LEVEL UP – My Trip to Blizzard Entertainment HQ

As I walked up to the famous 12-foot, bronzed Orc statue in the courtyard of Blizzard Entertainment, I noticed the plaque at the foot of the Wolf Mount:

DEDICATED TO CREATING

THE MOST EPIC ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCES… EVER.

My little Horde heart was beating with pride. I never imagined I’d be standing here four years ago; if I hadn’t hurt my neck in that stunt accident, would I be playing World of Warcraft today?  Would I know about Lady Sylvanas, and would her lore have helped me regain my own body and recover?

All I could do was /flex… naturally.

I wish I could share more with you guys but they made me sign a NDA that promised away my unborn children and all my toons.

But, here’s what I can tell you:

I was invited by the 7th “Son” in “Sons of the Storm” aka “Red Knuckle” aka Lead Blizzard Concept Artist for World of Warcraft, Mark Gibbons.  I’m not sure what his exact title is, he says he’s a “Pencilsmith”.  But to give you an idea, he currently has an entire wall that features his artwork in the Blizzard Museum (including the Goblin and Worgen starting zones for Cataclysm).  Aside from being insanely talented, he’s also totally awesome – maybe it’s because he’s from Wales, maybe it’s because he had an electric guitar at his desk, or maybe it’s because he looks like a rock ‘n roll version of Simon Pegg. Whatever it is, he is rad and you should definitely check out his artwork.

We were joined by Lead Quest Designer, Dave Kosak aka “Fargo” (*note to fellow Hunters: the most recent in-game Weapon Scope is named after his famous comic, “Flintlocke“).

Dave manages a team of designers in creative development, while also contributing to the overall story and direction of the game. You may have seen him on the Lore Panel at this year’s Blizzcon.  He is also the man that wrote the recent faction leader short story, “Sylvanas Windrunner: Edge of Night“. If you haven’t read it, Kosak beautifully and painstakingly details The Dark Lady after Arthas’ death, her new pact with the Val’kyr, as well her relationship with The Forsaken… all I was hoping for, and more.

Apparently I forgot to turn off my add-ons before I walked in the building, because my NPC Scan went off: Rare Spawn and Lead Systems Designer, “Ghostcrawler” aka Greg Street, was patting the halls!

We had a friendly chat about the #OccupyGregStreet Twitter movement, which everyone at Blizzard loves. I’ve actually met Ghostcrawler twice in the past, but this time when I shook his hand, I kindly said, “We’ve met; I’m a Hunter” #WarcraftHuntersUnion #IDidItForFrostheim. I think he smiled.

Mark gave me the full-on tour of the World of Warcraft team.  I met tons of people who make the game I love, from animators like my Twitter friend, John Butkus aka “anim8rjb” (married to killer ex-Frag Doll Brooke Hattabaugh aka “Brookelyn“), to <NDA Redacted Names> of the people responsible for naming all the in-game items (like famous Hunter items BRK-1000 for Daniel Howell aka “Big Red Kitty”, and The Recovered Cloak of Frostheim for Brian Wood aka “Frostheim”).  I also got to spend time with my first Blizzard friend, Mr. Tommy Newcomer aka “Gromweld“.

Visiting Blizzard was like the real life version of going to Castle Grayskull.  It was like a childhood dream come true… as in no one there has let go of their childhood.  Every single desk was barricaded with more toys and swords than I’ve ever seen.  Art was everywhere – inspiration was tangible.  It was very clear, without a shadow of a doubt, that Blizzard is truly rooted in it’s dedication… to creation.

My reason for the visit was to pick up the heavily signed Collector’s Editions of Cataclysm and Starcraft II. I want to thank all the developers and creators who left their marks, as I will be auctioning them off to benefit Child’s Play very soon.

Of course I didn’t leave without some loot of my own – signed Sindragosa by Wei Wang aka “Glowei“, the 8th “Son” of “Sons of the Storm”.

Mark Gibbons, I owe you one.  Thank you for your time and generosity.  You have the coolest job… ever.

=mm=

 

Category: Blog