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A look at Blizzard's canceled squad-based sci-fi RPG: Nomad
At this morning's Austin Game Developer's Conference keynote, J. Allen Brack and Frank Pearce of Blizzard took the stage to talk about the inner workings of Blizzard. Most of what they covered was stats and trvia. Did you know the Blizzard bug team is currently tracking over 179,484 bugs? Now you do. There are 7,650 quests in WoW since Wrath of the Lich King! Consider yourself informed. Some of the trivia was actually pretty interesting, like the fact that when Blizzard releases a patch, almost half of that data is audio. Pearce also mentioned that BlizzCon is operated "at a substantial loss for Blizzard," but the value is that it's a huge marketing/PR opportunity for them. Considering how many tickets they sell (in only eight minutes), that's around $3.5 million that's written off. Plus whatever Blizzard spends above and beyond that. No wonder Blizzard employees have to buy their own tickets.However, the most interesting part of the keynote was when they briefly spoke about Nomad, the canceled squad-based sci-fi game. Ten years ago, Blizzard put a lot of work in on the game, but eventually looked at it and said "Is this really the game we want to be working on right now? The answer ended up being "no," and the team went on to start work on World of Warcraft. Here we are ten years later with WoW going strong, and no Nomad in sight.They'd mentioned this canceled game, along with a slew of others, at last year's DICE summit, but without any other information. Sadly, the only thing they had to show were pieces of concept art, including some by "The Bourbon Cowboy," Chris Metzen. The art itself isn't that exciting (the best one is above and there's a couple more in the gallery below), but the words "squad-based sci-fi RPG" are exciting. Could this be Blizzard's next game? Possibly mutated into MMO form? Who knows when we'll find out, since one of the stats they flashed onscreen this morning was "Number of Unannounced MMOs: 1." %Gallery-73341%
AGDC09: Blizzard talks about world behind Warcraft
Thursday's keynote at the Austin Game Developers Conference was given by Frank Pearce and J. Allen Brack. Pearce is the Executive Vice President of Blizzard, and Brack is the Production Director. Both are heavily involved in WoW and are part of the team responsible for its success.Unlike the keynote/opening ceremony delivered at BlizzCon, the Austin GDC keynote is geared more towards game developers and industry people than the general game public. For us WoW folks this means a little more details and numbers than you'd see from panels elsewhere.In fact, one of the most interesting numbers that came out of the keynote today are the sizes of the teams that are working on various parts of WoW. After the break we'll look at those and other highlights from the keynote, as well as provide you with an audio recording of the entire thing for your perusal if you wish. Download the audio or stream it after the break.
Blizzard is tracking 180,000 bugs in WoW
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/World_of_Warcraft_has_180_000_bugs'; During the keynote today at the Austin Game Developers Conference, Executive Vice President Frank Pearce and Production Director J. Allen Brack spoke at length about the internal workings of the WoW team and how they get their jobs done. One of the more stunning things to come out of the keynote, which we'll have fully written up for you later today, is the fact that there are just under 180k bugs Blizzard is tracking in WoW. That means their bug database has 180,000 entries which are in some stage of being fixed (have been fixed, have not been fixed, or being worked on).To me this number seems very large for a video game. I can understand an operating system like Windows 7 having an unreasonably large number of bugs in it like this, but for a video game -- even one as complex as WoW -- that number is quite astounding.It does raise the inevitable question: what is Blizzard doing to fix all these? And how does this relate to the extremely long wait times for GM contact in game? We also learned that Blizzard only employs 2500 worldwide in Customer Service. That includes things like phone bank operators, GMs, forum mods, etc...
GDC Austin keynote speaker announced as SOE's John Smedley
GDC Austin has announced that SOE president John Smedley will be providing the keynote for the event, which takes place next month. Entitled: "From Daggers and Dragons to Kart Racing, Cooking and Concerts ... It's a Whole New World", the keynote -- which takes place on Wednesday 16 September -- is an obvious allusion to SOE's very own Free Realms, which has been one of the most hyped freemium PC MMOs of the year and will eventually see a PS3 release. The keynote page goes a little more in-depth, informing attendees that they "will learn about the challenges and lessons learned when creating a full-blown MMO for kids together with a ground-breaking new business model; and how developers can re-educate their teams to move from stagnant and dated MMO design toward mass market success." GDC Austin, which is taking place between 15th and 18th September in Austin, Texas, will also see a keynote, taking place the following day from Blizzard devs Frank Pearce and J. Allen Brack entitled "The Universe of the World of Warcraft".[Via GameSetWatch]
GDC Austin will feature a Blizzard keynote
The Game Developers Conference Austin, a spin-off of the original GDC in California, takes place every year in Austin, TX (home of our own fearless leader, Liz Harper). GDC is, as the name suggests, an industry conference for folks who make games. This year it's going to be held from September 15 to 18th, and it'll feature a keynote about our favorite MMO. J. Allen Brack, Blizzard's Production Director (was that his title last month?), and Frank Pearce, Co-Founder and EVP of Product Development (that's a title for you), will be on hand to talk about "The Universe of World of Warcraft." I assume the discussion will include topics like "how to print money" and "how to secretly laugh at Shamans all day." So who's going?
