World of Warcraft Interview

 World of Warcraft Interview by Gareth Von Kallenbach

Recently I got the chance to speak with Shane Dabiri about what the future holds for World of Warcraft, I wanted to thank Shane and the good folks at Blizzard for taking time out of their hectic post E-3 schedule to answer the questions.

With the runaway success of the game well established, what can gamers look forward to in terms of new additions to the game and gaming world with future updates?

The most significant additions are Battlegrounds and the PvP Honor System. Over the past few weeks, the new PvP Honor System has really ratcheted the interest and excitement for World of Warcraft up to another new level. And we think Battlegrounds will raise that level of enthusiasm even higher when it releases soon. Future updates will include more Battlegrounds and an emphasis on high-end dungeons and more content for casual gamers.

With 1.5 million players and rising, how do you plan to tackle potential ongoing issues such as server crashes and downtown that pop up due to the large number of people that want to play?

We'll continue to actively monitor the realms and server stability on a 24-hour basis and devote ourselves to always improving the World of Warcraft service. In the past, we've added new realms to accommodate more players, carefully managed the supply of units in retail to create a more gradual rather than sudden rise in player populations, instituted character migrations to alleviate server issues, and implemented a host of other fixes and long-term solutions. We are sincerely dedicated to ensuring that World of Warcraft is a stable and reliable service, and we will continue to work towards that goal with our greatest efforts.

Do you ever plan for players in Europe and America to be able to play together and will players be able to move between servers in time?

This is something we would like to provide in the future. At the moment, though, we see our players settling in nicely in their respective geographical regions, and there isn't a huge demand for migrations to different regions now. Also, the need for fast and local support does make it much more advantageous for players to play in their own regions. However, server moves are something we are considering, but we have nothing formal to announce at this time.

Can you tell us more about how siege weapons will work in the battlegrounds. Will each side rent them from NPC's?

It is still much too early to discuss siege weapons. Battlegrounds aren't even officially in the game yet. J In due time, we'll design and test them and then let players use them to destructive delight in Battlegrounds. However, that's not for a while.

What hero classes are you planning?

It is too early in their development stage for us to discuss Hero classes at all. However, they are on our list of high priority features to add in the future.

Are player houses ever going to be a possibility?

Like hero classes, it really is too early to say anything. But it is something we recognize that players want.

What is the status on the second Battlegrounds and what can players look forward to seeing?

The second Battleground, Warsong Gulch, has just been deployed to the test server, where it is being tried out by players now. Warsong Gukch is a casual Battleground between the Barrens and Ashenvale zones that should be great fun for smaller groups of players. We've designed it to accommodate two teams of 10 each, and games in there should take roughly 30 to 45 minutes. So you can see it's clearly aimed at people who just want to have a good time in PvP in a short amount of time. The goal of Warsong Gulch is to capture the enemy faction's banner, which lies in its base. For the Horde side, it's an Orc camp and for the Alliance side, it's a Night Elf outpost. The zone has no PvE content; it's just two teams of players trying to capture each other's banners for victory and bonus honor points. You can test it out now on our public test realms.

Are there future expansions planned that would be in the form of add on software rather than downloadable updates, and if so, when might players see them?

Right now, we are only concentrating on downloadable content patches. However, that isn't to say that additional expansions in other forms aren't being discussed. But the plan right now is to simply continue supporting World of Warcraft in the near future with content updates. If and when an expansion is underway, you can be sure we'll announce it on our website.

Constant updates and expansions are always vital for keeping the game fresh and exciting, going forward what do you see as the biggest challenges in keeping the game fresh and innovative for gamers in the years to come, and how do you plan to take on those problems?

We think a challenge will be keeping players interested and providing new content to keep the regulars coming back. Some people have played World of Warcraft constantly for the past six months, and they are the ones who are most excited about the game. Conversely, they would also be the first to be burnt out on the same old content, so the challenge is for us to make the game exciting for these players still. That's why we are concentrating so much on high-end content. You've seen us respond to this need with high-level instances and dungeons. The PvP and Battleground systems are also a great way to introduce a whole new advancement structure to players, complete with rich rewards and a rank-based level system. Another area we are targeting for improvement is our casual content. That is one area that we see as a challenge we have to meet. Adding Warsong Gulch is a step in the right direction for casual gamers, and in the next few months, we'll add more high-level casual content for gamers as well.

Interviewer: Gareth Von Kallenbach Interviewee: Shane Dabiri - World of Warcraft Producer, Blizzard Entertainment

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Gareth Von Kallenbach