Could Jeff Kaplan return wow to it's former glory?

[Hightotemz]

A lot of the old players I have spoken to have said they would return for the next expansion if Jeff Kaplan was moved from Overwatch to help drive end game content decisions. Under Jeff Kaplans reign as end game lead designer the game saw it's most explosive growth and many felt the reward vs effort system and depth of the game was far superior to what we have now.

Here was an interview for people who don't know him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41w3zsE77cg

EDIT:
I found this video released on 8th Jan, I recommend watching the entire thing as it's pretty much how I feel the game has evolved for the worse.

Below is a snippet from Jeff Kaplan talking at blizzcon... the mindset was totally different.
https://youtu.be/cEzhg6HtASU?t=1235

[AwkwardSquirtle]

Inb4 Kaplan would just turn everyone gay, sjw ruining eveytinhg REEEEEE

[Hightotemz]

Why are you looking for one dude to change everything? That is not how things work.

Of course not but the design philosophy would change and developers would follow this new trajectory accordingly.

[Raven]

No he cant, and its really time for people to start understanding that its not 1 person that decide what will and not will be added to Wow.

[Dalheim]

All I want is for the devs that made MoP to return. Especially those that was working on the class designs.

[Exquis]

Why are you looking for one dude to change everything? That is not how things work.

Someone in a position of power within game developement has A LOT of influence though. Same applies to most creative work, certain directors make moves many times better than others, regardless of budget.

[Hightotemz]

No he cant, and its really time for people to start understanding that its not 1 person that decide what will and not will be added to Wow.

The lead designer will have influence over the direction the game takes. The rest of the team will still have their input of how to be achieve that goal.

[Low Hanging Fruit]

I mean anyone of his capacity could fix it. Would they is more the question. When cost and time table goals trump all things you end up with an itemized garbage pile that slowly gets fixed over the course of an expansion until the next dumpster load of an expansion tips over on the game and the process repeats. Its why at the end of expansions you often tell yourself things are feeling ok, things have smoothed out, but sadly you also have nothing else to do because the content is finished for a year. Bummer.

[Faesroll]

No he cant, and its really time for people to start understanding that its not 1 person that decide what will and not will be added to Wow.

but but ghostcrawler ruined the game all by himself

/s just in case people fail to see the sarcasm

[JacobMarley]

I think people are underestimating what difference a leader can make in a team that lacks ideas and motivation.

If great things weren’t achievable by one person then companies would never fire bosses in favour of a staff clearout. Sure he can’t do everything on his own - but he clearly understands what constitutes good game design and what doesn’t. And that’s something which is lacking at the moment in my opinion.

[Osmeric]

Ah, the idea that if only WoW hadn't changed, everything would be better. So silly.

[Aggrophobic]

A lot of the old players I have spoken to have said they would return for the next expansion if Jeff Kaplan was moved from Overwatch to help drive end game content decisions. Under Jeff Kaplans reign as end game lead designer the game saw it's most explosive growth and many felt the reward vs effort system and depth of the game was far superior to what we have now.

Here was an interview for people who don't know him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41w3zsE77cg

Becuase the design behind WoW back then would not work now. The average gamer has changed and so has the number of available games and how you access them. There are mobile games that make current and old WoW seem like dawarves when it comes to player numbers and revenue, as an example.

But hey, Ghostcrawler was also part of WoW at its peak and people attacked that man like crazy for his work. Not that he, alone made much of a difference. Just like Kaplan, alone won't be able to change as much as you'd think.

[Gorsameth]

No, because the problem isn't the game (tho it certainly has its flaws). The problem is that people want their youth back, and Blizzard can't give you that.

[Hightotemz]

I also want to stress that I think Ion Hazzikostas is a great raid designer and obviously a talented individual but perhaps he has his hands tied when it comes to endgame direction.

[Exquis]

I understand that a leader will make calls in which direction will go. What to accept and what to not accept. You are doomed if your team is all the time giving you crap suggestion and going "Well my team is shit, I will do it by my self" makes whole thing go apart.

But that's the point, if they are told the proper direction to take from the get-go, they wont have to present the leaders (and playerbase) actual piles of horseshit.

[Hightotemz]

But hey, Ghostcrawler was also part of WoW at its peak and people attacked that man like crazy for his work. Not that he, alone made much of a difference. Just like Kaplan, alone won't be able to change as much as you'd think.

Ghostcrawler took over at it's peak, he didn't get the game there.

[Aggrophobic]

Ghostcrawler took over at it's peak, he didn't get the game there.

Yeah he did. He was the main drive and the most public of devs during Wrath Beta.

I should also add that Kaplan was the lead dev on a game, so bad that it was abandoned befor it was even released despite Blizzard puting milions into the project. So you know, if its all up to the lead dev...

[Hightotemz]

Yeah he did. He was the main drive and the most public of devs during Wrath Beta.

I should also add that Kaplan was the lead dev on a game, so bad that it was abandoned befor it was even released despite Blizzard puting milions into the project. So you know, if its all up to the lead dev...

Overwatch turned out to be a great success for blizzard...

[Teaon]

funny people with fish brain praising ghostcrawler, while i still remember the deathwishes on him and how he should resign because he was the result of "cata and panda"

oh you people are fucking hypocrites.

[CasualFilth]

If you expect WoW to return to its 'former glory' you are delusional. Not gonna happen.