Stepehn Frost , Lead Game design producer leaves blizzard

[Sangris]

Now we just gotta get that ghostcrawler guy fired and the game will improve tenfold

I like how 3 people fell for this with even the same choice of words.

[Rudol Von Stroheim]

lmao good one you trolled so many people, idiots can't even see sarcasm when it's in their face.

Oh yeah, they must be idiots for not being able to detect the undetectable in a forum where that very thing wouldn't have at all, hilariously and unfortunately enough, been out of place.

You've got people on here who ask questions pertaining to an issue they read on the front page but couldn't be arsed to look beyond maybe the headline at most where they would've quickly found the desired answer. Projection isn't a very good practice and tends to show your hand a little too readily.

[Thelxi]

I knew it wow is dying even the devs are leaving.

[McNeil]

Never heard of this guy. How is this going to affect the game in any way?

[Socialhealer]

Oh yeah, they must be idiots for not being able to detect the undetectable in a forum where that very thing wouldn't have at all, hilariously and unfortunately enough, been out of place.

You've got people on here who ask questions pertaining to an issue they read on the front page but couldn't be arsed to look beyond maybe the headline at most where they would've quickly found the desired answer. Projection isn't a very good practice and tends to show your hand a little too readily.

show my hand? projection? all this seriousness and explanation when you can't even get basic sarcasm, ouch got you in the feels didn't i?

[Rudol Von Stroheim]

show my hand? projection? all this seriousness and explanation when you can't even get basic sarcasm, ouch got you in the feels didn't i?

My eyes are rolling more than usual. You're just too cool and above me. All the more reason this block will hurt me so.

[DeusX]

Never heard of this guy. How is this going to affect the game in any way?

I'll take you seriously and try to answer: not always the people on the frontend are the only ones responsible for the game. Have you thought that maybe a bunch of other people, away from the spotlight, are actually designing and producing this game?
In regard to what it means to the game it's hard to say, but that would be the same if Ion leaves, who's a public figure @ Blizz.

However, I have read all the tweet replies... A big bunch of other WoW/Blizz employees wrote nice things to him. I guess he was of some importance in the office. Nobody gets payed "lead designer" money for sitting under a desk all day.

[Socialhealer]

My eyes are rolling more than usual. You're just too cool and above me. All the more reason this block will hurt me so.

ah good if you can't get sarcasm just block people that'll help you learn!

(btw this is sarcasm) see i'm helping you already.

[RoKPaNda]

Well that's unfortunate, but I can't really say I even heard of him. Hopefully his new opportunity is a good one.

He oversaw the second best expansion. I want him back. Or just take Kaplan from the OW team and let Ion serve hotdogs in the mess hall.

Or not. Kaplan is fine on overwatch, he has no business working on a modern MMO.

[TriHard]

Never even heard of this guy till now. Hope he has a good time in his next job.

He's an awesome guy, I followed him quite a bit back during the Wildstar launch days when he worked for Carbine.

If he's received a better position at another company then I bet it's probably Riot Games again or something mmo related.

- - - Updated - - -

Or not. Kaplan is fine on overwatch, he has no business working on a modern MMO.

What makes you say that? He is literally one of the best developers in the entire world. He made WotLK the success that it was, it's the best expansion the game has ever had.

And he turned a failing mmo into the major success that is Overwatch.

He's at the level of Yoshida who saved the FFXIV project. There's really few devs like them out there.

[Konteil]

well we shall see if it even makes a difference. who knows.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

No, don't uplift Kaplan as some god of game design. He's good but keep it realistic.

[Smetz]

So Is he a Lead or a Senior designer? According to his twitter he's a Senior design producer

[TriHard]

No, don't uplift Kaplan as some god of game design. He's good but keep it realistic.

He is one of the best, he's got a great vision of what's going to be successful and what's going to be a failure. He also listens to player feedback which the WoW devs have not been doing the last 5 expansions as proven by the trash features they've added.

Players want housing where they can decorate stuff? Ohh, let's just give them OUR*VERSION of that and scrap everything they've requested!

[Deleted]

Wow, 7-8 years ago people shat all over WotLK, now it's supposedly the pinnacle of MMO design. In 2025 Warlords of Draenor will be held up as a shining beacon of hope and the best expansion EVAH, I guess.

Btw Pandaria was slightly better than WotLK (although both were quite good).

I also completely don't get the hype around Wildstar, any aspect of it. The gameplay, the design, the theme, that game was mediocrity incarnate. Clutch furniture shuffling gameplay, though.

[RoKPaNda]

He is one of the best, he's got a great vision of what's going to be successful and what's going to be a failure. He also listens to player feedback which the WoW devs have not been doing the last 5 expansions as proven by the trash features they've added.

Players want housing where they can decorate stuff? Ohh, let's just give them OUR*VERSION of that and scrap everything they've requested!

Watch some of his WoW Blizzcon talks, he's stuck in the past of MMOs and has literally zero clue how the modern MMO market works. Actually if you watch him talking at the very first Blizzcon he lied about player numbers / engagement / participation quite a bit there also. Yeah he did good on Overwatch, lets not pretend he's actually super fantastic beyond that.

[Evangeliste]

He oversaw the second best expansion. I want him back. Or just take Kaplan from the OW team and let Ion serve hotdogs in the mess hall.

You do realise Ion was Lead Design for like encounters for some of the most loved raids like... Ulduar, Throne of Thunder and was responsible for sayings like "I remember you in the Mountains" and "Watch as your magic betrays you?".

He's been in Blizzard designing since as early as Wrath... you know the highest subscribed expansion ever because you know end-game stuff is what keeps subs. But yeah, you keep being misinformed.

[Dudemanguy]

My god i started a real shitstorm

You must be joking!

Still, epic troll. Its hilarious yet a poignant reminder that people can easily fall for posts that are obviously sarcastic.

[Varolyn]

It's funny that people here are worshipping Kaplan as a god and yet he was trashed on as much as the dev's today are. Death and Taxes rant on AQ 40 is one of the more popular examples of this. Btw I'm not saying he's a bad developer at all, it's just funny that people always antagonize the current lead and then worship him as soon as he leaves to another project.

[Kazuchika]

It really speaks to the "literally who" nature of this Stephen Frost guy that everyone is talking about anyone other than him in a thread about him leaving Blizzard