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Happy Birthday, World of Warcraft! Blizzard celebrates

November 22nd, 2009, 1:01 am by

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 • • • • • | 3 Comments »

WoW turning 5! Samwise shares a memory

November 13th, 2009, 6:55 am by

World of Warcraft turns 5 on Nov. 23, 2009. What's your favorite memory?The countdown has begun. World of Warcraft, the most successful game to come out of Orange County, turns 5 on Nov. 23.

This marks the fifth anniversary of the chilly night thousands of local fans stood in line at Fry’s Electronics in Fountain Valley to buy the game at midnight. That was also about the time I started covering Irvine’s Blizzard Entertainment,which had just a few hundred employees. Seems like yesterday.

WoW, Blizzard’s first and only massively multiplayer game, wasn’t expected to be a huge success. The company hoped to attract just a few hundred-thousand gamers willing to pay a monthly subscription to play. Today, there are more than 10 million players worldwide.

Blizzard Entertainment's Sam "Samwise" Didier poses for The Gadgetress.

I’m working on a story and am looking for reader memories of WoW or the original game, Warcraft, which turns 15 this year. Tell me your story and you just may make it into the newspaper. E-mail me or comment below.

Samwise shares a memory

What am I looking for? Stories like one I just heard from the fabulous Blizzard artist Sam “Samwise” Didier (pictured on right during my visit to Blizzard’s Irvine headquarters this week).

While many Blizzard fans recognize the name, they may not recognize the face. However, because of public events like the BlizzCon fan convention, Didier may soon need to slip those shades on everywhere he goes.

The story goes something like this. Didier was waiting in his car at an El Pollo Loco drive-thru sometime after a BlizzCon event. The cashier had his head down when Didier drove up to the window.

“He was taking my order and then looked up and said, ‘Hey, you’re Samwise. I liked your show,’” recalled Didier, a bit bewildered. “I think he meant the concert at BlizzCon.”

Art-schmart … good enough. Didier happens to also be lead singer for the Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain band, comprised of Blizzard employees, including cofounder Mike Morahime.

The Blizzard Blog: ocregister.com/blizzardTell us: What’s your favorite personal WoW memory?

With this post, The Gadgetress welcomes Blizzard back into the blog. For those interested in just Blizzard coverage, check out the Blizzard page, at ocregister.com/blizzard, for tons of exclusive photos and older stories.

Posted in: Blizzard • • • • • • • | 33 Comments »

Missing BlizzCon? DirecTV’s happy to sell you access

August 21st, 2009, 3:38 am by

Big day today. Fans of Irvine game company Blizzard Entertainment are converging in Anaheim for the annual BlizzCon fan fest. I’ll be covering the two-day event but posting updates over our  Blizzard Blog (ya, did you know we had that?) so there won’t be much on Gadgetress. But check the sidebar for lots of good stuff.

For readers who have heard of Blizzard or perhaps one of its computer games — World of Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo — there is big news expected today. Joe Simmons, lead Blizzard blogger, is betting on more details of the upcoming Diablo III, future updates to Warcraft and lots of StarCraft II news since the game is coming out next year.

 But a major announcement could be a completely new game: A mysterious new massively multiplayer game was quietly confirmed some months back. That’s all the world  knows.

It should be the biggest BlizzCon to date. Some 20,000 tickets were sold within 10 minutes. And that’s not counting media, professional gamers, staff and everyone else. I’ll be getting more details as the con progresses so stay tuned — and check for updates on the Blizzard Blog.

Anyway, this being a TV blog, I thought I’d better point out that DirecTV is once again broadcasting BlizzCon as a pay-per-view show for $39.95. It’s not competely minute-by-minute action, but the package will include 18 hours of HD coverage, plus an exclusive in-game pet, Grunty the Murloc Marine. Additionally, subscribers will get free access to the Internet stream. The event will be on channels 122 and 121. More details are at directv.com/blizzcon.

For more BlizzCon coverage, visit our Blizzard Blog. Recent headlines:

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World of Warcraft fan succumbs to cancer

October 24th, 2008, 9:35 am by

Ezra Phoenix Chatterton, the young World of Warcraft fan with cancer, died on Monday. I’ve been following his tragic tale since May 2007 when Blizzard Entertainment granted young Ezra’s wish and let him create a character for the game. 

I have posted a tribute from his father, Micah, as well as links to the Ezra archive at the Register’s Blizzard Blog. Please read “A father’s tribute to Ezra, the World of Warcraft fan with brain cancer.“

Posted in: Blizzard • Blizzard/Warcraft/Star Craft • WoW • • • • • | 1 Comment »

Blizzard-inspired art show opens this week

September 29th, 2008, 7:16 am by

**UPDATE 9/30/08** Just learned that this is a show featuring Blizzard artists, not students. See more details in bold below. 

The Laguna College of Art & Design in Laguna Beach opens its second-annual art show Wednesday based on the art of  Orange County’s biggest gaming company. Irvine’s Blizzard Entertainment, developer of massively popular World of Warcraft and StarCraft games, will be submittinng art from employees, a few who also teach at the school.

[I removed the image here because I was misinformed that it was the official invitation to the show. I will post that as soon as I receive it.]