WoW movie still needs a writer, Blizzard's CGI team won't be involved
When you've just released an expansion pack that sold more copies than most major stand-alone releases, all in less than 24 hours, you know you're sitting on a goldmine of a franchise. Blizzard, of course, is aware of this, what with World of Warcraft getting a licensed miniature game and a coming feature film adaptation.And speaking of the feature film adaptation, we have some elusive news about that. MTV's Multiplayer blog had a chat with Blizzard's Frank Pearce about the project. The scoop is that the studio, Legendary Pictures, is still looking for a screenwriter and director. Obviously, that means the movie is very early in development.MTV also asked Pearce if Blizzard's own world-renowned CGI animators would be involved in producing the special effects for the movie. Pearce said that the suggestion has "come up in discussions but it's not something we've really considered because it takes so long to generate just the brief amount of footage that we create for the game."
Blizzard execs haven't played Wrath as yet
Last night was generally a time for merriment and revelry, as many World of Warcraft players talked in lines around the world about just what they were going to do when they first got into game. Would it be the frozen tundra of Northrend, with new races and achievements by the score? Or would they instead be starting a new character and heading for Arthas' floating Necropolis? Surprisingly, among two of the people discussing just what they'd be doing in the strange new lands that Blizzard built were two of Blizzard's very own co-founders; Mike Morhaime, Blizzard's CEO, and Frank Pearce, Blizzard's Executive VP of Product Development. MTV's Multiplayer blog had a launch-night chat with with both Morhaime and Pearce, and discovered neither one of them has really played through the Wrath content as yet. As if that weren't strange enough, it would appear that both men really haven't thought about rolling a Death Knight - or for that matter, what they'd name theirs if they do. We know people who weren't in beta that have planned talent trees, gear progression and more for their Death Knights, so drawing a blank on a good name seems a bit strange to us. Of course, Pearce's reasoning for not going Death Knight is one many World of Warcraft players can likely relate to; he doesn't want to get left behind on his main by his guild, as he was when Burning Crusade launched. But Morhaime, well, we'll have to cut him slack for being the CEO of a company making oodles of money and in heavy development and marketing cycles between Wrath, StarCraft II and Diablo III. Our suggestion would be to take a few well-deserved days off and enjoy some gaming; we hear there's this really popular new MMO expansion just came out that they might enjoy.
Blizzard VP discusses mistakes made and player expectations
Blizzard may be reigning supreme in the MMO world, but that doesn't mean they haven't made some mistakes along the way. Indeed, it's actually refreshing when a company is willing to come out and admit to those mistakes, namely during the BlizzCon panels, as Blizzard's Senior VP Frank Pearce addresses in a recent interview with James Lee from Gamesindustry.biz. "The panels are here about being open with the fans. I don't think the mistakes we've made are big, huge secrets anyway, right? You can see the mistakes in the results of the work anyway. It's more important to acknowledge your mistakes and learn from them than to keep them a secret," Pearce says.Over the course of the interview, Pearce speaks about a few of the ways that the company may have been off the mark, and about what the players expect of Blizzard, particularly in terms of expansions. Pearce also acknowledges the possibility that delaying console MMO development could open Blizzard up to increased competition further down the road, with those companies who establish themselves there first. See the full interview with Frank Pearce for more on Blizzard's approach to the industry, and their ambition to have their content quality trump that expected one-year interval between World of Warcraft expansions. 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!
