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WoW memories from a designer and a co-founder

November 22nd, 2009, 9:25 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
View WoW slide shows
Blizzard Entertainment celebrate WoW's 5th anniversary a few days early on Nov. 19, 2009. Exclusive: Employees celebrate 5 years of WoW

World of Warcraft through the years: A slide show archive

WoW through the years

This is part of a series of stories about the World of Warcraft, a massively multiplayer game built by Irvine’s Blizzard Entertainment. The game celebrates its five-year anniversary on Nov. 23, 2009. Catch the earlier stories at ocregister.com/blizzard.

   
   

The Designer

As Blizzard’s executive vice president of game design, Rob Pardo oversees 800 or so developers with cofounder Frank Pearce. He sees everything coming and going. But what touches him most is watching how people interact with the game.

Like his 10-year-old daughter. She started playing at age 4 when the beta test period began.

“When she started, she didn’t want to be in zones where you get attacked by monsters. She really liked to attack critters, like rabbits. What she really liked was jumping off the building. It baffled me why she liked doing that over and over and over,” he said.

“As she got older, she still didn’t like player-to-player combat. Then one day, I noticed that she was waking up on her own and playing on the battleground. She’s now 10,” he said.

   
   

The Co-founder

Pearce might always be known as the guy who almost killed World of Warcraft.

As one of the cofounders of Blizzard Entertainment, Pearce was the skeptic to fellow cofounder Morhaime’s believer.

“I had a hard time wrapping my head around a game that never ended,” Pearce said.

Pearce quickly got over that thought, gave the game his blessing and now he’s the game’s executive director as well as the company’s executive vice president of product development.

But even though he found the game compelling and immersive, Pearce admits that he and everyone else at Blizzard didn’t expect WoW to attract more than 400,000 players.

“I think we reached that in the first month,” he said.

The game has 11.5 million players who have logged in within the past 90 days. Now his team, which has a core of 135 developers, is working on WoW’s third major upgrade, called “WoW: Cataclysm.”

“Cataclysm is a big revamp of all the stories and most of the content we put in five years ago is getting an update. We want to target a launch for that next year. I don’t think that’s a big secret,” he said. “I definitely think there are more expansions in store for everyone. We’re not short on ideas.”

Stories in the series will be/are linked below.

>> Visit the Blizzard Blog for the complete list of stories and photos, at ocregister.com/blizzard.

Posted in: Blizzard • Blizzard/Warcraft/Star Craft • • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Blizzard’s lead producer remembers the eve of WoW

November 22nd, 2009, 8:23 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

This is part of a series of stories about the World of Warcraft, a massively multiplayer game built by Irvine’s Blizzard Entertainment. The game celebrates its five-year anniversary on Nov. 23, 2009. Catch the earlier stories at ocregister.com/blizzard.
Shane Dabiri, Blizzard's lead producer for World of Warcraft.

The Producer

Shane Dabiri, lead producer who joined Blizzard 15 years ago next month, remembers the eve before WoW went on sale.

Members of the development team were going to Fry’s Electronics in Fountain Valley to sign copies at midnight. Even with the success of past Blizzard games, Dabiri had his doubts.

“We were so worried that no one was going to be there and it was just going to be us 16 developers,” he said

As it turned out, fans began lining up just after noon. By midnight, the line looped around the building and parking lot twice before spilling out into the street.

View WoW slide shows
Blizzard Entertainment celebrate WoW's 5th anniversary a few days early on Nov. 19, 2009. Exclusive: Employees celebrate 5 years of WoW

World of Warcraft through the years: A slide show archive

WoW through the years

The Blizzard team had to call headquarters to drive more copies of the game to Fry’s. They sold all 3,500 copies before sunrise.

“It was amazing. Thousands showed up. They showed up in campers and vans. Some of them had brought their family cross country,” Dabiri said. “When I first got into games, I didn’t realize how much impact I could have.”

WoW’s impact on the gaming industry? “It used to be that if you mentioned games to a girl, she’d say, ‘Oh, my husband plays that game.’ Now they say, ‘Oh, I play WoW.’ … Women want to have fun as much as guys do. It’s the social aspects of the game. You create something.”

Dabiri’s celebrity spotting story? Back during the Burning Crusade launch in China, he snuck away to buy a jade statue at a store in some obscure alley way. “An old man started saying something and the translator said, ‘He recognizes you. He saw you on TV for a game.’”

Dabiri also has a long list of stuff he’d like to squeeze in to the game. The great thing is that since there are constant updates and expansions, what didn’t make it this time will always have another chance.

