Well, that was… less than informative.
I will say that the presentation was more aimed at a broader audience, sadly. I wish there was more content about the development of WoW.
But I did learn that they use a doughnut as a model for success: the cakey part is the casual base while the hole is the hardcore. There’s a lot more cake, but you can’t ignore the hole (or it’s pretty much not a doughnut and you failed already).
I also have to say that Ghostcrawler did mention Sindragosa in 3.3! I thought that was a tasty tidbit amongst the kind of general information that he spread out. Another important thing he mentioned was that we shouldn’t expect a hero class every new expansion, and that if it did happen, he was kind of half and half on the starting at level 55 deal that Death Knights got…
Another thing that they want to do to the old world levels are to kind of buff them and make them more interesting (e.g. Dustwallow Marsh). The three zones he listed off the top of his head that probably needed big changes to make them enjoyable are Darkshore, Stonetalon Mountain, and the Barrens (he mentioned that he didn’t like the fact northern and southern Barrens were both different levels and it wasn’t great designing; it was early content, though).
Something else interesting he mentioned was the “Christmas tree” design for quests: you don’t want your minimap to light up like a Christmas tree! Also, I enjoyed the running joke (from the lunch as well) of nerfing paladins… sorry guys. It just seemed like a general consensus with the small crowd too (one or two folks thought otherwise).
I did also enjoy the concept of “soul crushing encounters” and “ice cream shaped mountains in old content”. Both of them sound pretty fun.
There was also a huge contrast between his time as a graduate student exploring marshes and the oceans off of the coast of Texas and when he was doing work in one of the Carolinas (or whatever) and the windowless hell he experienced before moving to (once existing) Ensemble Studios in Texas.
But unfortunately, my left eye is twitching. I think I’m going to go sleep.
(What a fun day!)
((Oh, also… at the end of his presentation, he had a picture someone in the community did that had a crab pet — GC’s avatar — got hit by a toy train and went squish… hm.))
Should have asked him if he blogged. One of the few I would keep up with.
@Also, I enjoyed the running joke (from the lunch as well) of nerfing paladins… sorry guys’
*shakes fist*
Did he mention anything about the change to retribution combat?
Unfortunately Pitrelli, I couldn’t ask MANY WoW questions… by the time I got through some of the general things, that chick was there to ask the more pointless of questions…
I wish I could have asked more. :\ Darn opportunities squandered by a crazy girl.
Ah no worries, thanks for the write up though was certainly interesting to see some of his comments and thoughts. Still dont like him though
Mmm…doughnut… :-P
Based on your post, it sounds like it was a decent time. I do like that GC isn’t forgetting about old/leveling content, with the comment about Barrens/Stonetalon/Darkshore. I haven’t touched the Barrens since BC (ie Ghostlands) became available, and I’ve leveled a crap ton of characters since then. Also, I can’t STAND the “Christmas tree” effect…walk into a new town and “ZOMG DERE R OVER NINE THOUSAND QUESTS WTF?!1!” feeling either.
The Sindragosa bit doesn’t surprise me; it does, however, make me curious as to whether or not 3.3 will be the Icecrown Citadel raid…or perhaps something else? If pressed to guess, I’d pick ICC, but who knows.
Lastly, I wonder what exactly he’s thinking of with “nerf paladins”. Were there any specifics mentioned? Running joke or not, I would think there’s a reason for the joke. :-P
I’ll add, Nobs, one of the funnier moments was that GC (using an example that probably does frequently happen, more or less as a joke) most of the team will go home… play WoW… and some of them will come in the next day doing super mad QQ because they got leveled by a paladin or whatnot. :)
Wow what a great chance to meet GC. I wish i was still attending college there. But the name was different a decade ago lol.
I miss Western Maryland College. :( McDaniel is such a lame name…
Glad to see another theory/composition major that loves WoW!
Also, it’s nice to hear about Sindragosa! From the trailer, she looked important, but we’ve yet to see her in-gmae fully.
Hell yeah theory/comp! One day, we’ll be famous!
***maybe not me. :(
Revamping quest hubs is much-needed and very intriguing! And yeah, the whole design and split of the Barrens really bugs me–I try to avoid it as much as possible when leveling a Horde toon.
Hardcores as doughnut holes… very interesting. Makes me wonder how he perceives the recent doughnuts they’ve been producing.