Rob Pardo Leaving Blizzard Entertainment

[chrisisvacant]

Sad to see him go, I had high hopes seeing him back on the team for WOD after how lacking some of the expansions he hadn't worked on felt compared to those he had.



Are they?

I'm not super into the lore, but as far as I'm aware there's not THAT many characters that are explicitly hetero, you have Thrall with a kid, but for the most part characters seem relatively asexual in their activities.

Which is probably how I like it.
I really don't care what 99% of lore characters do in their bedroom and they can keep their sex life to themselves - it rarely, if ever, seems to make for interesting story telling and in a game with regular activities being saving the world from old gods or world ending dragons, your sexual orientation seems pretty minor and not something I was a player want to have thrust at me by the story, it's petty in scope.

Ah yes. Another authoritative comment from the knucklehead gallery.

How about not trying to imply gay people are merely sexual entities. How about the mere mention of a wife is, in most cases, an explicit description of heterosexuality. Oh, no married couples in wow? No hetero consorts? Right.

It's pretty amazing how numb straight white kids are to the realities of the world abd just how much of your experience is explicitly tied to your way of life at the expense of others.

[Nillah]

You don't quit a job of 17 years without having a back-up, and he doesn't have a back-up. He got shit-canned. Come to terms.

Seriously, stop making shit up. I'll never fathom why people get such joy out of thinking Blizzard employees have been fired.

[Pacster]

Sad to see him go, I had high hopes seeing him back on the team for WOD after how lacking some of the expansions he hadn't worked on felt compared to those he had.



Are they?

I'm not super into the lore, but as far as I'm aware there's not THAT many characters that are explicitly hetero, you have Thrall with a kid, but for the most part characters seem relatively asexual in their activities.

Which is probably how I like it.
I really don't care what 99% of lore characters do in their bedroom and they can keep their sex life to themselves - it rarely, if ever, seems to make for interesting story telling and in a game with regular activities being saving the world from old gods or world ending dragons, your sexual orientation seems pretty minor and not something I was a player want to have thrust at me by the story, it's petty in scope.

Lore is not just the obvious stuff in game but the books as well. And yeah, if they talk about relationships it's always straight relationships. Not just Thrall got a kid(and an entire love story)....Wrynn obviously got one, the old deceased Tauren Leader has one...Saurfang too...you do not always have love storys(like Jainas) but kids give you a clear idea about their sexuality.

The question is not if there has to be a homosexual in the game...the question is why there is none. Why is it even a topic? Why didn't they come up with one yet? I mean, what would be the problem about letting little androgyne Anduin Wrynn, the dedicated future hero, be gay? Or why not having a gay dragon(I mean, they are aspects...they shouldn't have to be sexual at all...but they are straight!). Sylvanas would have made an interesting homosexual as well. The question is not "why?", it's "why not?". How can it be normal if we still have to discuss about it in freaking games?

I mean, nobody expects Blizz to let Thrall explore his homosexual side(tho that would be a strong statement against public clichés)....but it wouldn't hurt them to throw a bone to the LGBT-people.

[korruna]

You are delusional if you think he was fired - he is irreplaceable. For example, Rob Perdo is primarily responsible for greenlighting Hearthstone at Blizzard. Someone of his experience and success can choose to work where-ever he wants, and he simply doesn't want to work at Blizzard anymore.

[RumlyD]

Pardo abandoning ship too, eh?

Well this certainly speaks volumes, heh. I kinda doubt this was a mutually agreed thing.

[nightmaric]

Seriously, stop making shit up. I'll never fathom why people get such joy out of thinking Blizzard employees have been fired.

Because the amount of people that hate this game but have an incessant need to harp on all things about it negatively and chime in with a "SEE SEE?!?" when things like this happen is probably larger than the amount of people that just play the game.

It's not a backhanded comment about subscriber numbers, it's just a remarkable comment about how many people that seem to hate all things Blizzard and WoW tend to migrate towards websites dedicated solely to them.

We get it, this is a "sign that things are falling about" "wow is bad" "catering to casuals.." .... etc..

