When picking an expansion theme, why does Blizzard ignore the themes people want?

[Sal the Shieldhog]

Fans didn't dictate anything, nor were they trying to dictate anything. Blizzard was the one dangling all these storylines in front of fans. Aszhara blah blah blah, Legion blah blah blah. N'Zoth blah blah blah. When suddenly Pandas. And then fans were like okay... we must endure this trial of our hearts, and then we will carry on with that cliff hanger... When suddenly Orc to the Future.

Read what he said, dude. He didn't say they did, he said letting us decide what would happen is a bad idea.

OT: It's their game, let them take it in the direction they want to. We're the ones paying to play it, after all. And besides, people build up in their head what they think things will be like, which is why they get pissed of when it isn't what they want (headcanon, etc). It's why games like SWTOR and Rift and such fail after being proclaimed as "WoW killers" - the reality is different from the ideal, so everyone hates it because it doesn't live up to their expectations.

[Bender]

If they blow all the cool stuff early on they run out of cool stuff. A side-effect of this is that they run out of famous villains rather fast as well. The sudden shift in focus (people expecting N'zoth/Azshara after cataclysm for example) is probably to plant new seeds to go back to later. They need to create new themes that are desirable to revisit, or they'll run out of stuff. Wow probably has quite a few years of high subs left so they need to conserve content a bit to keep it interesting in the long term.

[Deleted]

Most fans cannot explain the lore well enough to create a coherent expansion.

For example, most people have 0 understanding of the Emerald Dream. Firstly, there is not supposed to be any wildlife in the dream, it is simply Azeroth pre-old gods. Because of this, there won't be crazy stuff like players have seen in that restricted area, or in the few quests going there.

0 factions, enemies, etc. aside from the Nightmare. An entire expansion with trees and old god corruption wouldn't be fun. 0 settlements not created by Druids, which are neutral, and not far into the dream. 0 factions, no variety of enemies.

And Northrend is just a snowy wasteland with nothing but Undead, right?

[Frozenbeef]

And Northrend is just a snowy wasteland with nothing but Undead, right?

Tbh when i think of northrend that's kind of the image that comes into mind :P

[Deleted]

Tbh when i think of northrend that's kind of the image that comes into mind :P

My point is, that in WC3 we actually went to Northrend and it was pretty much all like the Dragonblight. Then come WOTLK and they retcon the Howling Fjords appearance (introducing the Vrykul who we saw nothing of in WC3.) and added in a whole range of environments to the place, up to and including a jungle.

Now we haven't even been to the Emerald Dream before, so Blizzard can pretty much include whatever they like so long as it's a dream and it's sort of based on primordial Azeroth (which FYI would not just be forest.).

[frogger237]

Gotta have those filler expansions.

I wouldn't really call them filler expansions Id call them lore makers. Blizzard has to create new lore somehow that the players get to experience (either in WoW or another warcraft game) otherwise we would defeat all the big bads that already exist and the game would be over for most players who would then quit and Blizz would have to create "filler expansions" or repeats to continue on the game. Id much rather have a bunch of lore maker expansions instead of Illidan 3.0, Sargeras 2.0, Lich King 2.0, etc..

MMO's aren't a single player rpg thats story is told in one 40 hr game or over 3-4 games they are intended to be a continuously evolving universe that only ends when the money runs out.

[Deleted]

Blizz didn't pick the theme of WoD, Activision did as a promo/tie-in for the movie.

[Agoonga]

I wanted Pandaria

If Blizzard didn't hold out on the stuff you wanted, you wouldn't care what came next.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

I think the "community" asked for a couple of themes for the least years that we still havent seen, yet Blizzard picks something strange like Warlords of Draenor, that no one asked for.

Some examples:

- Emerald Dream: Pretty much requested since Vanilla

Because they likely don't have any idea what to do with it. The only real threat was more or less mopped up in a novel.

- Demon homeworld / Demon theme: People actually expected this as the upcoming theme and talked about this since BC.

This is likely being prepared for a huge climax. And obviously WoW is too big to need a climax.

- South Seas: People are talking about this since at least early Cataclysm.

It's not that I have anything against WoD, but the theme just strikes me as odd when there are so many other (better?) themes that people like and have been waiting for.
Especially if they want to get people back into WoW, wouldnt it make more sense to use the themes mentioned above?

This one they're likely paranoid about the reception of South Seas. Just look at any thread about it on here. The number of people paranoid about "10 levels of Vash'jir" almost outnumber the people that want it.

[Daetur]

Blizz didn't pick the theme of WoD, Activision did as a promo/tie-in for the movie.

...... I'm not usually the guy to hold stock on something like this, but this is a very, very interesting point. Obviously we can't say for certain, but it would be a smart move to pair the expansion with the movie so that people who didn't play the games that the movie lore is based off of will develop a connection and a familiarity with some of the relevant characters.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Blizz didn't pick the theme of WoD, Activision did as a promo/tie-in for the movie.

IMO they pick EVERYTHING based on reactionary thinking.


"Players hated gearing in Dungeons for Cata, let's make them gear with dailies in MoP."

