU GET THIS? All my blue-belts were an eyesore in my otherwise awesome 277 set.
Izaach Dec 10th 2010 4:36PM
Hold up here.
On the Uldum video, did Alex just say that there are at least three other Titan zone/constructs like Uldum, Ulduar, and Uldaman, totaling to six?
:O