Open Letter to Blizzard Entertainment from Mark Kern

[gcsmith]

Its reddit. Facts are irrelevant and everything is blown out of proportion.

Applying basic logic filters to that post tells different story: employees were incompetent, so Mike was telling them to redo stuff. Shareholders would rather release crap than lose money, so they fired Mike because he was not content with mediocrity.

However that is irrelevant to his contributions to WoW. Which were more than what today's developers did.

The guy spent 3 million on a bus for a game not ready... That's not just bad developers...

[Indigenously Abled]

Speaking of WoD, it dawns on me that the Blizzcon announcing it was like Austin Powers 2. When asked about all the timey whimey wibbly wobbly stuff and to explain it, both Blizz and Bazzle said 'Try not to worry about it, and just enjoy yourself'..

Probably a comparison that was made before, but for me.. *mind blown*

I just role play that I'm the Doctor.

[Wolfheart9]

Its reddit. Facts are irrelevant and everything is blown out of proportion.

Applying basic logic filters to that post tells different story: employees were incompetent, so Mike was telling them to redo stuff. Shareholders would rather release crap than lose money, so they fired Mike because he was not content with mediocrity.

However that is irrelevant to his contributions to WoW. Which were more than what today's developers did.

'Reddit's opinions are blown out of proportion and irrelevant. Basic logic says that's so. My opinions are factual and correct, I know he did more than what all of today's devs have because reasons, and don't you use basic logic on it'

This isn't a good way to win people over on your argument.. You don't discredit one overblown statement by making one of your own.

[Eliseus]

The issue isn't would people play or try out servers, it's would they play long term in a game with no content updates and where raid fights weren't about complex mechanics but pure numbers. I mean seriously, the most difficult vanilla bosses were difficult due to lack of add one, afk players or mathematically impossible (c'thun - who fell as soon as he was hot fixed).

Also, assuming they allowed Addons people would be using group finder Addons ASAP, standing in stormwind going "lfg sunken temple" for 20 minutes before running to the dungeon wasn't fun.

Nost was indication that the population would not only stay (what was it, a year they were up), but active population increased the entire time.

[Ersula]

The guy spent 3 million on a bus for a game not ready... That's not just bad developers...

Why should blizzard listen to this sad unemployed Mark Kern person?

[gcsmith]

I'm loving the butthurt coming from blizzdrones, they just want everyone to shut up so they can go back to their little safe spaces where no one points out how bad WoW is in its current form. Well guess what, tough shit, this is only the beginning and the demands are only going to get louder and louder, this is going to be the great shitstorm of our times. Don't understimate mob power, I would be surprised if we aren't playing legacy servers or at the very least hardcore mode/pristine servers in a year's time.

We aren't denying current wow is bad, but were also not hailing a version of the game where certain classes could only use of of their 3 specs competitively as the best wow ever. At least pick something with more balance like tbc...

[Eliseus]

I guess I'll ask again since you guys aren't providing your own credibility.

What makes your guys opinion of where WoW should be or shouldn't be more credible than Mark Kern?

[gcsmith]

Why should blizzard listen to this sad unemployed Mark Kern person?

I didn't say they should, I was kinda pointing out his mistake...

[Eliseus]

The funny part is I see far more constructive freed back from the quote "blizz drones". After all, those were the people playing the game.

How does that work. How do you give constructive feedback towards something you have blatantly made open you don't want? Please do tell.

[Deleted]

Source needed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Kern - Starcraft, Diablo 2, Warcraft 3, Vanilla WoW. Doesn't say what exactly he did there apart from "team lead", but whatever it was, he contributed to many of the best games ever when they were at their prime. He had nothing to do with recent expansions and remakes, which is a major bonus.

[Eliseus]

We aren't denying current wow is bad, but were also not hailing a version of the game where certain classes could only use of of their 3 specs competitively as the best wow ever. At least pick something with more balance like tbc...

This still exists in this game. Let's be real. Min/maxing is impossible to abolish, yet I still me brother who gets to deal with people never wanting him as ret, because lolret, even though he would our parse many people who are part of the lolret. Let's not act like this doesn't exist in today's game as validation to how terrible classic was because of this exact same thing.

[gcsmith]

I guess I'll ask again since you guys aren't providing your own credibility.

What makes your guys opinion of where WoW should be or shouldn't be more credible than Mark Kern?

What makes his more credible? His entire opinion is, the game was best where I placed it and it should remain there, forever. No updates nothing. Back when bosses had one mechanic, or when the most mechanically difficult boss was dance across the room...

We want the game to progress, not stagnate. The number one complaint about current content is lack of it, guess what vanilla will be 0 update, and 0 complexity.