I don't know Rob Pardo, I will never know him, other than playing the product he had a hand in over the years I can't pretend I have any sort of understanding of what he's doing.

As a human being, I wish him well!

[chrisisvacant]

Because the amount of people that hate this game but have an incessant need to harp on all things about it negatively and chime in with a "SEE SEE?!?" when things like this happen is probably larger than the amount of people that just play the game.

It's not a backhanded comment about subscriber numbers, it's just a remarkable comment about how many people that seem to hate all things Blizzard and WoW tend to migrate towards websites dedicated solely to them.

We get it, this is a "sign that things are falling about" "wow is bad" "catering to casuals.." .... etc..

I don't know Rob Pardo, I will never know him, other than playing the product he had a hand in over the years I can't pretend I have any sort of understanding of what he's doing.

As a human being, I wish him well!

Forum users are a tiny fraction of the player base. So nah, this vocal minority just has their worst fears corroborated and they have a place like Mmoc where they can come and fight with people.

[Beet]

Wow I am very sorry to see this. Rob Pardo always seemed like a great guy. I'm sadly not going to read the comments here though because I have a distinct feeling it will be filled with mouth breathers making comments like "Getting off a sinking ship" or that he was "Fired" which would be hilarious if someone really believed that.

[Delondial]

Off-Topic/ Rant Warning

Really childish to want to molest a developer because you lack imagination.

I find it amusing that you use the term "childish" when the first character listed on your link is a blatant and borderline-offensive stereotype. The sad truth of it is that the majority of games are targeted towards heterosexual teenage boys; ground-breaking observation I know. And let's be honest, plenty of developers don't fall too far from that demographic either. But I don't see why it's such a big deal for folks to ask for a modicum of representation. Certainly not asking aggressively either.

As for imagination, homosexuals have plenty of that, I'm sure you'd agree. Close your eyes and join me in pretend land; having equal rights, freedom from religious zealots, family and friends not rejecting you, not having to live in fear of possibly having your home broken into and being dragged off for public execution. Homosexuals around the world are an imaginative lot, I promise you.

Yes it would be nice to have one of the many love memento/ letter quests be between a same-sex couple. No glitter, no spotlights, no fuss. Just a simple "hey, this happens every day. It's normal". Will it make the world join hands in friendship? No. Would Blizzard possibly lose sales from their more homophobic clients? Heaven forbid. But it would earn them a great deal of respect from our more progressive communities. It would serve as a small acknowledgement that the world is moving away from those antiquated and petty disparities. Perhaps even other studios would take a cue, and open up their narrow interpretations of minorities (women could certainly use some strong and properly clothed representation).

Honestly, I'm not even all that bothered by a lack of representation in mass media, apart from the standard rainbow-defecating-glitter-encrusted-and-overly-promiscuous-every-gay. But it bothers me to no end when people try and make excuses for that. And no, I don't think it's because all publishers are homophobic. As first mentioned, it's all about your demographic. I just find it somewhat disappointing to possibly think that a multinational studio with over 70 million games sold*, in at least 12 languages*, running an MMORPG with over 7 million active subscribers*, would be so molested by a request to include one or two openly gay characters.

tl;dr No, I think what's childish is when developers/ studios can't get outside their comfort level enough to create meaningful minority characters despite publishing for such a massive and diverse audience.

Saaaarces:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/hom...i#.U7YURvldXuM
http://www.statisticbrain.com/blizza...nt-statistics/

[tangers58]

Weird how he "decided to move on" right after the players rioted about all the mysteriously vanishing content in WoD...

Just kidding btw, much more likely that he was fired for his sexist rant a couple months ago.

[Pacster]

Weird how he "decided to move on" right after the players rioted about all the mysteriously vanishing content in WoD...

And right before the release of the naxx-adventure mode in hearthstone...which I expect to be a huge disappointment as well.

[Destruktion]

I find it amusing that you use the term "childish" when the first character listed on your link is a blatant and borderline-offensive stereotype. The sad truth of it is that the majority of games are targeted towards heterosexual teenage boys; ground-breaking observation I know. And let's be honest, plenty of developers don't fall too far from that demographic either. But I don't see why it's such a big deal for folks to ask for a modicum of representation. Certainly not asking aggressively either.

