26-Feb-2002 Exclusive interview with the producer of the highly-touted MMORPG orc-fest Orcs. Not quiet as pretty as norks, but in the light of the immense popularity of Lord of The Rings, the hideous creatures are currently enjoying just as much exposure as a pert, juicy pair on Page 3. So when Blizzard told us it was getting its orcs out in France last week, we were simply unable to suppress our scopophilic lust to go and cop a feel.
World of Warcraft is an MMORPG that takes the long-established Warcraft universe and creates a persistent online world where players can live and grow, exploring locations already made famous in the RTS series. Plenty of companies have MMORPGs in the works, but Blizzard is angling for the casual gamer, hoping to create an experience that is inclusive rather than exclusive. At the press event we managed to catch up with Shane Dabiri, producer and project leader of the title who, after showing his impressive orcs, outlined his vision for the game:
Do you think there are too many MMORPGs, in terms of each one actually being able to secure enough players to be involved?
Dabiri - Right now it's such a commitment but we're trying to make a different type of game. A lot of these RPGs have been targeted at the hardcore, but we want to tap into the casual gamer by making it so you don't have to make a ten hour commitment, where you come home and say: "I'm gonna play this game and set aside ten hours of my time. Wife, kids go away and don't bother me!" We're making it so that you can jump in for an hour and come away feeling like you've accomplished something. The way we're going to do that is by making combat faster, making down-time smaller - those are the basics I think you need to have for this type of game. That's our hope, and by doing that maybe we can open up the market to people that wouldn't normally play this type of game. It can be intimidating to even get online initially for a lot of people, let alone to pay for a game online, and interact with people and be killed online. There are several different barriers, and if we can ease players into these then we'll make new customers.
Star Wars Galaxies has mass market appeal and is scheduled to come out at roughly the same time as World of Warcraft: are you worried about the competition?
Dabiri - I think there's room for several good MMORPGs, but I don't know how many of them there will be on a level that we've seen. Each one does seem to be learning from the last making it better, so our hopes are that by the time we come out we'll be at the forefront.
Why should someone play World of Warcraft as opposed to any other MMORPG?
Dabiri - I won't use the normal statement and just say "Blizzard!" [laughs]. One of the things we're really committed to, and you guys are probably sick of hearing this, is ease of gameplay. It's very easy to get into all of our games; you don't have to spend one or two hours to work out the interface and figure out what all the hidden commands are. You know that when you buy it you can have fun right off the bat. Secondly, the level of quality we've given to all of our games is evident from our past, and we're hoping to maintain that. We have to make sure we keep that up.
Also, with Warcraft III coming out, and our previous titles Warcraft I and II, there's a world that's already established and there's a good number of people out there who are familiar with it. People who have played Warcraft II will be able to experience places they've visited in the RTS, and they'll be able to go: "Ah, there's the tower - I remember going in there and killing so-and-so." Now you get to go inside the tower and explore.
Also, one of the big mistakes that MMORPGs make is to say they're going to have 15 races and 25 classes in the beginning but then say, oh, we're only going to have ten, or five. They commit to something initially that they can't deliver. We just want to commit to things we're actually implementing.
Do you have any plans to bring the Warcraft franchise onto consoles?
Dabiri - Yeah, we always look towards consoles, but right now we're focusing on our existing products. At some point we'll probably think about that, though.
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