Kung Fu Panda Comparisons are Valid and Intended

[Deleted]

Except the decision to include Pandaren in the game was done after Kungfu panda became popular..

No.

Blizzard had planned to include Pandaren ever since Burning Crusade (If Metzen would've gotten what we wanted, there'd probably be no Draenei today), it just never quite fit.

Get your facts straight.

[senshu]

No.

Blizzard had planned to include Pandaren ever since Burning Crusade (If Metzen would've gotten what we wanted, there'd probably be no Draenei today), it just never quite fit.

Get your facts straight.

yeah, and it doesn't fit now.

[Lothanah]

Those pictures look nothing alike. Before Kung Fu Panda came out whenever I thougth of a panda I think "Eats Alot" "Martial Arts" Games like Tekken have fighting Pandas in it. Why is everyone whinging Blizzard stole ideas from the movie. Jesus Christ..

[Abandon]

Except very few had heard of them, unlike the quite popular Kungfu panda. Except the decision to include Pandaren in the game was done after Kungfu panda became popular. Except almost everyone who sees pandaren will think it is Kungfu panda.

Yes, if you (not very few people) had not heard of something, that means it didn't exist. Clearly.

Even though everyone else was aware of them, and they were in the game before World of Warcraft, and have quite a bit of offical art about them. That doesn't count.

[Deleted]

yeah, and it doesn't fit now.

Geez, it's like no one ever listened to what Chris said prior to the announcement...

This expansion is the "calm before the storm". It's also an escalation of the conflict between Horde and Alliance. I'll start with the former.

The Horde/Alliance conflict had dwindled a bit between TBC and Wotlk, and intensified during Cataclysm. Now, with one of the prime evils gone (Deathwing), the Horde and Alliance can focus more than ever on the conflict and to create a contrast between the conflict, they're introducing a calm and peaceful place, that gets ravaged BY this conflict when the Horde and Alliance arrive on Pandaria.

That contrast of conflict and peace is what this expansion is all about. To set the expansion on Pandaria makes PERFECT sense, and thus, to include Pandaren makes MORE than perfect sense.

[Deleted]

speaking of coincidences, is this one:
http://www.wowhead.com/item=24091/tenacious-defender
:P
wonderboy belt!

[Abandon]

Speaking of coincidences:

http://www.dofus.com/en/mmorpg-game/characters/pandawa

Drunken Pandas which do martial arts could only ever come from one place and nobody would ever have similar ideas about it, right?

[senshu]

Geez, it's like no one ever listened to what Chris said prior to the announcement...

This expansion is the "calm before the storm". It's also an escalation of the conflict between Horde and Alliance. I'll start with the former.

The Horde/Alliance conflict had dwindled a bit between TBC and Wotlk, and intensified during Cataclysm. Now, with one of the prime evils gone (Deathwing), the Horde and Alliance can focus more than ever on the conflict and to create a contrast between the conflict, they're introducing a calm and peaceful place, that gets ravaged BY this conflict when the Horde and Alliance arrive on Pandaria.

That contrast of conflict and peace is what this expansion is all about. To set the expansion on Pandaria makes PERFECT sense, and thus, to include Pandaren makes MORE than perfect sense.

Yes, I heard it and no, I don't care. I'm not bothered by no main villain and an escalation of conflict between horde and alliance. I seriously could not care less, it has no impact on me whatsoever. Calm before the storm or the actual storm: it doesn't matter to me. None of the changes and updates look horrible, except the new talent system which will hopefully get changed. The only thing that matters, the only thing that bothers me and the ONLY thing that absolutely cannot and will not be changed between now and release is the addition of mother frakkin' anthropomorphic pandas as a playable race. Don't care if they rip off Kung Fu Panda in every aspect, or have it as completely dissimilar as possible, cause it's all the same shit to me: an April Fool's joke that went too far.

As you said, they didn't fit in the game world then, and they don't fit now. Keep the Asian continent, it looks awesome, but ditch the damn furries. (Yeah, I know it won't happen, but I'm still gonna vent my frustration over this inane BS.)

[Chronnos]

Oh shush. Metzen himself scoofed at this in the lore Q&A, he made it clear, Pandaren have been around for years now

That says absolutely nothing. Maybe back then (pre TBC) the pandaren were in fact similar to WC3's Brewmasters. You have no idea how they looked like, no one outside Blizz knows how they were designed back then. Who's to say they didn't change their design philosophy after they saw KFP and though it would be cool?

