Omar Gonzalez Leaves Blizzard and Joins Dreamhaven, New Battle.Net Avatars

[Kralljin]

Okay, and?

Because the claim seems that outlandish to me that i want further evidence before engaging any discussion based on it.

You provided your speculation (brain drain, as you put it) and I didn't ask you to provide proof of it.

Considering that with Chris Kaleiki now another Veterans has left Blizzard within the last 6 months that we know and the fact that currently a bunch of Blizzard offshoot companies are opening with Dreamheaven in particular being made up primarily by ex Blizzard staff, i think that theory isn't that unlikely.

The fact is they're seeing it happen. It's not some theory it's taking more time. You can measure it.

Okay...?
Where did i say that there is no delay taking place?
There is a difference between "There is no delay" and "This is why a delay is happening".

A cop can observe you speeding, and not need a speedometer reading to know that for a fact. Get this, they use time in the equation for speed. IMAGINE THAT

Difference is that in this scenario is that a variety of other explanation exists - what is the alternative explanation when a cops sees me speeding? - there is none.

This is why i wrote : "In this case".

Your entire post seems like you're somehow reading "there is no delay" into my posts, which frankly is never stated, nor implied.

[Xilurm]

It's becoming funny now seeing people keep saying "its just a coincidence, people leave jobs all the time". Why are people so intentionally blind?

[Clozer]

Do you really think there is no change between working on wow for almost 20 years and working on something new? Just because both are still game dev doesn't mean there the same dude.

He was an engineer... He was constantly dealing with completely different challenges. And now he solves those challenges at Dreamhaven instead of Blizzard. So yes, it's the same job.

[Low Hanging Fruit]

It's becoming funny now seeing people keep saying "its just a coincidence, people leave jobs all the time". Why are people so intentionally blind?

Its so normal and no one should noticed that the entire corporate defense force is out in phalanx formation at the mountain pass.

You do that when things are perfectly normal. Nothing to see here!

/s

[Nnyco]

Another one leaves Blizzard
Another one leaves Blizzard
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one leaves Blizzard, yeah
Hey, they're gonna leave Blizz too
Another one leaves Blizzard

How do you think they're going to make games
Without devs, when they're gone
They took us for everything that we had
And made devs quit on their own
Are you happy, are you satisfied?
How long til all the talent leave?
Out of the doorway the game's R.I.P.
To the sound of costs cut
Look out!

Its this thing called, you know, hiring. lul

[Lorgar Aurelian]

He was an engineer... He was constantly dealing with completely different challenges. And now he solves those challenges at Dreamhaven instead of Blizzard. So yes, it's the same job.

that's not how any thing works dude. If he was working on wow for 20 years he would know the frame work and would have to deal with issues in that frame work when they popped up. by leaving blizzard he's out of that frame he isn't solving the problems that pop up with wow he's making a new frame from scratch and being able to shape it how ever he wants.

[Relapses]

Because the claim seems that outlandish to me that i want further evidence before engaging any discussion based on it.

Considering that with Chris Kaleiki now another Veterans has left Blizzard within the last 6 months that we know and the fact that currently a bunch of Blizzard offshoot companies are opening with Dreamheaven in particular being made up primarily by ex Blizzard staff, i think that theory isn't that unlikely.

Highlighted the important part.

We're arguing two different takes on unknowable information. Like I've said a few times now, you're free to believe what the developers say and take that stuff at face value. Personally, I think there's a lot of stuff that Blizzard doesn't tell the community (because frankly, we don't fucking deserve to know) and that their actions (or lack thereof, in this situation) are often better indicators of their internal struggles than what they may divulge in a press junket. You're also free to think my idea is ridiculous if you want but there's very little point in analyzing things any further without getting into trite semantics.

[RobertMugabe]

Yes, and policies change over time, its called standard business as usual.

Policies that existed under Vivendi's ownership are not equal to policies under Activision/Blizzard.

And considering the majority of the old guard seemingly decided to all retire/quit within that same 10 year span after the merger should be more revealing than dismissive of how policy shift has affected staff productivity and more importantly, morale.

10 years is massive in this business and doesn't tell anything. If they all suddenly quit within a year then that might tell something, but 10 years is ancient. If anything, having to mention a timespan of 10 years to prove a point might only tell that actually things look very good overall.

Like seriously, I am not even trying to be a blizz apologist or whatever, but making conclusions like that about people leaving a company are just ridiculous. It is actually very typical that senior employees of a large company eventually leave. After working so many years on the same thing, people just get burned out and most importantly all of them reach a point from where they can't develop further, as in that's the best possible position/salary they can ever get.

[Sensa1]

Evidence speaks louder than words. Truth is none of us can say how the pandemic and adding Classic to their repitoure have impacted things. But the initial delay of SL followed immediately by one of the longest introductory tier content droughts indicates to me that something is amiss within the company. I don't think it's too far of a stretch of the imagination to say that while Classic's development may not of impacted retail in the strictest of terms, it seems to have strained a company already struggling due to the pandemic.