“What didn’t get into the first game that I really wanted? Flying mounts to fly all over the game. It came out in the next expansion,” he said. “Another thing, boats. The booze cruise. There’s all that ocean in there but not enough to do. … It’s all a matter of priorities.”

Stories in the series will be/are linked below.

>> Visit the Blizzard Blog for the complete list of stories and photos, at ocregister.com/blizzard.

Posted in: Blizzard • Blizzard/Warcraft/Star Craft • WoW • • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Samwise reflects on WoW, the Panda race, more

November 22nd, 2009, 7:26 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress
View WoW slide shows
Blizzard Entertainment celebrate WoW's 5th anniversary a few days early on Nov. 19, 2009. Exclusive: Employees celebrate 5 years of WoW

World of Warcraft through the years: A slide show archive

WoW through the years

This is part of a series of stories about the World of Warcraft, a massively multiplayer game built by Irvine’s Blizzard Entertainment. The game celebrates its five-year anniversary on Nov. 23, 2009. Catch the earlier stories at ocregister.com/blizzard.

Even if you’ve never played the game, you’ve probably heard about WoW or the original Warcraft series, which itself celebrates 15 years this year.

There are hundreds of fan sites that track every little Blizzard burp. There are professional game competitions for Warcraft. There are college courses and art shows inspired by WoW. A Hollywood movie is in the works.

But it’s the people who built the game that we don’t hear about much.

Like Sam “Samwise” Didier, one of the more recognized names.

The Artist

Didier saw an ad in The Orange County Register and joined the startup six months after it launched in 1991. His previous job? An usher at a local movie theater. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Blizzard • Blizzard/Warcraft/Star Craft • WoW • • • • • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Memories of Warcraft from the people who built it

November 22nd, 2009, 5:49 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

This is part of a series of stories about the World of Warcraft, a massively multiplayer game built by Irvine’s Blizzard Entertainment. The game celebrates its five-year anniversary on Nov. 23, 2009. See ocregister.com/blizzard for the complete series.

View slide shows

Blizzard Entertainment celebrate WoW's 5th anniversary a few days early on Nov. 19, 2009. 

Exclusive: Employees celebrate 5 years of WoW

World of Warcraft through the years: A slide show archive

 

WoW through the years

If you were on the second floor of the Anaheim Convention Center staring down at thousands of fans of a computer game you worked on, what would you do?

“I yelled, ‘For the Horde!’” recalls Sam “Samwise” Didier, senior art director with Irvine’s Blizzard Entertainment, makers of the World of Warcraft. Yes, that game.

That game, nicknamed WoW, celebrates its fifth anniversary Monday.

In five years, this multiplayer online fantasy game has attracted millions of players around the world, added two major upgrades with a third in the works, and touched millions of lives — uniting couples, separating others and even distracting a kid named Ezra Chatterton, who played the game with his dad before brain cancer took his young life.

Accomplishment was what Didier felt on that October 2005 day, when Blizzard said thanks to fans with its first BlizzCon convention.

“They shouted back, ‘For the Horde!’ And if you know the game, the other faction is the Alliance; so in the background you heard people saying ‘For the Alliance,’” Didier said in a squeaky little voice. “And all you could hear was ‘Boos.’ And then ‘For the Horde,” and ‘For the Alliance,” and more boos. … That’s when I knew we had made it kind of big.”

On Thursday, the company held a beer and BBQ fest on its Irvine campus to commemorate the occasion. Plenty of WoW birthday cake to go around for the company’s more than 1,200 employees in the U.S. and 3,000 worldwide. In the year before WoW, Blizzard employed 220.

“One of our goals was to stay small. That’s one of the goals we failed at,” said Mike Morhaime, Blizzard’s president and co-founder. “All these games we made in the last 15 years wouldn’t be what they are without the people who created them.”

More to come so keep checking back today and this week. Stories in the series will be/are linked below.

>> Visit the Blizzard Blog for the complete list of stories and photos, at ocregister.com/blizzard.

Posted in: Blizzard • Blizzard/Warcraft/Star Craft • WoW • • • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Happy Birthday, World of Warcraft! Blizzard celebrates

November 22nd, 2009, 1:01 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

This is the first in a series of short profiles of the people behind World of Warcraft, which celebrates its five-year anniversary on Monday, Nov. 23, 2009. More in the series: ocregister.com/blizzard

World of Warcraft turns 5Few outsiders got the chance to observe Blizzard Entertainment’s special celebration for World of Warcraft, on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009. I guess they like me.