Blizzard references pop-culture every 10 seconds in-game

It's one thing to name a pretty obscure NPC in a dead city (Shattrath) Haris Pilson and it's another to make a frekin' race a huge pop culture cliche!

[Abandon]

That says absolutely nothing. Maybe back then (pre TBC) the pandaren were in fact similar to WC3's Brewmasters. You have no idea how they looked like, no one outside Blizz knows how they were designed back then. Who's to say they didn't change their design philosophy after they saw KFP and though it would be cool?

I'm guessing you never saw the quite large gallery of images that the lead of the Blizzard Art Department has done about them, which go back years before that movie was released. The ones in-game do look very similar to the images in the gallery.

http://sonsofthestorm.com/gallery.php?artist=samwise

The first ones are from 1999. Unless he has a time machine, I don't think he stole the idea.

[senshu]

Yes, if you (not very few people) had not heard of something, that means it didn't exist. Clearly.

Even though everyone else was aware of them, and they were in the game before World of Warcraft, and have quite a bit of offical art about them. That doesn't count.

It's not that it doesn't count, it's that it doesn't matter. So they had one pandaren in WC3? So the hell what? It's their game, they can ruin it in whatever manner they please, but man you people harping on the "PANDAREN WERE IN WOW LORE FOR YEARS!" are just a bit too into it. WHy can't you accept that some people don't want walkin' talkin' pandas in WoW? It's not like it really matters, cause you win! They'll be in the game and those of us who hate the idea will either have to deal with it or quit. So why make it any worse on us?

[darkwarrior42]

Kung Fu Panda had Jack Black, therefore it is terrible and doesn't count toward anything, ever.

My personal opinion, completely grounded only my personal perspective and with no logic or solid evidence at all.... but it's at least as logical and coherent as a lot of the posts I've seen on this topic, sadly

(I'm not exaggerating my hatred of Jack Black either, btw... I love Dreamworks, but will *never* watch even one second of that movie willingly.)

[Blufossa]

This just in, Kung Fu Panda invented ancient China!

Joking aside, everything has been influenced from one ancient race here on Earth.

Pandas live/exist only in China.
China has been around since forever.
Chinese culture invented noodles, and most Asian cuisine we see today.

So I don't get why any of this matters. Blizzard is giving us something mysterious and unique, similar to Vanilla, and people complain about it? Maturity has taken a vacation it seems. People seem to forget they're playing a fantasy game that most normal adults in the real world consider "silly" and "childish" as it is now. Illidan didn't make it serious, Arthas didn't make it serious, and Deathwing hasn't made it serious.

All the same, people are complaining only because they can, not because they actually have valid reasons.

It's not that it doesn't count, it's that it doesn't matter. So they had one pandaren in WC3? So the hell what? It's their game, they can ruin it in whatever manner they please, but man you people harping on the "PANDAREN WERE IN WOW LORE FOR YEARS!" are just a bit too into it. WHy can't you accept that some people don't want walkin' talkin' pandas in WoW? It's not like it really matters, cause you win! They'll be in the game and those of us who hate the idea will either have to deal with it or quit. So why make it any worse on us?

Because these same people play Tauren, Worgen, Gnomes, Dwarves, Goblins, Elves, etc in a fantasy world. And yet suddenly, walking-talking Pandaren make them squeamish? There's no logic in that whatsoever.

It's like saying you love all vehicles except SUVs. Answer: don't drive it, no one's forcing you.

[Kisho]

I wonder if this debate will ever cease?

I suppose the main issue is the line of inspiration. Pandaren haters would have us believe that it goes like this:

Chinese mythology/Real Life Pandas ---> Kung Fu Panda ---> Pandaren

When in reality, it's probably more like this:

Chinese Mythology/Real Life Pandas ---> Kung Fu Panda
|
|
|
V
Pandaren

Both are inspired by the same source material, which makes sense. Pandas in real life spend the majority of their day eating. They're also quite fat, which stereotypically = bounciness in our minds. And one of the first things people think of when someone says China is Martial Arts.

I also don't really see the similarities in the picture in the OP, beyond 'they're both pandas in a widely known martial arts pose'. But even if we believe the OP and say that Blizzard intended the similarities, it's probably more for parody's sake than anything else. Blizzard love their parodies after all.

Anyhoo, I think I realise what is trying to be achieved here. Not necessarily by the OP, but in general. I believe people are trying to create a new 'troll' phrase. Similar to how simply saying the line 'Xbox 360 is called that because I do a 360 and walk away' in trade chat will spark off a gigantic debate, now we have a new simple, easy phrase to troll with. 'Pandaren are KUNG FU PANDA LOLOLOL'. Bam, instant amusement from the endless nerdrage debate.