World of Warcraft's success is 'exhausting' for Blizzard
Frank Pearce, co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, sat down with GamesIndustry.biz for an interview during Games Convention a few weeks ago. He had a number of interesting things to say, with the piece's discussion ranging from StarCraft II's progress to the challenges of jugglng three successful franchises. In a comment that World of Warcraft players might be particuarly interested to hear, Pearce describes the success of their incredibly popular MMO as 'exhausting' more than anything else.If you've ever wondered why there aren't more patches, more often, to World of Warcraft, Pearce answers your mental query: "We've got almost 3000 employees worldwide now, and the majority of that growth is due to the success of World of Warcraft. As a company we've found ourselves spread very, very thin - because the World of Warcraft community has a voracious appetite for content. That development team is 130 people, they're working on content patches, they're working on an expansion set, they've got their hands full - and then we've got the other development teams that we need to continue to support as well." Be sure to read the full interview for more on Pearce's view of their runaway mega giant. 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!
Frank Pearce labels WoW's success as "exhausting"
GamesIndustry.biz recently had an opportunity to chat with Frank Pearce, co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, about World of Warcraft and their other properties. At the Games Convention in Leipzig, Pearce was asked if he found WoW's performance since launch interesting to watch. He doesn't quite say no, but he doesn't say yes, either. "I don't know if I'd describe it as 'interesting' as much as exhausting," he says. He goes on to detail just how much the company has grown, up to 3000 employees worldwide, with 130 people on the WoW development team trying to sate our 'voracious appetite for content.' World of Warcraft is almost directly responsible for that growth.Pearce talks a bit about Blizzard's other franchises and projects, specifically Starcraft II and Battle.net, suggesting a brave new world where World of Warcraft players could crack out a quick 15-20 minute multiplayer round in Starcraft II while waiting for their WoW raid. That sounds like an awesome time to me, but perhaps that's a little too much Blizzard in one evening for most folks. Then again, maybe not!
Frank Pearce: WoW has made a StarCraft MMO 'difficult'
Blizzard co-founder Frank Pearce recently spoke to VideoGamer.com about the possibility of a StarCraft MMO. In that exchange of words, it was revealed that Frank thought of the whole idea as an overwhelming thought. He cites the journey of working on World of Warcraft as a long an arduous one and that bringing about the same amount of content and quality for StarCraft would be, "A little scary." While we know that some kind of MMO is in Blizzard's future, it sounds like if Frank had his way it wouldn't be StarCraft. However, by his own admission it's not entirely up to him as he adds, "When the StarCraft 2 team is done with StarCraft 2, a factor is what they want to work on next, because the development teams plays a big role in deciding what they're going to do." So once again, we really can't be sure of anything with Blizzard's next MMO. It could be something entirely new, or it could be one of their previous IPs. All we do know is that if it is StarCraft, Blizzard's Frank Pearce is probably going to consider an extended vacation. Something like one or nine years.
LA Times covers the WoW community
Wait, what's this? A mainstream media story that actually -- gasp -- shows the world that playing MMO games together can actually be fun and healthy for relationships? Thrall be praised, apparently someone at the LA Times gets it. Yup, Brad and Cynthia Murdock, like millions of other players of this game, play the game together and have a great time doing it. Of course, near the end of the article, they get back to Mike Akers, a "self-described recluse" who plays against his wife's wishes and once made her wait for 10 minutes while in labor so he could defeat an "end boss," but we guess we can look past that -- the headline is about people playing the game in a healthy way, and we need more stories like that. since there are a lot more players like that.Blizzard's Frank Pearce also shows up in the story, and admits that Mages could use a higher damage output at endgame. No, we're just kidding, this is a story meant for non-players, so he just says that the game has a "huge social element," and a giant community that supports everyone who logs in. That's you guys! Take a bow!And not even the LA Times can get Blizzard to give us a Wrath release date -- they try, but Pearce waves them off with an understatement: "We typically try to avoid launch windows." Blizzard? Avoiding release dates? Sounds about right.[via WorldofWar.net]
MTV interviews Blizzard execs
At the Worldwide Invitational, MTV interviewed two Blizzard executives: Paul Sams, Chief Operating Officer, and Frank Pearce, Executive Vice President of Product Development. It's an interesting read -- if not the best interview I've ever read -- which includes more info on Diablo 3, mobile apps, and thoughts about MMOs in general. The duo leaves the door open for Blizzard to create an MMO that might "cannibalize" the WoW player base, although for some reason they are not convinced that Diablo 3 will impact that base. (I, for one, disagree. The huge response we got to the Diablo news on WoW Insider tells us that there is a huge amount of crossover between the franchises.) They also don't believe that there's much overlap between Starcraft and WoW. Frank stressed that, regardless of what the marketing research might say, "those aren't necessarily the data points that we use for decision-making when it comes to the games that we want to make."Read on to see what Blizzard says about time between game releases and new MMOs.