Anyone would have been in awe whether they know what WoW is or not. The company invited the whole Irvine campus — more than 1,000 employees — to the outdoor gathering. A stage was set up in front of the 12-foot orc statue and all the big bosses were there. And as you can see from our exclusive photos (by Register photographer Jebb Harris), there was plenty of free beer, BBQ and cake.

But the best part about the whole birthday extravaganza was the stories. Several old timers got a chance to say a few words, in this order:

  • Frank Pearce, co-founder and executive vice president of product development
  • J. Allen Brack, game director for World of Warcraft
  • Shane Dabiri, lead producer
  • Bob Fitch, lead software engineer for StarCraft 2
  • Rob Pardo, executive vice president of game design
  • Chris Metzen, executive vice president of creative development
  • Mike Morhaime, president and co-founder

Pearce talked about reuniting with old high-school friends online, plus the company’s earliest days of offering multiplayer gaming. And, of course, he mentioned that he initially thought taking Warcraft to the massively multiplayer game genre was just too niche. More on that later.

Brack remembers playing Warcraft on a null modem and Usenet, which he called “a horrible version of the Internet.” His WoW memory? Signing game boxes at Fry’s Electronics in Fountain Valley five years ago only to be tapped on the shoulder and told, “Someone is wrecking the game in Europe.” Yes, those cheeky Europeans had already figured out how to hack the game. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Blizzard • Blizzard/Warcraft/Star Craft • WoW • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Forget snail mail, text Santa your wishlist this year

November 21st, 2009, 8:03 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

Track Santa Claus this Christmas Eve.Noted: With this week’s earlier hubbub about the North Pole not accepting “Dear Santa” letters this year (apparently, this just got cleared up), AT&T customers offers another method: Texting.

If children, um, parents text SANTA to 1224 between now and Dec. 24, they will get an invite from the jolly man himself to send their wish lists. Thanks to a “special agreement” between AT&T and the North Pole, the texts will be free. More details HERE.

Those AT&T customers who also subscribe to AT&T U-verse TV service can track Santa’s movements on Christmas Eve with the Santa Tracker service on Channel 98. The channel should have enough arts and crafts ideas, music sing-alongs and holiday games to keep the kids occupied.

More stories on mobile service:

Posted in: Cell phones • Video & TV • • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

Are Microsoft Store employees channeling the Wiggles?

November 19th, 2009, 11:30 am by Eugene Garcia

With this post, Gadgetress welcomes Eugene Garcia, an OC Register photographer and videographer extraodinaire. He’ll be sharing favorite viral videos, plus video tips and tricks with readers. If you have any you want share with him, contact him at egarcia@ocregister.com.

If this was an audition tape for So You Think You Can Dance, I doubt they’ll be going to Vegas.  Because the judges haven’t been kind. It’s been called “lame.” And even… “creepy.”

If you haven’t already seen the Microsoft Store employees cutting the rug in Mission Viejo, then check it out:

YouTube Preview Image

The store’s shoppers seem a little perplexed with the PC guys. But their grooves are getting MAZEL TOV! from the viewers. It’s garnered nearly half a million clicks on Youtube in a couple of days.

the-wiggles-picTake that – all you emo Apple Store employees!

But “I gotta feeling” about the PC’s resemblance to an earlier group. You know, the one that tore up the Disney Channel a few years back:

(The Wiggles in their prime.)

TAKE THE POLL:

What would you tell the Microsoft Store dancers?
View Results

Posted in: Videos • • • • • | 22 Comments »

11 things a DVR should do

November 19th, 2009, 3:25 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

DVR with Broadcom inside can do 12 things that others can't.Not all digital video recorders are created equal. But there’s no question these DVRs, or TiVo’s, or new fangled VCRs or whatever you want to call them have changed the way many of us watch TV.  If you have such a device, do you even remember what it was like when you couldn’t pause and rewind live TV?

But being consumers, we want more. More storage space, more content, more options. Thing is, more is out there but many of us have no access to these DVRs. But what is more?

I posed the question to Broadcom Corp., the Irvine designer of DVR silicon chips. What should a DVR be able to do these days? Plenty, the company tells me. Here’s a list of what Broadcom DVR chips can do. Keep in mind, this doesn’t mean that DVRs with Broadcom chips have all these features enabled. But this is just a list of what is available today.

11 things a Broadcom DVR can do:

Number 1 stock artUse home Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth or MoCA to connect to other devices in the house. You probably know what wireless Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and wired Ethernet are. The newcomer is MoCA, which uses existing coaxial cable running through the house to send high-definition video signals between devices. It’s one way to avoid ripping up walls and installing fiber-optic cables.

