| |
While I appreciate the passion with which everyone is responding to the recent article in the New York Times, I think it's important to clarify a few things:
The author of the article specifically wanted to discuss the raid game, so that's what we talked about. We did briefly discuss some of the upcoming casual content, such as the new armor sets. But the focus of the article was Naxxramas, so that's what we centered our conversation around. But please bear in mind, this isn't the only content we're working on. We've been working on all sorts of things ranging from casual level 60 quest improvements and armor sets, reviving Outdoor PvP, epic 10 man dungeons for the expansion, and various other improvements to the game.
While I understand that a certain audience would rather hear about more "casual" oriented content, I cannot force the hand of a journalist to skew his story. In fact, I think it's pretty cool that someone who writes for a newspaper as esteemed as the New York Times shares a common interest with us as World of Warcraft players. It's refreshing to talk to someone from the mainstream press who is intimate with the issues we face as players and developers of this game. It speaks to this community as a whole.
So I think it's very important not to get up in arms over the fact that the article focused on part of the game that you might not necessarily be interested in. We're definitely committed to supplying content for all audiences of this game . It's not an argument as simple as "hardcore versus casual" -- it goes way beyond that.
For the people who seem to be upset, you might find it encouraging that a big focus of patch 1.10 is supplying more content for casual, max-level players. While I cannot promise "the ultimate fix", I can at least hope to show you guys that we're working on making things better. I think it also needs to be mentioned, that players need to keep in mind that by railing against content that you don't personally enjoy -- whether it be raids, casual content or PvP -- it won't improve anything. In fact, it's detrimental to our community. As a development team, we're going to add content for everyone. Just because we might be adding PvP content in a certain patch, does not mean we're forgetting about PvE players. What is helpful to us, is when you identify what you liked and want more of. But leading a crusade against something which other players enjoy nightly is counter-productive to everyone involved.
Moving right along, please keep in mind that there are two voices present in the article you are discussing. There are some direct quotes from me and then there's the voice of the author of the article. I've seen numerous misquotes in these threads attributing the author's words as my own. It's very dangerous when you start to misquote someone. If you base your whole argument on a misquote, your argument doesn't have much value to it other than to unjustly make someone look bad. The simple fact is, there's nothing to argue here. We want to -- and we're going to -- add more content for *everyone*.
Lastly, I'd like to clarify the misconception that I am new to this design staff and that's the only reason we're focusing on raid content. For those of you who didn't know, I am one of the original designers on the game. My first project was to help co-design the quest system. I don't think anyone can claim that the quest system is "too hardcore" or biased towards anyone type of player. I guess if you find zones like Westfall, Mulgore, Tirisfal Glades or Duskwood "too hardcore" than I stand guilty as charged. The original design vision of this game has remained intact. We focus on all aspects of this game -- from casual content to raids to PvP to tradeskills to user interface. Nothing has changed.
To summarize, please remember that the author wanted to talk about raid content. So naturally that article focused on the raiding game. But we, as a development team, are focused on all play-styles. Rather than get upset at some of the personal insults I've seen over the weekend, I am actually flattered that the players of World of Warcraft have such passion for this game. I want you to know that I personally share your passion. We'll do everything in our power to make sure that we can deliver content for everyone, not just a select few.
|
