Tom Chilton @ Gamescon

[Deleted]

FAIL @ TITLE - GAMESCOM

http://tweakers.net/reviews/1806/gam...cataclysm.html

This is an interview with Tom Chilton, at Gamescom about Cataclysm, by Tweakers.net. (Tweakers.net is a Dutch Computer Site with daily news, reviews, downloads, a price comparison, one vacancy database and a busy forum.)

Translation is shit, but understandable (I think, lol). Yes, I used Google Translate, cba to do it myself. Figured someone might enjoy.

Why increase the maximum level in Cataclysm to 85 and not 90, which was expected after the previous two expansions? Is that because you want to do careful and not rush to reach level 100?
Haha, no hear. There is nothing magical about the numbers. The explanation is simple: we do not believe we have enough to offer ten levels, also because we are all quests between level 1 and level 60 again are designing. When we identify which players were currently most in need, we thought that a lot of players still create new characters and therefore keep the entire path from level 1 to level 60 to follow. That is the part that we have designed the first and remains strong in quality behind what we have subsequently developed in the two expansions so far appeared. We think players appreciate it more if we are in terms of level 1-60 then redesign them to level 90 through to grow.

But you still had some more experience points to enable the new areas, so with the same level 85 quests not increase, but until level 90?
Of course, we can experience as much as we want to award points. We believe however that there is a certain expectation of earning experience. But there is more linked. If you're ten levels rise, you get more talent points and consequently more new spells and abilities for the various classes in the game. We did not want it to feel like you would an artificially high number of levels would rise relative to what is really going on in new areas of the Cataclysm. Furthermore, there is a general expectation of the number of quests required to ten levels to rise and we did not want players to feel like they were 90 level had reached them and had much less quests to accomplish.

I suspect that 99 percent of the players as soon as level 80, 85 or later, trying to reach, then in a very small piece of the world are the same quest or do the same instance. That 99 percent of the players hardly enjoy all the work you that 99 percent of the world have stopped. That must be frustrating. How are you trying to avoid this?
That's right, that is for sure. On the other hand, many players racing through the world without much attention, to have it as soon as possible to get the highest level. We notice that many players then half the character creation and leveling them much more time for the various quests, and that they therefore appreciate.

Have you tried to, instead of all the old quests to throw away, provide ways to encourage players to return to areas of lower levels appropriate?
Yes. We were considering a reward for building things in the old area. We were old dungeons or raids old re-design, but actually we do not feel. The old parts of the game have just done their job, the stretch from there we believe. It did fine when we did, but we understand that people now want to go. And we get maybe once again best parts of the old game back, as there is good reason for it. This we have done with Onyxia and Naxxramas.

Are the two continents that World of Warcraft launched now? Are all empty areas now filled?
Yes, Kalimdor and Eastern Kingdoms are now off. However there are still some islands that we have not yet done and that we might use in a future expansion. Think of an island as Kul Tiras and there are even more.

If you are in the beta test on the old fly zones, you see many mountain ranges around the edges of the various zones have been unfinished. Are still updated?
Yes, we are now busy with. Most has been done. In the current version of the beta is perhaps not yet visible, but once the game appears, everything is neatly finished.

Why have you chosen precisely for the two new races, the throttle at the Alliance and the Horde at the Goblin? Thus, the Goblin so far just been to a race neutral to both camps in the game very valuable services. Is not it weird that a race neutral now choose one of the camps? The throttle neutral towards both camps and have thus far been extremely hostile - and suddenly they Cataclysm close to the Alliance.
The initial idea was to name but a race to the game adding the Goblin, which you could choose whether you are a Horde or Alliance-Goblin Goblin wanted to create. That produced a number of problems. We try always to a very recognizable silhouette to give to characters, so even from a distance immediately clear whether a character on the Horde or the Alliance should. In addition, we were afraid we would get the complaint that the extension contains too little content, with only 5 levels and only one race, while the price is equal to the previous one. We thought it was a cool idea, but such considerations, we have refrained.