As for imagination, homosexuals have plenty of that, I'm sure you'd agree. Close your eyes and join me in pretend land; having equal rights, freedom from religious zealots, family and friends not rejecting you, not having to live in fear of possibly having your home broken into and being dragged off for public execution. Homosexuals around the world are an imaginative lot, I promise you.

Yes it would be nice to have one of the many love memento/ letter quests be between a same-sex couple. No glitter, no spotlights, no fuss. Just a simple "hey, this happens every day. It's normal". Will it make the world join hands in friendship? No. Would Blizzard possibly lose sales from their more homophobic clients? Heaven forbid. But it would earn them a great deal of respect from our more progressive communities. It would serve as a small acknowledgement that the world is moving away from those antiquated and petty disparities. Perhaps even other studios would take a cue, and open up their narrow interpretations of minorities (women could certainly use some strong and properly clothed representation).

Honestly, I'm not even all that bothered by a lack of representation in mass media, apart from the standard rainbow-defecating-glitter-encrusted-and-overly-promiscuous-every-gay. But it bothers me to no end when people try and make excuses for that. And no, I don't think it's because all publishers are homophobic. As first mentioned, it's all about your demographic. I just find it somewhat disappointing to possibly think that a multinational studio with over 70 million games sold*, in at least 12 languages*, running an MMORPG with over 7 million active subscribers*, would be so molested by a request to include one or two openly gay characters.

tl;dr No, I think what's childish is when developers/ studios can't get outside their comfort level enough to create meaningful minority characters despite publishing for such a massive and diverse audience.

I don't agree with adding homosexual characters or storylines purely for the sake of pushing boundaries or getting respect from progressive communities. If Blizzard sees fit to add a homosexual character, I trust them to do so in a way that fits logically into the story, and I would enjoy experiencing such a story. I get enough of the LGBTQ movement shoved down my throat as it is so if WoW is going to give me the same business it better be palatable.

OT: The last flicker of hope I had for WoW's future died when I heard the news that Rob Pardo, after finally returning to grace WoW with his design prowess once more, is now moving on to what are probably greener pastures. I will be avidly following his progress in the hopes that he finds his way back to MMO development. Bonus points if he starts a new company with Jeffrey Kaplan.

[ImpTaimer]

People should be ashamed to compare Rob Pardo to Greg Street.

It speaks volumes to who is actually a fan of Blizzard games and who is just in it for the ride.

Greg being hired was an ill omen and him leaving a long-awaited reprieve.

[Pacster]

I don't agree with adding homosexual characters or storylines purely for the sake of pushing boundaries or getting respect from progressive communities. If Blizzard sees fit to add a homosexual character, I trust them to do so in a way that fits logically into the story, and I would enjoy experiencing such a story. I get enough of the LGBTQ movement shoved down my throat as it is so if WoW is going to give me the same business it better be palatable.

You get enough of that LGBT movement shoved down your throat? Now ask yourself how the homosexuals got to feel about all the heterosual stuff that gets shoved down their throat NONSTOP. You'd likely run amok if you would have to face that much homosexual stuff...

[scelero]

Off-Topic/ Rant Warning
The sad truth of it is that the majority of games are targeted towards heterosexual teenage boys; ground-breaking observation I know. And let's be honest, plenty of developers don't fall too far from that demographic either. But I don't see why it's such a big deal for folks to ask for a modicum of representation. Certainly not asking aggressively either.[/URL]

Really man, you think homosexuals play different video games then straight people? Are you dense or something? You're literally making up shit in your own head. The percentage of homosexuals in america alone is under 4%. It's a lot of people but in the grand scheme, it's not. Just because you see it all over the tv and on the news doesn't mean it's actually a big thing. And why should any company cater to less than 4% of the population. I bet the percentage of them in LGBT community who play video games makes that chunk of the money pie even smaller by comparison.

Stop trying to make it bigger than what it is. It's just a game.