So I implore the MMO Champion community: don't let it catch on. Let's ignore these Kung Fu Panda threads. Don't get annoyed or frustrated. Let them insult the game. Let's just sit back, relax, and enjoy the game. It's what the Pandaren would want.

[senshu]

I'm guessing you never saw the quite large gallery of images that the lead of the Blizzard Art Department has done about them, which go back years before that movie was released. The ones in-game do look very similar to the images in the gallery.

Not really a whole lot of options when it comes to drawing/animating a panda that stands on two legs and fights.

[spitzki]

No.

Blizzard had planned to include Pandaren ever since Burning Crusade (If Metzen would've gotten what we wanted, there'd probably be no Draenei today), it just never quite fit.

Get your facts straight.

In TBC they shelved the pandaren idea, probably they knew it was too silly; however after the popularity of Kungfu panda they must have had a change of heart.

They did not have any decision to include pandaren at TBC, clearly they waited for 3 WoW expansions.

[Wolfie of Medivh]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranma_%C2%BD

i highly suggest taking a look at this. blizzard did not invent the "pandaren".

this anime came out in 1987.

Thank you for that smile. I haven't heard that song or watched that show in decades.

/going to have "A Shrew Like You" in my head the rest of the evening.

[Deleted]

Yes, I heard it and no, I don't care. I'm not bothered by no main villain and an escalation of conflict between horde and alliance. I seriously could not care less, it has no impact on me whatsoever. Calm before the storm or the actual storm: it doesn't matter to me. None of the changes and updates look horrible, except the new talent system which will hopefully get changed. The only thing that matters, the only thing that bothers me and the ONLY thing that absolutely cannot and will not be changed between now and release is the addition of mother frakkin' anthropomorphic pandas as a playable race. Don't care if they rip off Kung Fu Panda in every aspect, or have it as completely dissimilar as possible, cause it's all the same shit to me: an April Fool's joke that went too far.

As you said, they didn't fit in the game world then, and they don't fit now. Keep the Asian continent, it looks awesome, but ditch the damn furries. (Yeah, I know it won't happen, but I'm still gonna vent my frustration over this inane BS.)

I'm sorry, but reading this, I... it just makes no sense what so ever in a discussion environment.

You're just saying "I'm fine with EVERYTHING (even Pandaria as an island), I just hate walking pandas."

Okay. I guess that's it when it comes to you then?

[Abandon]

Not really a whole lot of options when it comes to drawing/animating a panda that stands on two legs and fights.

The person I replied to said nobody outside Blizzard knew what they looked like, I was pointing out everyone who decided to look at that gallery for the past 12 years knew what they looked like since there was official art for them there.

The reason that the character in Kung Fu Panda looks like the Panderan is because there's a limit to how unique you can make bipedal martial arts panda man look though, you are right. But the people claiming the idea for them was taken from the movie are simply wrong, since they existed long before that in the design they use now.

[darkwarrior42]

It's not that it doesn't count, it's that it doesn't matter. So they had one pandaren in WC3? So the hell what? It's their game, they can ruin it in whatever manner they please, but man you people harping on the "PANDAREN WERE IN WOW LORE FOR YEARS!" are just a bit too into it. WHy can't you accept that some people don't want walkin' talkin' pandas in WoW? It's not like it really matters, cause you win! They'll be in the game and those of us who hate the idea will either have to deal with it or quit. So why make it any worse on us?

Partially because your (general "you", not you specifically) way of dealing with it seems to involve being as loud and obnoxious as possible, insulting anyone who does like it and doing everything in your power to try and convince people it's stupid so they shouldn't like it, or they should feel bad if they do like it.

And it *does* matter, because Pandaren have more lore than the Draenei in their current form ever had before getting added, but I don't see people complaining about the Draenei still being around. Even if there was only one visible, they still existed.

I still don't get how Pandas are any better or worse than Worgen, or Draenei, or Tauren. All I've seen are comparisons to Kung Fu Panda that claim that because they're related, panderan are stupid.... or comments to the effect of "ASIAN THEME = BAD". I suppose if you don't like them, that's your call... but what is it specifically about Pandas in particular that makes them so appalling? It can't be the anthropomorphic angle, because we've had plenty of that in-game already and nobody's seriously objected to it (beyond "twilight" comments regarding Worgen).