Last year’s show launched the video-game major.  When I spoke to students and faculty last spring, everyone was jazzed about the Blizzard connection. (Who wouldn’t be? Read “Get taught by Blizzard — a perk if you attend Laguna art school.“) The first students to graduate with a gaming degree are expected this school year. 

The October exhibit, titled “Art/Studies From Blizzard Entertainment,” features art from students and Blizzard employees who worked on popular games like World of Warcraft, Diablo and StarCraft.

**UPDATE, 9/30/08** After visiting the gallery today, I learned that this is a purely Blizzard show. No student art is involved. This is part of a unique partnership between the school and Blizzard, which has loaned the school several original pieces drawn by Blizzard staff. Any fan who can make it to the gallery should plan a visit. Pieces include sketches and illustrations to show the process of creating the final product. I will post a link to my write up about this exhibit soon. 

The show starts Oct. 1, but oddly, the artist reception isn’t until near the end of the show’s 27-day run. The college, however, is giving me a sneak peek on Tuesday. In the meantime, here is a slideshow of art created by students who are majoring in game art.

And Blizzard fans, stay tuned on Wednesday-ish when we relaunch the game blog to focus on all-things Blizzard  (it’s a work in progress but feel free to watch the changes over the next few days).

::details::

What: Art/Studies From Blizzard Entertainment 

When: Reception is Oct. 23, public is invited

Where: Laguna College Art & Design gallery, 2222 Laguna Canyon in Laguna Beach

Exhibit hours: Exhibit runs from Oct. 1 to 27.
Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Related:

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Get taught by Blizzard — a perk if you attend Laguna art school

May 20th, 2008, 3:04 am by

Daniel Stultz, a wanna-be artist for Blizzard EntertainmentDaniel Stultz sketches detailed images that look like they could exist in the land of Azeroth, a place inside the popular World of Warcraft game from Blizzard Entertainment. His artistry is inspired by the massively multi player online game and because of his choice in colleges, he’s closer to Azeroth than most gamers.

Stutz, pictured on right, got a chance to work with artists from game company because he attended the Laguna College of Art+Design in Laguna Beach, just 7.6 miles from Blizzard’s headquarters in Irvine. The Laguna college has 22 students in its brand-new video game major, which ended its first year last week. (This is the same college that hosted a World of Warcraft art exhibit last year.)

Read my story today about the perks of going to video-game school — here’s the LINK.

Thanks to the very connected Sandy Appleoff, the college’s chair of the Game Art major, students also got to work with artists from Dreamworks Animation, Double Helix Games (formerly Shiny Entertainment and The Collective) and, of course, two guys from Blizzard. Specifically, Blizzard’s Ely Cannon and Dion Rogers are on faculty at LCAD. Blizzard also sent a team to scope out talent at last week’s student showcase, which is where I interviewed Stutz.

“I can’t play Warcraft anymore,” confided Stutz, who has been drawing and playing Dungeons & Dragons since he was four. “The options were I play Warcraft or I finish school.”

Daniel Stultz, a wanna-be artist for Blizzard Entertainment

Daniel Stultz, a wanna-be artist for Blizzard Entertainment Daniel Stultz, a wanna-be artist for Blizzard EntertainmentHe finished school. Now, he’s looking for a job. (All images are from his portfolio, btw…)

“I talked to Blizzard. That was a huge deal,” Stutz told me. Blizzard reps told him he needed a bigger portfolio with more 3D art, which is basically what every game studio wants these days.

He wasn’t the only Warcraft fan at the art school.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Bigger, better BlizzCon coming in October

May 12th, 2008, 10:02 am by

Blizzard Entertainment just announced that it will host its third BlizzCon fan fest at the Anaheim Convention Center on October 10 and 11. Need I say more?

Okay, I will. The Irvine company continues to have fantabulous success with its Warcraft and Star Craft games. This year, the event will occupy three convention halls, instead of two.

I’ll post details as soon as I get them. More information should be posted at Blizzcon.com, but the page still has last year’s information.The $100 tickets, which aren’t on sale yet, do sell out fast so you’ve been warned…

To get in the mood, check out coverage from last year’s show:

Posted in: Blizzard • Blizzard/Warcraft/Star Craft • BlizzCon • • • • • • | Comments Off

April Fools round-up

April 1st, 2008, 10:21 am by

WoW’s new hero class: Guitar HeroThe Simpsons have Halloween. The tech community has April Fools Day. Here are a few humorous ones worth pointing out:

Blizzard Entertainment, a long-time AF prankster, has introduced a new Hero class for its update to the massively popular World of Warcraft: Guitar Hero! Say’s the stats page, “… only a true hero can vanquish evil with the power of ROCK!” Check out the company’s elaborate visuals, including the punk and metal talents HERE and more pranks linked on its homepage HERE.

USB pregnancy kitTech-friendly retailer ThinkGeek has quite a few, including the eww-gross Super Pii Pii Bros., a parody of Nintendo’s Wii (video included). Also, Spazztroids, caffeinated cereal; and the USB pregnancy kit, on left.

Google’s “Custom Time” service to send e-mails in the past; Microsoft and Yahoo agree on a price; plus a slew of fake stories from InfoWorld and another round-up from ITPro.

And if you’re bored, get advice from Wired’s “Top 10 April Fools pranks for nerds.“

Posted in: Blizzard • Blizzard/Warcraft/Star Craft • • • | Comments Off

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