Cataclysm Post Mortem -- Quest Design with Dave "Fargo" Kosak

[probert]

Many of the broad points they made are fairly accurate, but I think they're saving face by saying they're happy with how cataclysm turned out. They spent the vast majority of their past 2 years of development on 1-60 content that lasts an average player about 2 weeks of playtime -- the leveling is so simple, and so streamlined, that you hit 60 almost instantaneously. There's no challenge; the story telling is linear; and honestly i think there was more whimsy and subtelty in the 1-60 Vanilla game than there is now. They also killed off a ton of plotlines with little or no thought. Malfurion is back and the emerald dream is resolved; no more dragon aspects; thrall fanservice wall-to-wall; infinite dragonflight is explained away in a 5 man dungeon; well of eternity is revisited in the same way. Cataclysm definitely feels like the 'end' of wow to me; perhaps the fresh canvas offered by MoP will give us something new and fresh -- but i'm not counting on it.

[Deleted]

They love class specific content ? I wonder why the class quests have been removed ?!

[badshots]

Hero of the Horde quest line is the only one that made me say bravo.

[Lemons]

I hated the Molten Front...why? Becasue just like cataclysm questing the MF was linear as hell. Your "choices" were inconsequential. In fact they only serve to screw you because there is an optimal path that will finish the quests in the least amount of time, and if you don't look it up in some online guide and pick the wrong course you're just sol. then you end up unlocking everything, and thus being bored with everything. There is no replay value there. I went back on an alt and couldn't bring myself to do it again. Also...it doesn't take "a few weeks" to complete the zone...that would imply three weeks. It takes four weeks...otherwise known as a month. And that's also assuming you do the dailies every single day, so it can actually take a a lot longer, and even longer if you want to get all the achieves. Hell...even getting the Nether Drake in BC took a week of hardcore grinding, and maybe a month if you were a slacker and didn't try to look for any eggs. MF is a month of grinding your face off, and two months if you're a slacker...in other words too long! MF was the worst. If MoP has a similar quest hub I won't even bother with it.