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Blizzard's 25th Anniversary
It is Blizzard's 25th anniversary! Vaeflare shared some pictures of the celebration and decorations on Twitter.
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker
/ Official Forums
)
It’s with a great deal of joy that we celebrate Blizzard’s 25th Anniversary. In February of 1991, our founders came together to make video games, and it wouldn’t be long before they began work on the first new world built entirely by Blizzard Entertainment: Azeroth.
The many stories and varied types of gameplay that have taken place on Azeroth (and later, Draenor) have never stopped coming. The history of Warcraft and the history of Blizzard Entertainment are fully intertwined, with each passing year falling into a unique Warcraft era for players. Those who started in with Warcraft eight years ago, for instance, started during the Burning Crusade. Those who started twelve years ago started during the Reign of Chaos era.
However long you’ve been with us, we hope you accept our heartiest thanks and gratitude for all you’ve done to help us expand the excitement and wonder of these magical worlds. We’re going to continue to explore them with you for a very long time to come.
Blue Posts
Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard's 25th Anniversary
When I was a kid, I used to beg my parents to let me go over to my friend Ben's place so we could play Justice League Task Force on his SNES. I didn't know it until very recently, but that was my first experience with a Blizzard game.
A couple years later, my friend Aaron introduced me to Starcraft. I'd played Warcraft I and II, but Starcraft really hooked me. Many of my formative years were spent hauling my PC across town to have LAN parties and just play Starcraft for hours on end.
When Warcraft III came out, it blew my mind - both the storytelling and gameplay were top-notch. Plus, since the internet had advanced to the point that I no longer needed to tie up a phone line to play online, I was able to stay connected with my friends (some of whom had moved to other states) by playing Warcraft with them.
Then I learned that Blizzard was working on an MMORPG. I'd cut my teeth on MMOs like Anarchy Online and Star Wars: Galaxies, but I knew that Blizzard was going to make something awesome. After all, Blizzard made the best games. Of course they were going to do the same in the MMORPG genre.
I had no idea how much World of Warcraft was going to impact my life.
It started out simple enough: I was just a moderator on a set of forums focusing on Prot Paladins. Then I was a co-host on a tanking-focused podcast. Then I was making the occasional boss guides for YouTube. Then a weekly vlog series. Then two. Then I was producing a weekly live show. Then two. Then three.
And then, I saw an opening for a Community Manager position at Blizzard Entertainment. I applied. I interviewed. I got an offer, which I accepted. Then I moved to California.
It's still crazy to me how much came out of just being really into a video game. I still have days sometimes where I show up to work, look up at the building, and think to myself holy **** I work at Blizzard Entertainment. I have a career because of World of Warcraft. I met my wife because of World of Warcraft. Pretty much everything about my life is, in some way or another, caused or affected by World of Warcraft. That's crazy.
Sure, Blizzard has its missteps. Sure, we're not perfect. I don't think any collection of human beings ever can be.
But damn if we don't make some pretty good video games. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
Patch 6.2.4 PTR Notes
Another PTR build went out today, removing the logo from the login screen. It is possible this was unintended.
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker
/ Official Forums
)
Patch 6.2.4 is being prepared for testing on the Public Test Realms (PTR). Participating on the Public Test Realms lets you test a patch before it has been released on live realms. If you'd like to help test and provide feedback, you can start by copying your character and downloading the PTR client. Once you've had a chance to try things out, visit the PTR Discussion forum to discuss the patch. To report issues or errors, use the in-game Submit Bug feature (found under Game Menu -> Help -> Submit Bug) or by visiting the PTR Bug Report forum.
Battle.net Infrastructure
- Client support for Battle.net infrastructure changes, including some memory optimizations.
Ghostcrawler Tweets
Ghostcrawler still occasionally talks about WoW. Remember that he no longer works for or speaks for Blizzard.
Originally Posted by MMO-Champion
Does that argument hold ground when private servers have maintained high populations for years though?
Their sub cost might have something to do with that? (OccupyGStreet)
A sad casualty of all that was the Shadow Priest support role in BC, which hasn't been reproduced since.
True,though we heard from many who didn't want to just be a mana battery. They wanted to do dps. (OccupyGStreet)
That may be the biggest challenge of game design: players want different things. (OccupyGStreet)
Yet if you try to please everyone, you end up with a mushy, compromised design. (OccupyGStreet)
Overwatch is almost here! Overpwn has a nice recap of what we know so far.
GamesBeat - 25 Years of Blizzard
Gamesbeat has a nice article about Blizzard's history.
Dark Legacy Comics #525 - Whine. Quit. Repeat.
DLC #525 has been released!
Continue reading...