Ten innovation lessons from Blizzard
The OC Register (Blizzard's HQ -- I'm pretty sure that's where it's at, as they're not exactly open with their location info -- is located right down near them in Southern California) has a blog post up featuring 11 "innovation lessons" other companies can learn from the folks behind World of Warcraft. While the lessons aren't exactly innovative themselves (I think there are lots of companies that do this stuff, and none of them have a ten million player game), the post does provide a good look inside Blizzard's process and the thinking behind what they do.Blizzard is pretty stubbornly committed to quality -- not only do they notoriously release things "when they're done," but if something doesn't work they apparently are happy to trash it completely (see Starcraft: Ghost). It is amusing, too, that Rob Pardo says he and Frank Pearce are trying to make "great entertainment projects, not perfect ones." WoW has its bugs, sure, but when you look at Blizzard's catalog: Diablo, Starcraft, Warcraft, you have to wonder what a "perfect" game looks like in Pardo's mind. Those are about as perfect as they come.And they "eat their own dog food," too: J. Allen Brack apparently spends four hours a night (up to 15 hours a week) playing the game on his own time at home. Seems like it would be tough for other companies to pull these strategies into their own plan (Blizzard really releases one-of-a-kind products), but as consumers, it's neat to get another look into the way they work.[Via Slashdot]
Mobile WoW officially being considered
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playable_web_games/WoW_may_be_coming_to_a_mobiles_device_near_you'; Here's another one from the files of things we've desired/dreaded for years. In a post-DICE interview with Blizzard cofounder Frank Pearce, MTV learned that Blizzard is definitely thinking about making some kind of mobile WoW interface. He says it would probably just allow you to chat and monitor auctions and mail, without actually being able to buy and sell things. Still, I don't think I'm exaggerating much when I say hundreds of thousands of players would use an app like that. When last this was discussed here on WoW Insider, many of you were of the opinion that a mobile WoW would be yet another infringement on our already dwindling time for "real life," and that's a definite threat, but ultimately I think it's just as easy (or as hard) to exercise self-control on a cell phone as on a PC. Other fun news from that interview: Players in Taiwan have the shortest wait time for tickets Blizz is working on a way to stream a trial version of WoW so people who want to try the game can be playing in 10 minutes. Is that even possible? Edit: Apparently, not only possible but already achieved. Magic! Wrath "should feel at least as substantial as BC" The movie was delayed by the just-ended WGA strike, but the project is now running again and looking for directors. Pearce: "When we talk about the quality of our movie and the quality of the movie we want to see delivered, we're talking about the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy. That's what we want to deliver, that kind of epic experience." Yeah, good luck with that. [via Joystiq]
Blizzard considering World of Warcraft app for cell phones
The one problem with World of Warcraft (besides all other facets of your life disintegrating like a tomato in time-lapse footage) is that you can't play it on the go (no, this guy doesn't count). Though a new app being spit-balled at Blizzard won't fix that problem, it may just make traveling a tad bit more bearable.MTV got the scoop during a sit-down with Frank Pearce, co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment, in which he talked about a mobile division working within the company. "I don't think we're looking at it as something like, 'We're going to make mobile games,'" he said. "We want to look at the mobile devices as something we can use to enhance the experience of our existing games." To that end, Pearce mentions the possibility of an app that would let mobile users monitor their auctions or read their in-game mail while on the go. It's still in the brainstorming stages, but it's probably enough to start getting fans excited. What would you like to see in a WoW mobile app?
Blizzard discusses its methods for success at DICE '08
The D.I.C.E. Summit is a yearly gathering of the gaming industry's top talent, there to discuss everything from business practices to development methods to the latest in crazy game mechanics ideas. This year, not only did Gore Verbinski go a little nutty, but the Big Guns at Blizzard -- Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder; Rob Pardo, vice president of game design; and Frank Pearce, executive vice president of product development -- got on-stage to give a talk entitled "Blizzard: From Developer to Worldwide Publisher".The talk covered a great deal of ground in discussing how Blizzard has gotten to be the king of the hill in the gaming world. Key elements included retaining complete creative control, noninterference from parent companies, and building up layers of knowledge over the years that helped them take calculated risks with each successive title. "If we tried to do WoW from scratch, it would be a monumental effort. We already had the community for WoW. Even though they weren't MMO players, they were willing to try it out," said Pardo.Go check out the entire article at Gamespot here.
