Can a game really have something for everybody? As the latest expansion prepares for launch, we speak to Ion Hazzikostas about the history and future of the game that has ruled the MMO roost for an entire decade.
It's the Methuselah of video games. It launched in a world without iPhones, Facebook or YouTube -- and when AMD Athlon 64 processors were beating the pants off Intel's Pentium 4.
It's been with us long enough that people have met through the game, married, and had children who are now old enough to play. World of Warcraft is about to celebrate its 10th birthday with the launch of its latest game expansion, Warlords of Draenor.
As part of pre-anniversary celebrations, CNET caught up with World of Warcraft lead game designer Ion Hazzikostas, to talk about the history and the future of the landmark game. Read on to hear about making something for everyone, the value in special "had to be there" moments, and how the new garrison features could see your Troll become known as the "Gnome Slayer".
Q: What's your perspective on World of Warcraft's ongoing success? There's more competition than ever, but the player base seems to be growing again as the new expansion approaches?
Hazzikostas: I think there are two key things. First, we've continued to increase the breadth and accessibility of the game over the years. We've recognised our player base has changed over the years. The person who picked up the game in 2004 who was a student with tons of free time is now a career person with a family, and they're trying to fit in 60-90 minutes of game time after the kids go to bed at night. The game that they want is not the same game that they played 10 years ago.
At the same time there's a new generation coming in. So we've had to increasingly expand the ways in which you can interact with the game. We still offer content that is still very much aimed at the hardcore organised player who wants to sit down with guild mates and spend four hours a night banging their heads against an encounter. But then we also give you a way to see some of the same content at a lower difficulty level like through something like our raid finder system for raids where you can jump right in.
We also offer new things to do, whether that's collecting mounts or pets or the new toy box feature for cosmetic and fun items. There's the achievements system, all these other dimensions to interact with the game in your downtime so whether you have 20 minutes or two hours to play, whether you are just a collector looking to complete and tick things off the list, or whether you want to prove that you're the best. There's something for everyone.
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