"Players hated gearing wity dailies in MoP, let's make them gear with discovery in WoD."

"Players hated Vash'jir, let's scrap all naga-related content and never touch that story again."

"Players thought Pandaren were too childish, let's make a heavy metal murderlicious story for WoD."

[ringpriest]

Let blizz create new stories, Cata and MOP prove that they can still craft an intriguing story. "Knowing" what is coming and how it will play out seems less interesting than going into a new story knowing little more than the general premise.

While I'm in general agreement and did rather enjoy the story of MoP, Cata and what we've seen of WoD before seem to be more excuses to reuse old story elements than new stories.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

...... I'm not usually the guy to hold stock on something like this, but this is a very, very interesting point. Obviously we can't say for certain, but it would be a smart move to pair the expansion with the movie so that people who didn't play the games that the movie lore is based off of will develop a connection and a familiarity with some of the relevant characters.

I think the causation flows the other way.

The movie is made to tie into the Expansion.

[Sal the Shieldhog]

Most fans cannot explain the lore well enough to create a coherent expansion.

For example, most people have 0 understanding of the Emerald Dream. Firstly, there is not supposed to be any wildlife in the dream, it is simply Azeroth pre-old gods. Because of this, there won't be crazy stuff like players have seen in that restricted area, or in the few quests going there.

0 factions, enemies, etc. aside from the Nightmare. An entire expansion with trees and old god corruption wouldn't be fun. 0 settlements not created by Druids, which are neutral, and not far into the dream. 0 factions, no variety of enemies.

http://wowpedia.org/Emerald_Dream

Down towards the bottom. Wildlife exists in the Dream; the plane is just Azeroth as it would be had mortals not changed anything (individuals can change the Dream a little, albeit temporarily; the Dream will inevitably reassert itself, and permanent changes can only be done by the Titans). In addition, there are different "layers" from when Azeroth was being created by the Titans, which could be potential zones, rids, etc.

Granted, the denizens of the dream part is from the RPG, which is considered non-canon. However, both here, elsewhere, and by certain Blizzard employees, aspects of the RPG books are considered useable or canon so long as they aren't contradicted anywhere in WoW, etc, etc. Thus, it's perfectly possible for an Emerald Dream expansion, so long as it's done right (but that goes for almost anything in the Warcraft Universe).

[Nerevar]

Short answer - it's their game. It's not the players who decide what's best for the game. You should refer to talks from David Gaider from BioWare on similar topic. I never understood why players think they should have any say in the development of the game.

[Agoonga]

I hope the WoW movie doesn't suck, which I have low hopes for since the Orcs will all be CGI and it's going to be directed by a Canadian, because some new players enthusiastic to learn more about the game's setting and lore would be refreshing since so many of the players right now are uptight, know-it-alls.

[Deleted]

I think the "community" asked for a couple of themes for the least years that we still havent seen, yet Blizzard picks something strange like Warlords of Draenor, that no one asked for.

you mean the minority of wow players posting here?

[Gheld]

Short answer - it's their game. It's not the players who decide what's best for the game. You should refer to talks from David Gaider from BioWare on similar topic. I never understood why players think they should have any say in the development of the game.

Then game developers should stop asking for feedback, build up internal testing teams and stop releasing incomplete projects that are riddled with bugs that don't feel like a retail game until 30 patches later and asking "SUBSCRIBER LEAVE LAMPOON ON FORUM. NO UNDERSTAND. WHAT DO!? "

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Then game developers should stop asking for feedback, build up internal testing teams and stop releasing incomplete projects that are riddled with bugs that don't feel like a retail game until 30 patches later and asking "SUBSCRIBER LEAVE LAMPOON ON FORUM. NO UNDERSTAND. WHAT DO!? "

They always ask for feedback. Doesn't mean they should take everything.

[Deleted]

The day Blizzard make an expansion's story entirely based on something some random group of nobodies post on a forum is the day I die of laughter...

Someone called Blizzard arrogant because they don't take their cues from people like us. That is abso-fuckin'-lutely hilarious! Also ironic considering that would be an arrogant statement to make in the first place.

Many forum folk need to remove their heads from their asses and realise what they want isn't what everyone wants. Somehow it's "lore nerds" or "fanboys" that want these Legion/Dream/South Seas expansions. I can safely say that as a "lore nerd", I more than welcome stuff like MoP to the lore. If it were up to most people on forums, we'd have destroyed the Pantheon of Titans, Sargeras and the Burning Legion and the Old Gods by now and had no new lore. They'd have basically killed the game just to satisfy their WC3 boners. Newsflash, new lore is needed. And oh, they're also not filler expansions.

While WoD is obviously being made to either refresh our memories or introduce older lore characters to newer players because of the movie, it is still moving the story forward. That alone should remove any idea of a "filler" expansion.

Blizzard tell the story. It's up to you to decide whether you want to pay to see it or not. If you don't like, find a game with a story you do like. Not a strange concept really.

I seem to remember a number of people defending MoP saying its what the community wanted and Blizzard listened. I fail to see what is so "abso-fuckin'-lutely hilarious!" about Blizzard listening to its players.