This is just such absolute ridiculous nonsense. Retail's issues are Retail's. Blaming Classic for content droughts in Retail is grasping for straws to explain why your preferred version of the game sucks.

Classic has been on auto-pilot since release. The work was done pre-release. With the exception of managing the original server population issues Blizzard has had to do little or nothing to maintain Classic beyond weekly server maintenance. Classic, post release, takes less resources than adding a new store mount or battle pet.

[Relapses]

This is just such absolute ridiculous nonsense. Retail's issues are Retail's. Blaming Classic for content droughts in Retail is grasping for straws to explain why your preferred version of the game sucks.

Classic has been on auto-pilot since release. The work was done pre-release. With the exception of managing the original server population issues Blizzard has had to do little or nothing to maintain Classic beyond weekly server maintenance. Classic, post release, takes less resources than adding a new store mount or battle pet.

I think you're making a lot of claims about things you have no way of knowing. We have what Blizzard tells us, but we don't actually know how much Classic's development is impacting other areas of the company (especially, as I've mentioned in other posts, when you compound the pandemic on top of things).

edit: Further, I'm not trying to pit one version of the game against the other. I don't mind content droughts. I simply made an observation and gave the reasoning I had for it.

[RobertMugabe]

It's becoming funny now seeing people keep saying "its just a coincidence, people leave jobs all the time". Why are people so intentionally blind?

Yes people do leave their jobs all the time. In a company with thousands of employees and hundreds of senior employees this is in fact very normal and thus it is impossible to draw any conclusions if that's the only given information.

The only thing that's funny here are people like you who make a conspiracy each time someone leave blizzard or switches their position. It's very easy to tell that none of you have ever worked for a large company in the IT sector.

It's like each time someone leaves, it is "proof" that Blizzard is in some sort of crisis. People say this EVERY time, they've been saying this since mark kern left all the way back in 2006.

[Clozer]

that's not how any thing works dude. If he was working on wow for 20 years he would know the frame work and would have to deal with issues in that frame work when they popped up. by leaving blizzard he's out of that frame he isn't solving the problems that pop up with wow he's making a new frame from scratch and being able to shape it how ever he wants.

This is so much BS. First you thought he was a game dev and now you imagine these things. Just stop.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

This is so much BS. First you thought he was a game dev and now you imagine these things. Just stop.

I...do you think software engineering isn't a part of game development?

[Clozer]

I...do you think software engineering isn't a part of game development?

True, everyone working at Blizzard is a game dev, because Blizzard is producing games, therefore everything Blizzard employees do is part of "game development". This is how it works.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

True, everyone working at Blizzard is a game dev, because Blizzard is producing games, therefore everything Blizzard employees do is part of "game development". This is how it works.

Omar Gonzalez, one of the senior software engineers that worked on the early prototype of Classic WoW

Omar Gonzalez started working on World of Warcraft in 2003

He was a dev dude, unless you think software engineering isn't deployment but then your just wrong.

[Clozer]

He was a dev dude, unless you think software engineering isn't deployment but then your just wrong.

Ye, he sits on his round table each week with Ion and speaks about the direction the game goes. Just like any other Blizzard employee. Sorry for being wrong.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

Ye, he sits on his round table each week with Ion and speaks about the direction the game goes. Just like any other Blizzard employee. Sorry for being wrong.

Ha you actually don't know any thing about game development. yes all 200 or so wow developers talk with ion on equal footing to direct the game.

[Clozer]

Ha you actually don't know any thing about game development. yes all 200 or so wow developers talk with ion on equal footing to direct the game.

Just like all software engineers. We also have to include the esport team that was recently fired. Everyone takes part in "game development", therfore they are game devs. Your words.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

Just like all software engineers. We also have to include the esport team that was recently fired. Everyone takes part in "game development", therfore they are game devs. Your words.

Ya cause coding wow and organizing esports are both parts of development right?

[Sensa1]

I think you're making a lot of claims about things you have no way of knowing. We have what Blizzard tells us, but we don't actually know how much Classic's development is impacting other areas of the company (especially, as I've mentioned in other posts, when you compound the pandemic on top of things).

edit: Further, I'm not trying to pit one version of the game against the other. I don't mind content droughts. I simply made an observation and gave the reasoning I had for it.

Blizzard did create a Classic PTR for bug finding / fixing purposes. The PTR's were brief, being that they were strictly client sided focused on 15 yr old content, and the last one was back in October (Naxx). But all the work in translating the code and the decisions regarding #nochanges etc was done pre-release (as you can see from watching the video attached to this article).

Objectively, it is very clear that the vast majority of the work / development of Classic was done pre-release and a very small team was required to maintain the game and release the patches. A very small team in a very large corporation. And the work done on Classic, again per the video, means that the work required to bring TBC Classic to life was greatly reduced as well because a) what they learned in the Classic development process and B) TBC is closer to the modern client and C) the reference databases no doubt were better (as they were no longer re-writing over prior patch data as they were in Classic).

So, as the old saying goes 2+2 = 4.

The objective evidence supports the supposition that Classic (post release) and even TBC Classic require minimal resources. It's you who are jumping to unfounded conclusions and making claims with scant evidence.