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15 Minutes of Fame: I didn't know he plays WoW!
From Hollywood celebrities to the guy next door, millions of people have made World of Warcraft a part of their lives. How do you play WoW? We're giving each approach its own 15 Minutes of Fame. Readers constantly bombard us with tips and requests for features on famous people who play WoW. So here's the deal ... Frankly, guys? Sometimes the hottest celebrities, the ones who seem the most exciting, the really bigger than life types -- they're really not all that exciting to talk to about WoW. They turn out to be pretty much like the rest of us -- they go to work (albeit, more glamorous work than ours), they come home, and they flop down in front of the computer to grind and pug and raid just like the rest of us. They equip their WoW pants the same as anyone else. And then sometimes, famous people just don't want the spotlight shone on their gaming habit. Even today, when everyone plays some sort of game on Facebook or their phones or a console or somewhere, some people consider gaming their dirty little secret. Others are afraid that their privacy will be compromised. Despite not needing to divulge a single identifying detail about their characters, they still don't want to risk anyone being able to figure out the identities of the Azerothian alter egos. Yet over the years, 15 Minutes of Fame has talked with some pretty enthusiastic WoW players who also happen to be somewhat (or very) famous. You'll find some of them in last week's roundup of WoW-playing authors. And we've talked to plenty more -- and so to stoke your curiosity, we've rounded up a list of some of the more high-profile WoW players we've featured. Didn't realize Mr. or Ms. Famous So-and-So plays your game? Click past the break and get the inside scoop.
15 Minutes of Fame: Player nabs an Oscar and Sarth 3D, too
15 Minutes of Fame is our look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes – from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about. Last week, WI reported about Oscar-winning WoW player Steve Preeg, a.k.a. Ramases the Undead Rogue and usual GM of on Stormscale-US. Steve's got some pretty lofty geek cred: a 2009 Oscar for Visual Effects (along with Eric Barba, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron) on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; work on films such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, King Kong and I, Robot -- oh, and a nice, fresh kill on Sartharion-3 Drakes. With cell phones bleeping and his publicist chuckling in the background over the sheer nerd factor of our conversation, 15 Minutes of Fame visited by phone with Steve in L.A. about his WoW/life balance, what he admires about Blizzard's work, and what keeps him coming back for more.
World of Warcraft guild leader wins Oscar
Enumerating the accomplishments of one Steve Preeg would be a lengthy undertaking, indeed. He's got a magnificent surname, for starters. He's worked on the digital effects team of some of our favorite films, including the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I, Robot, and Ri¢hie Ri¢h's Christmas Wish. The World of Warcraft guild that he heads up has conquered all but one of of the title's demanding raid bosses (curse you, Sartharion!), which is truly no small task. Oh, and he won the highest available commendation for cinema last night at the 81st Annual Academy Awards. We nearly forgot about that one.Preeg's small digital effects team took home Oscars in the Visual Effects category for their computer-assisted oldening of Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, beating out fellow cinematic contenders The Dark Knight and Iron Man. We're sure it'll go down as the proudest, happiest moment of Preeg's spectacular life -- that is, until he and his guild finally take that bastard Sartharion down. Best of luck!
World of Warcraft guild leader wins Oscar (no, really)
Apparently last night was an Oscars evening. Didn't you know? Well, we sure didn't -- but that's besides the point. As it turns out, one particular winner in the visual effects category was Steve Preeg, who's also a guild leader in World of Warcraft. Now it'd be one thing to say he played the game, but to be the leader of an active guild means he plays the game.In fact WoW Insider was informed via one of Preeg's guildies that he's not only a guild leader in the game, but that he plays a Combat Rogue with 450 (that'd be maxed) Enchanting and Inscription and runs a progression guild that's downed almost everything the game has to offer.We can't turn down this chance to offer props to Mr. Preeg on his epic loot drop last night. That blue is most assuredly sitting somewhere prominent at his home, likely somewhere close to where he plays World of Warcraft -- at least when he's not making award winning feature films. Is this guy some kind of machine or what?[via WoW Insider]
Guild leader wins Oscar
I didn't have any interest in watching the Oscars last night (so no, I didn't get to see Wolverine singing and dancing), but there was one piece of WoW-related news to come out of the big event. Steve Preeg is a visual effects artist who's worked on films like the Lord of the Rings trilogy and I, Robot, and last night, he won an Oscar for his team's work on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. And that's not his only achievement: he's also done everything but Sarth 3D with the guild he leads.Yup, we've heard from one of his guildies that Preeg is a guild leader in the game -- he plays a Combat Rogue with 450 Enchanting and Inscription, and runs a progression guild that's downed everything but the big black dragon and his three companions. he's even done all of the holiday events so far (though he's rolling with the "Champion of the Frozen Wastes" title).So he's picked up some excellent loot, both in and out of game (Oscars are epic at least -- the drop rate is pretty low). Congrats to Preeg and his team on the Oscar, and to his guild, good luck with Sarth 3D. Maybe if Anne Hathaway showed up for that you'd have him down by now.