Number 2 stock art Enable a Multi-room DVR so households can skip a second DVR at home. All shows are stored on one box, which can be accessed from any room with TV and receiver (i.e., a standard set-top box for most users). Multiple people can watch the same show at the same time on different TVs and pause or rewind without affecting anyone else’s playback. Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-verse offer one and Cox Communications plans to offer one before the end of the year.

Number 3 stock art Stream content from your cell phone. Record a video on your phone that you want to watch on the big-screen TV? It’s been possible for a few years. Thanks to Digital Living Network Alliance technology, such DLNA-enabled cell phones or computers can stream digital content from one device to another. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • | 5 Comments »

What’s this website bit.ly all about?

November 18th, 2009, 4:57 pm by Ed Schwartz, NOCCC

Stump the PC Club is a free tech-advice column written by members of the North Orange County Computer Club, which has been in existence since 1976. Visit the club’s site at noccc.org. And don’t forget to stop by the Gadgetress’ home for the PC Club, at ocregister.com/link/pcclub, to find out how to ask a question and read past answers.

QUESTION: In your OC Register newspaper articles, you have links that are not understood by this PC user. In a recent article, for example, you give “File and printer sharing in Windows Vista” (link bit.ly/2DZiib). I have never seen a link like that and never saw an explanation of it and I am sure I am not the only one that does not understand it.

PC CLUB: In the article ”How to transfer files between Vista and XP PCs,” published online on October 6, 2009 and published in print on October 13, 2009, there was a link to get help on “File and printer sharing.”

You are correct in that the link was specified as bit.ly/2DZiib. If you were to type bit.ly/2DZiib into the address bar of your Internet browser, you would be taken to the Microsoft page that provides information on file and printer sharing. You could also have entered http://bit.ly/2DZiib and gotten the same results. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Stump the PC Club • • • • • • | 1 Comment »

Vizio confirms Black Friday prices: $99 Blu-ray player, more

November 18th, 2009, 3:33 pm by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

Black Friday 2009Most consumers will agree that Vizio Inc. makes a decent HDTV that usually cost less than the competition. While the quality is debatable (let me reword this) not everyone is gaga for the brand, Vizio’s big pricing extravaganza begins right … around… NOW!

Just got a list of Vizio’s Black Friday 2009 prices starting with a $99 BLU-RAY PLAYER! But we all knew Blu-ray was going to hit $99 this Christmas, right?

Noticeably absent: Vizio’s VIA TV, the Internet TV I’ve been waiting for. Ah well. I hate shopping on Black Friday anyway.

But for everyone else who needs a new TV, here is Vizio holiday price lineup: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • | 9 Comments »

Sales of big energy-guzzling TVs banned in California

November 18th, 2009, 12:13 pm by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

California TV EnergyUPDATE, 11/20: Added details about Sharp Electronic TVs. See below.

The California Energy Commission today unanimously voted to force TV manufacturers to build more energy-efficient big TVs by 2011, reports the Associated Press.

The move affects new TVs up to 58 inches. The change would reduce TV energy consumption by around 33 percent by Jan. 1, 2011, and then 49 percent by 2013. Currently, only a quarter of the TVs on the market today meet this standard, reports AP.

Here is a chart of the new standards: CLICK HERE.

TVs larger than 58 inches will be allowed to use more power.

“This is a really big deal, because once standards are in effect it will cut California’s power bill by $1 billion a year and avoid the need to build a large, 500 megawatt power plant,” said Noah Horowitz, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council in the AP story. “We hope in the long term, every TV sold in America will be just as efficient as those sold in California.”

UPDATE, 2:45 p.m.: Here’s an image Associated Press just released to graphically describe the new energy savings mandate: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • | 73 Comments »

Vizio knocked to second by Samsung for top HDTV sales

November 18th, 2009, 9:04 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

Vizio Inc., an Irvine HDTV sellerVizio and Samsung continue to compete neck and neck in vying for consumer love when it comes to LCD TVs. This quarter, Samsung sold more TVs in the U.S. than the Irvine HDTV firm.

According to market research firm iSuppli Corp, the battle for first was a close one. Samsung was just 1.1 percent ahead of Vizio based on market share percentage points (added 3:01 p.m.). See the chart below. Samsung had 1.3  million vs. 1.2 million HDTVs sold. Vizio’s second-place finish also meant a drop in market share, the biggest decline of the TV companies in the top 5.

Vizio, otherwise, has been in the lead all year (see earlier report on 2nd quarter and 1st quarter results). Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • | 19 Comments »

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