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Chris Metzen talks about The Art of Blizzard Entertainment
Over the last few years the question of art and video games has gone in and out of hot-button topic territory. Whatever someone's opinion of the status of games as art, though, it's impossible to ignore the vast amount of art that goes into them, and the cultural consciousness surrounding art and gaming is growing all the time. Earlier this year Blizzard published The Art of Blizzard Entertainment, a volume spanning over 20 years of concept art and development, complete with commentary by Nick Carpenter, Sam Didier, and Chris Metzen. Along with the book was an exhibit of the same name at the Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, California, which ran from January 12th to February 3rd, 2013. This is an old video by GamerHub.tv from the opening night of the exhibit back in January, but it's the first it has come to our attention at WoW Insider, and it's worth watching if you haven't already. Metzen talks about the origins and inspiration for Blizzard's art, Blizzard's feelings toward fan art, and some of his thoughts on the perception of art and games in general. Check out parts one and two on GamerHub's youtube channel.
Blizzard panel and Sam Didier at the San Diego Comic-Con 2012
WoW Insider has received a tip that there will be a Blizzard panel at the San Diego Comic-Con! From 2:15 to 3:15 on Thursday, July 12, Chris Metzen (Blizzard Entertainment SVP, story and franchise development) and special guests will be hosting a panel in room 6BCF. The panel is listed as a product showcase for WoW, StarCraft and Diablo, and the blurb says that they will "reveal never-before-seen licensed products and plans for 2012/2013. Talk to the designers, writers and artists themselves as we dig into Mega Bloks, novels, comics, statues and more." This panel will, of course, include a Q&A alongside the reveals mentioned above, so if you're in the San Diego area and already have tickets to Comic-Con, this sounds like a fantastically exciting opportunity to hob-nob with the Blizzard team and quiz them about everything you need to know about their games. But wait, there's more! Sam "Samwise" Didier, the art director at Blizzard Entertainment responsible for creating much of the artwork for the Warcraft, StarCraft, and the Diablo series and the senior art director on StarCraft II, will be in the Artists' Alley at table DD-09. The Artists' Alley gives Comic-Con attendees the chance to meet and greet some of their favorite artists, and you might even be able to buy original art, sketches, and exclusive, limited edition prints and sketchbooks. I would have loved to put in a link to buy Comic-Con tickets, but it seems from the website that it is completely sold out. So close to the time, I'm guessing this isn't a great surprise -- but still, a shame. So if you're lucky enough to have tickets, head on over! [Thanks for the tips, Serrotatauren!]
The Art of Blizzard book celebrates ... well, you know
Blizzard Entertainment has announced an upcoming book called The Art of Blizzard, featuring over 700 pages of forum posts whining about Diablo 3 being down. No, just kidding, it's about the art of Blizzard and its franchises (including some unpublished titles). Mixed in among 700 pieces of visual art used in the games' development is commentary from Blizzard's Vice President of Art and Cinematic Development Nick Carpenter, Senior Art Director Sam Didier, and Senior Story VP Chris Metzen. The book is available for pre-order right now, and should be out later on this year. The retail price is $75.00, but as you can see on Amazon it's currently selling for less.
The Art of Blizzard is captured in new book
While some might argue the artistic merits of games themselves, few can deny the artistry of the concept art and sketches behind their development. And those who love the artistic style of Blizzard games will now be able to enjoy the inspiration behind their favorite games in a new hardcover book. The Art of Blizzard offers an exclusive look at many of the ideas and images that influenced and defined the various game universes, including World of Warcraft and Diablo III. It covers the timeline of the company from its origins as a three-person console-game development studio to its present day success. It is composed of almost 800 pieces of concept art, paintings, and sketches as well as commentary from VP of Art and Cinematic Development Nick Carpenter, Senior Art Director Sam Didier, and Senior VP of Story and Franchise Development Chris Metzen. The 352 page book will retail at $75.00 US; pre-sales will be available at San Diego ComicCon from July 12th through the 15th. The book can also be pre-ordered on Amazon.com for a discount. [Source: Blizzard press release]
Blizzard's Metzen: Pandaren are as 'serious as a heart attack'
OK, time for a show of hands. How many of you initially thought Mists of Pandaria was a joke? After all, there was the April Fools' Day Pandaren incident in Warcraft III, and there's the fact that giant panda bears are inherently cute and somewhat difficult to take seriously. World of Warcraft's latest expansion is no laughing matter, though, according to Blizzard's Chris Metzen. "These guys are not a joke. This is an idea that we've been thinking about for years. It's one of our favorite flavors of Warcraft. It's not ultimately really silly, it's just a little lighter," Metzen explained over the weekend. He went on to describe how WoW's senior art director Sam Didier has been doodling around with Pandaren subjects for years now and has produced some "crazy panda shamans" and other work that is off the proverbial hook. "This is not a throw-away silly silly haha funny expansion set," Metzen continued. "It is absolutely the next vital chapter and as things ratchet up, they're gonna get really gnarly."
First BlizzCast not quite up to the hype
The hotly anticipated first Blizzard podcast -- creatively named BlizzCast -- has just gone live. Available as a manageable 24 MB MP3 download, Blizzard's first attempt at podcasting contains an interview with art director (and L70TC frontman) Samwise Didier and forum regular Drysc interviewing lead developer Jeff Kaplan. Blizzard's official BlizzCast page explains that this series of podcasts will be a behind the scenes peek behind Blizzard's game development process.Although most people have been looking forward to the information about Patch 2.4, as Eliah wrote earlier, the interview with Samwise turned out to be more entertaining. In order to fully appreciate the interview, however, listeners should visit the podcast's official page, which contains the transcript of the podcast as well as illustrations and screenshots (future BlizzCasts will be video podcasts). With all the hype surrounding the BlizzCast -- mostly caused by Blizzard hinting at more information on the forums -- Blizzard's first attempt at podcasting seems to fall far short of expectations. The interview with Tigole is a brief eight minutes (compared to Samwise's 12) and most of the information he mentions has already been revealed. In fact, one of the details Kaplan mentions -- the improvements to raid ready checks -- is already in the game from last Tuesday's Patch 2.3.2.