Source
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_de..._United_States

[Judgedredd]

Oh rly? Care to provide any type of source as to how you can say Chris Metzen, creative director is suddenly the Marketing Producer on Wow? Do you honestly believe Blizzard is lead by like 3 people that does everything from game design, story telling, marketing, sells, art direction, music direction, project coordination, production management.

You have no clue how a game studio like Blizzard runs.

What more probable is that the marketing team which came out with the idea of the choppers decided to use the most recognizable faces at Blizz, which are Sam and Chris.

If you think Chris Metzen spend his worj time finding new business strategy to make more money instead of making a good game. Youcare just wrong.

As for the topic: I think that whatever really happened, it's a huge hit to Blizz future success.

look up the term patron-client relationship please and apply it here.

if you bought the mists of pandaria collector's edition and watch the dvd which shows the production the very first thing you see is guess who? you misunderstand the very culture of leadership. you don't do every single task you delegate different tasks to different people while remaining in supreme control of the information loop. quest design is not going to know the inner workings of raid design and neither are going to know the inner workings of class balance and so on. the directors or producers are in charge of it all. furthermore someone of metzen's influence is unlikely to even be challenged in terms of design decisions (unless said people wish to do what the topic of this thread is about).so even if this chopper programme isn't his original conception, it has to have his tacit approval nonetheless, as did the decision to even create mists of pandaria if you bother to watch the dvd.

as for your last sentence, tell me, in a gaming company how do you make more money?

honestly some fanboys are so blinded by their infatuation they don't stop to logically think.

[Destruktion]

You get enough of that LGBT movement shoved down your throat? Now ask yourself how the homosexuals got to feel about all the heterosual stuff that gets shoved down their throat NONSTOP. You'd likely run amok if you would have to face that much homosexual stuff...

It's the social movement that I don't like being shoved down my throat, not homosexual content in entertainment.

[Delondial]

I don't agree with adding homosexual characters or storylines purely for the sake of pushing boundaries or getting respect from progressive communities. If Blizzard sees fit to add a homosexual character, I trust them to do so in a way that fits logically into the story, and I would enjoy experiencing such a story. I get enough of the LGBTQ movement shoved down my throat as it is so if WoW is going to give me the same business it better be palatable.

Those would be a fringe benefit. The most important thing about adding such content is that it would be a nice gesture to the many homosexual players who do play WoW. And no one is asking for large scale cinematic romance, just a bit of inclusion; the odd delivery quest, some NPC tavern conversation, etc. But since your real issue is that you are getting too much LGBTQ "shoved down" your throat, it's seems rather moot. It would be interesting to know in what way you are being subject to such hardships, but honestly this isn't the place for that.

I just think you have and awfully narrow and self-centered view point.

[Destruktion]

Those would be a fringe benefit. The most important thing about adding such content is that it would be a nice gesture to the many homosexual players who do play WoW. And no one is asking for large scale cinematic romance, just a bit of inclusion; the odd delivery quest, some NPC tavern conversation, etc.

I would have no problem with that.

I just think you have and awfully narrow and self-centered view point.

Alrighty then.

[jason1975]

While I can appreciate Pardo's contribution to WoW, he's clearly a sign of the problem at Blizzard.

As a COO myself, I'll tell you when you have a corporate culture (dismissive of women) that is so out of whack with your customer base (45% of gamers are women), either you do something about it or you become yesterday's news.

Hopefully this is Blizzard doing some serious top level bloodletting. I'd love to see them replace Pardo with a woman.

Again, anyone who has any experience with corporate culture could tell you what a Cluster-you-know-what Blizzard's has obviously become when you get remarks like the ones that have been made over the past year, and the company's PR Dept doesn't even bother to try to address it. If these guys worked for Coke, GM, or Apple they'd have been likely been marched out to the media and made to apologize, then either quietly sidelined or outright terminated.

This ain't the 1980s. Or even the 2000s. Women are increasing their gaming market share and are beginning to shun companies that treat them badly. Any business analyst would look at these guys and immediately see a big gushing red flow of unrealized sales.

Adapt or die, Blizzard. Adapt or die.