WorldOfStarcraft
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Something's coming [UPDATE]
Recently the Blizzard website main page switched over to this new splashpage. It's intriguing. Since we know that something is indeed coming, this only confirms that there will actually be an announcement of some significance on May 19th. Looking at the graphic I noticed a few things. First, The Burning Crusade is not listed separately. This leads me to believe that the announcement isn't simply an expansion, but an entirely new game. Oh, the curiosity burns within me. What will it be? Also, I see that the games Warcraft: Orcs and Humans and Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness are highlighted, but not Warcraft III or World of Warcraft. Perhaps this is a game that is centered around the first two games in the Warcraft canon. Is it World of Starcraft as the leaks have said, or is it Diablo III? Is it something else? Why can't it be the 19th already! [Updated 5/13/2007 7 pm EST] In searching through forum posts about this topic, I came across a fabulous summary by Colrum of Shadowsong who references some interesting tidits on Blizzplanet. They are citing recent events, such as the hiring of RTS guru Dustin Browder in 2004 and the May 2007 release of a new Starcraft novel, as evidence that we may be seeing a new Starcraft RTS rather than an MMO. Take this how you will, but it sounds very plausible to me. Also of note, several people have said that this graphic is a countdown page. This is substantiated by the HTML source code which labels the image as "day1.jpg." Looks like we will have a countdown similar to the Worldwide Invitational website. It only remains to be seen what that question mark reveals on the 19th. [via Adrian]
World of Starcraft information leaked
PC Gamer's online portal, Computerandvideogames.com (CVG) has reported that they have insider information confirming what the gaming world has suspected for some time. CVG states that it is indeed a StarCraft MMO currently in the works at Blizzard and not another chapter in the StarCraft RTS series. According to their article, the new StarCraft MMO will be announced at the upcoming Blizzard event slated for May 19th in South Korea. While I'm thrilled that there is another StarCraft in the pipes, I'm more than a bit curious about how Blizzard are going to be able to translate StarCraft's universe to an MMO. Will you be able to play as Protoss, Zerg, and Terran? Or will the Zerg become the new Scourge -- NPC's for Protoss and Terran players to battle against? Another question to my mind would be about the number of worlds in the StarCraft universe. Will you start on the home planet of your race and then as you gain levels, move to others? How is Blizzard planning on addressing the platform battles in space? Will they add in the option for in-space skirmishes (somewhat like EVE Online) which help to decide who controls different platforms and sectors of space as opposed to it all being land-battles? Or will you just board shuttles (teleport) from planet to platform to planet without ever actually spending much time in space?
Blizzard planning a new MMO -- but which one?
Hot on the heels of rumors that Blizzard might be announcing a Starcraft 2 in the near future, job postings are springing up on Blizzard's web site seeking people for a "Next-Gen MMO" project. World of Starcraft, maybe?World of Warcraft 2? (Though it seems early for a sequel, with Blizzard's development cycle you never know.) World of Diablo? There's no details of yet, which just leaves plenty of room for uninformed speculation. But f you think you have what it takes to work for Blizzard as a Lead Engine Programmer, Lead Tools Programmer, or Lead Technical Artist, it's time to polish up your resume.
Blizzard exec hints at Starcraft 2, world reels
Much like the annual Christmas Island red crab migration to the sea, World of Warcraft fans abandoned their keyboards last night to venture into the the considerably more frightening World of Retail. Blizzard's hugely anticipated expansion, The Burning Crusade, enjoyed several midnight launches, one of which took place in London's Oxford Street HMV. Blizzard's VP of business development, Itzik Ben Bassat, took the opportunity to mention that elusive StarCraft sequel."I'm a StarCraft player myself," he said, "and I hope it's not a decade, and we launched StarCraft in 1998, before I'm standing here again, celebrating the next game in the series." Unless he's referring to the sudden resurrection of StarCraft: Ghost (insert unhappy emoticon here), Mr. Bassat is essentially hinting at one of the most obvious and inevitable sequels in a universe that worships money. Be it Starcraft 2 or World of StarCraft, you can rest assured that you'll get your sequel eventually. Whether it'll arrive by 2008, however, seems a bit optimistic in frigid development climes.[Thanks, kc.]