[Eliseus]

What makes his more credible? His entire opinion is, the game was best where I placed it and it should remain there, forever. No updates nothing. Back when bosses had one mechanic, or when the most mechanically difficult boss was dance across the room...

We want the game to progress, not stagnate. The number one complaint about current content is lack of it, guess what vanilla will be 0 update, and 0 complexity.

So, not more credible. Could of just say that without all the unnecessary fallacies.

Also, don't play on the server.

[Wolfheart9]

There are things about WoD I do not like. Foaming at the mouth and acting like a spoiled child is not the way to go about getting what you want, as that rarely gets taken seriously. I would think an adult would be able to see this, maybe you should as yourself why you had to ask this question.

Wouldn't engage this fellow if I were you. Just scroll back to his earlier posts and you'll see why, you won't get a discussion out of him. Take it or leave it though.

[gcsmith]

This still exists in this game. Let's be real. Min/maxing is impossible to abolish, yet I still me brother who gets to deal with people never wanting him as ret, because lolret, even though he would our parse many people who are part of the lolret. Let's not act like this doesn't exist in today's game as validation to how terrible classic was because of this exact same thing.

Right now numbers can be imbalanced yes, but you aren't forced into healadin or tankorrior like you were then. You were considered a joke if you enjoyed dps paladin or dps warrior. Let's not forget the wonder that was globalling pvp. Say what you want, you can enjoy content more back then all you want, but the balance is a lot better now than back then, and raid bosses more complex.

[Thage]

All that nonsense is based on reddit post written by anonymous employee.

I don't know what really happened, but using anonymous reddit post as basis to discredit developer who contributed more good to WoW than all current developers combined is rather pathetic.

Even if some parts of that post are true, its irrelevant. Being CEO and being developer are not the same things. He sucked as CEO because he was thinking as developer. He wanted to save failing game, he wanted quality, but his employees were too incompetent to make quality stuff and he didn't care to sugarcoat it. Of course such behavior is bad for money making, so he might have been sacked. Money > quality. Who's the bad guy here, one who tried to save game that was already failing badly due to incompetence of everyone working there or those who sacked him because of money?

If that article is something to judge people for, WoD developers are pure geniuses. Less content, more expensive -> more profit. Perfect CEO material.

Use your brain. That article doesn't discredit Mark in slightest.

As another poster mentioned, Kern blew three million on a custom-made bus for something that wasn't even in beta yet. And given the scathing Glassdoor reviews that piled up prior to Kern's departure, that anonymous Reddit post isn't just some random disgruntled ex-employee. There was a recurrent trend in Red5 that all pointed to the leadership as the company's biggest problem.

I like how you spin it in total disregard of every source available except Kern's own word to make it out that Kern is a beleaguered hero who tried to save the game when The-9 tapped him based on his credentials as a WoW lead--credentials he completely and utterly failed to live up to, given employee feedback on Red5 on their way out the door. While it's perfectly reasonable to assume some of them are from people who are just disgruntled, when a pattern emerges only the willfully blind refuse to take notice.

I feel like I'm missing something. Spore had absolutely nothing to do with Molyneux, aside from the nods to Black & White.

A post-Too Human Dennis Dyak would be more in line with the Romero comparison.

Fair enough. I've gotten some names mixed up in that comparison, it's been a long day.

[Eliseus]

There are things about WoD I do not like. Foaming at the mouth and acting like a spoiled child is not the way to go about getting what you want, as that rarely gets taken seriously. I would think an adult would be able to see this, maybe you should as yourself why you had to ask this question.

So the answer is you don't?

[Indigenously Abled]

Foaming at the mouth and acting like a spoiled child is not the way to go about getting what you want, as that rarely gets taken seriously.

In the current sociopolitical climate, this is how you get the attention you want.

[Eliseus]

Right now numbers can be imbalanced yes, but you aren't forced into healadin or tankorrior like you were then. You were considered a joke if you enjoyed dps paladin or dps warrior. Let's not forget the wonder that was globalling pvp. Say what you want, you can enjoy content more back then all you want, but the balance is a lot better now than back then, and raid bosses more complex.

Guilds at the top end competing beg to differ. People competing have alts just for what you saying isn't happening.

[Raiju]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Kern - Starcraft, Diablo 2, Warcraft 3, Vanilla WoW. Doesn't say what exactly he did there apart from "team lead", but whatever it was, he contributed to many of the best games ever when they were at their prime. He had nothing to do with recent expansions and remakes, which is a major bonus.

And when given any actual power caused company ending failure, go figure.