Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Other hero classes were considered for World of Warcraft expansion]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/30/other-hero-classes-were-considered-for-world-of-warcraft-expansi/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/30/other-hero-classes-were-considered-for-world-of-warcraft-expansi/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/01/30/other-hero-classes-were-considered-for-world-of-warcraft-expansi/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,


The latest official podcast of World of Warcraft, BlizzCast Episode 7, features Lead Game Designer Jeff Kaplan and Production Director J. Allen Brack doing a wrap-up of the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. They talk about a wide range of topics in the context of Wrath, but one thing that stands out is Brack's mention of hero classes, and the difficulty in narrowing down to one hero class for release from a pool of 29 hero classes that were complete.

Kaplan added, "I think the class choice was super hard and eventually we had it down to three front runners which was pretty cool. We were talking for awhile about a Necromancer. He would be kind of a range caster, do a lot of corpse explode, that sort of thing. Things we ended up incorporating into the Death Knight. We also had a cool idea for a Rune Master. That was going to be more of a melee type. Think Rogue or Monk-type character, but Death Knight ultimately fit."

Check out BlizzCast Episode 7 for more about World of Warcraft from the game's creators themselves, as well as some hints about massive raid zones on the way and discussion of the game's lore.

[Via Eurogamer]
One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!

MassivelyOther hero classes were considered for World of Warcraft expansion originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The latest Blizzcast is live! This fifth outing is the post-Worldwide Invitational episode. The bulk of its running time is dedicated to Diablo 3. If you're interested in that pseudo-MMO, action-RPG goodness, then there is a ton of information in there. Diablo 3 Community Manager Bashiok interviews Lead Designer Jay Wilson about the game. It's detailed stuff (e.g., several minutes dedicated to Blizzard's reasons for abandoning the grid-like inventory management of the earlier Diablo games), so Blizzard fans should check it out.

Of course, here at Massively we have a special interest in World of Warcraft. We're sad to report that Blizzcast #5 is a little light on WoW or Wrath of the Lich King discussion. Community Manager Nethaera participates in the first half of the podcast, and she talks a little bit about WotLK, but she mostly shares in the post-Diablo 3 announcement glee.
One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!

MassivelyBlizzcast #5 takes care of post-Worldwide Invitational 2008 business originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blizzcast episode 4 is out, and it's chock full of the interesting discussion you've come to enjoy from the Blizzard crew. This episode includes some fantastic interviews on a variety of wide-ranging topics from the music of World of Warcraft's Sunwell Plateau to designing the various in-game professions, and caps off with a bunch of reader-submitted dev-answered questions -- and some tasty Starcraft II information!

If you're curious about the things going on behind the scenes at Blizzard (you know, beyond frantically trying to fix the online store so people can pick up Blizzcon tickets) then be sure to check out Blizzcast #4! Or for those of you who aren't into podcasts (or who just don't have the ability to listen in right now) be sure to check out their handy transcription of the podcast, available now for your lunch-hour reading pleasure.

One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!

MassivelyNew Blizzcast: Professions, progression and patches, oh my originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlizzCast lives on, and the listening time doubles in length over the previous episode. Still no update on Blizzard's plans to offer a video version, but there's plenty of juicy information to mull over. My favorite part is where CM Kevin "Karune" Yui interviews Chris Metzen, Blizzard VP of Creative Development, and taps into his thoughts about story-telling and creative lore process.

This is the best interview with Metzen I've listened to in regards to Blizzard's lore. It's so good, I read the interview too. If you're fan you can't miss what one of the creative masterminds behind the Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo universes has to say. Maybe I'm a groovy fanboi, but I highly recommend it. There's even a small tidbit about the Death Knight lore in WotlK.

The World of Warcraft segments feature WoW CM Nethaera interviewing Geoff Goodman, WoW Designer, regarding the Magtheridon encounter. The other World of Warcraft portion focuses on a question and answer with CA Bornakk and Tom "Kalgan Chilton, WoW Lead Designer. Highlights include:

Continue reading BlizzCast: Metzen on Blizzard's lore, Chilton on PvP tank spec viability and more

MassivelyBlizzCast: Metzen on Blizzard's lore, Chilton on PvP tank spec viability and more originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzardblizzard-podcastblizzcastgeoff-goodmanlorenethaerapodcastsworld-of-warcraftwowFri, 29 Feb 2008 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[BlizzCast hits the scene]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/10/blizzcast-hits-the-scene/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/10/blizzcast-hits-the-scene/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/10/blizzcast-hits-the-scene/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Listen to BlizzCast or it may die, and go away forever. No, that's not a good thing. In the first segment, CM Kevin "Karune" Yui interviews Samwise Didier, Blizzard Entertainment's Art Director. The interview runs for 12 minutes; no ground-breaking information is disclosed, but there is some good shop-talk on Starcraft II art and his conceptual art process. You can also check out some featured artwork from Samwise throughout the transcript.

The final segment focuses on World of Warcraft and clocks in at 8 minutes. CM Drysc interviews Jeffrey "Tigole" Kaplan. Kaplan mainly rehashes what the designers are doing with the upcoming Sunwell 2.4 patch. WoW Insider has been covering this ad nauseum, but here's what I gleaned:
  • First 3 Sunwell Plateau bosses and their difficulty levels are tuned against Tier 6 players.
  • No attunement to enter or for the first 3 bosses.
  • Overall faction for Sunwell Isle is the Shattered Sun Offensive.
  • Aldor and Scryer storyline continues as their forces combine to battle against the Burning Legion. NPC changes will be reflected in Shattrath.
  • Sunwell Plateau loot rewards will be Tier 7; including, armor sets bonuses and class specific loot but no unique sets in terms of looks.
  • Kaplan assures that the Tier 7 look will diversify better than the comparisons made with AQ 40 itemization.
  • Magister's Terrace 5 man dungeon both heroic and normal modes, and it will have a similar difficulty as Shadow Labyrinth and Shattered Halls.
  • Magister's Terrace is a 4 boss dungeon. The first 3 bosses drop one 1 in 15 blues, which are normal level 70 dungeon loot. The last boss will drop 1 in 10 epics on par with lower-end Karazhan epics.
  • Magister's Terrace itemization is intended to play a deeper relevancy in WoW's itemization today by offering better rewards than older dungeons but not over doing it.
  • Possible class balancing depending on the results from the 2.3 patch, but nothing concrete at this time.
  • Daily quest allotment will be raised from 10 to 25.
That's a wrap on my show notes. Be sure to check out the official BlizzCast page where you can view the transcript or download the audio. Chris Metzen will be joining the next episode. I'm definitely looking forward to that, and maybe we will get some information on the World of Warcraft movie. Blizzard is also giving away some sweet Logitech 5.1 speaker sets and Starcraft II garb to those who leave feedback about their first show. My thoughts about the production and format are after the break.

Continue reading BlizzCast hits the scene

MassivelyBlizzCast hits the scene originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzardblizzard-entertainmentblizzcastdryscjeff-kaplankarunepodcastssamwisetigoleworld-of-warcraftThu, 10 Jan 2008 22:45:00 EST