As the neutral character of the Goblins concerned, they were already divided into several cartels, so it was for us not difficult to imagine that an agreement on the part of the Horde has chosen, while the rest remain neutral. It's a small race, with a tough attitude and our view that fits well with the Horde. Moreover, the Horde so even a small race in this, that was still missing. The Alliance had with the gnomes from the beginning a small breed.

As the throttle is concerned, it is true that a lot strangle in World of Warcraft running around who are hostile to both camps. As the story: the race is neck Gilneas, which is infected with the curse-Gilneas. They have the major Forest Siverpine Greyman Wall built to protect themselves against the Scourge and the Forsaken - which they hate most. Therefore why she joined the party that fights against the enemies, and that is the Alliance. Greyman the Wall so they simply from the Horde and have their own kingdom south of the wall founded. I understand the surprise, but I think everyone will have one year used to be that everyone will say: "Of course belong to the Goblin Horde and the Alliance of course belong to strangle."

You have another occasion already explained that the starting area of the neck rather than designed from the Goblins and the start of the Goblins spectacular is because you have learned much from the design of the neck area. Will you still Gilneas pimp, so it is just as spectacular as the start of the Goblins?
No, we are really pleased with Gilneas. It is indeed not as spectacular, but it is a good and especially nice area. Apart from some minor adjustments based on feedback we will no longer make major changes.

How players react to the introduction of small, and perhaps even a little cute with the tough Horde Goblins?
Well, I get many positive responses, both through forums as Horde players that I encounter.

I get the impression that Horde players are excited about Goblins than the Blood Elf, which were introduced with the first expansion.
That's hard to say. The Blood Elves are now the most popular variety with the Horde. In the beginning, when we announce the Blood Elves, there was much protest. Many players said it could not, that Elves do not belong to the Horde. Meanwhile, they are fully accepted and by far the most popular race of the Horde.

Striking Cataclysm is that no new Hero class is included. There is even no new class entered, but of a Hero class is striking. Blizzard has previously been said about the introduction of the Hero and Wrath of the Lich King had finally come, so it would be arguable if there Cataclysm half introduced.
Two new varieties and also a new class would be just too much work. The Death Knight Hero first, is not so long in the game and we're still tweaking. The main reason is perhaps that we have only a very small number of classes in the game can spoil the whole thing before we add everything together and begin to appear. We must be very careful in choosing the moments when we introduce a new class. It will therefore always be the trump card that we are finally committed to designing a new extension. The Death Knight was fun to make, but we can not do any expansion.

How do you think about the Hero class? Is the Death Knight hero that you had in mind?
Yes, we had the idea, always a different interpretation of the start of a character Hero in mind. You step into the world on an entirely new and special way and that makes it heroic, and unlike any other class. That is not so much on the properties of the Death Knight.

Cataclysm with you also change the system by which the properties or 'state' of objects can be calculated. The design is simplified, although the system is actually still quite complex. Can you imagine that the system is further simplified?
If it makes sense and if the depth of the game in the way, then we can do. We actually always looking for ways to make the game easier without depth points. If we can remove things that the player does not actually pose interesting choices, but only unnecessarily complex, then we will do that. So it is quite possible that we simplify the system further, but that is not now being planned. Such drastic changes, we store for extensions because the balance in critical areas such as dungeons and raids to disrupt.

Before you begin the design of Cataclysm, a number of key players in the WoW design team moved to the team that makes the new Blizzard MMOG. Is to be seen, Cataclysm is another extension because they have left?
Technically you're right, people like Jeffrey Kaplan and Rob Pardo no longer part of the WoW team, but in reality they are still involved in the decisions we make. If you look who sit in the room if we adopt the outline of Cataclysm, then that Jeffrey, Rob, Chris Metzen, the head of the graphics team and I - it's actually still the same team that such decisions. Rob and Jeff spend their time primarily to another game and are also not involved in the implementation of the decisions that we took: that's my job.