Frank Pearce talks WoW 2, competitors and Team 3 with Gamasutra
Senior VP Frank Pearce and Starcraft II producer Chris Sigaty sat down with Gamasutra to chat about "The State of Blizzard's Union" recently, and while there's not a lot of new stuff ("Team 3" is mentioned, but no hints are given), it's always cool to have an inside look at what it's like running the biggest MMO in the world.Pearce does talk about a possible WoW 2 (not gonna happen, he says, until Blizzard needs a whole new framework, and that's not going to happen for a long time), and WoW's competitors-- he namechecks Warhammer and Age of Conan, but as I've said before, we won't know how those games will actually do until they see release.There are a few interesting numbers thrown around in the interview as well-- while Blizzard has said they've got 9 million before, Pearce specifically says 8.5 million subscribers, so it does seem like they're dropping a bit (updated-- see note below). Still, especially with the release of Wrath of the Lich King in the next year or two, they remain optimistic that they'll hit 10 million before it's all said and done. It's also amazing to see Blizzard's growth-- Pearce co-founded the company, and they started out with around 50 employees. Before WoW, they had about 500, and nowadays, they've got 2700 people working for them. And the teams are really interesting, too-- WoW has 135 developers, Starcraft II has 40, and Team 3 has 50, plus Blizzard has 85 people (also devs, however) that work on their famous cinematics, and extra teams for sound and quality assurance.Very interesting to get a look inside such an amazing videogame developer. Now if only we could find out what Team 3 was...[ via WorldofWar ]Update: Blizzard contacted us to say that this interview happened way back at E3, which was before this press release dropped. Subscriber numbers are not dropping-- when Pearce did the interview they had 8.5 million, and after that, they rose to 9 million. And Blizzard tells us that since then, they are above the 9 million mark.
Blizzard reveals new unannounced game in development
In an exclusive interview with Gamasutra, Blizzard revealed they have 3 development teams hard at work on games. WoW has 135 developers, Starcraft II's team has 40 members and a third unannounced title has a team of 40 members. Frank Pearce, Blizzard's Senior Vice President of Product Development, said "Team 3 is working on something really awesome. I can't give you any hints but it's totally awesome."Be still my beating heart. Of course, the speculation on the forums has begun and Blizzard CM Tigerclaw is fanning the flames:When our awesome new World War II first person shooter ships, you'll all be saying "aw why didn't I see that coming!"A few players suggested that World of Tacocraft is on the horizon. Tigerclaw ran with the idea:You could have power-ups and add-ons, like you could wrap the taco in an authentic Chicago-style pizza... maybe even dip it in batter and then deep fry it til it's golden brown... That's what I call a Taco! Personally, I would like to see Diablo 3 or another MMO on the horizon. Hopefully, they will tell us more at Blizzcon, but Blizzard is notoriously reticent with this kind of information, so I'm not holding my breath. What new game would you like to see from Blizzard? Do you think they'll tell us at Blizzcon? Would you eat a deep fried, pizza wrapped taco?
Download Burning Crusade? Blizzard VP thinks...maybe.
The folks over at Computer and Videogames have a short interview with Blizzard Senior VP of Product Development Frank Pearce in regards to the Burning Crusade expansion. Beyond stating that they are looking at letting the expansion be purchased via download, no new info is revealed in the interview. Don't let let that stop you from reading it though, as it is an interesting little chat. Pearce gives some insight on why certain decisions were made in creating the Burning Crusade, which is nice. But he ducks some of the more interesting questions asked, which is not so nice. I didn't expect him to answer the questions he ducked, as he is just a guy doing his job, which in this interview is creating a little hype without letting the cat out of the bag. As far as the download thing...well, it is interesting to note, although not what I would consider groundbreaking news. Even if the expansion is available via download, I will still probably go to the store and buy the shiny box. I am lame like that. However, I am sure some of you will be happy not to have wander into Best Buy come expansion day if Blizzard decides to go that route.One thing I did find sort of interesting is that he once again confirms that hero classes are nowhere on the radar. This news will surely annoy the "What's up with hero classes?" crowd. I imagine Blizzard wishes they never mentioned hero classes in the first place. So check out the interview if you want to get hyped further for BC. And we all want that, don't we?
