A former developer from Blizzard talks about game design and changes in the industry: WoW should never be a game for everyone.
The former WoW chief reveals …
For those with negative emotions toward Blizzard games like World of Warcraft, terms like “casual” or “too easy” probably come to mind. However, as Rob Pardo explained in an interview with gameindustry.biz, that was never the goal for the designers and likely never will be. For those unfamiliar with Pardo, he worked at Blizzard until 2014 and was the Vice President of Game Design – essentially overseeing all of World of Warcraft. In 2006, Time Magazine even named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Games need edges and corners
“As a game designer, you try to find the right balance between challenge and frustration (…). When players overcome a challenge, it should feel like a great success or a genuine achievement, is one of his key statements. One can only agree, as success without effort in any form (time invested, skill, luck) feels empty. Who would be excited about a Super Mario title where all levels are as easy as the first?
“Sometimes, even in the production of World of Warcraft, the developers try to make the game more accessible. This smooths out the edges and corners. But sometimes, it’s precisely these difficulties that players love about a game. One must be aware of that.” He also does not think that World of Warcraft is perfect: “It’s easy to create a game that is significantly harder, but also one that is significantly more accessible.”
It is important to Pardo that every design decision has a goal in mind, an intention. “Why are we changing this? What do we want to achieve with it?” Some developers would change things just because parts of the community demand it, which would be neither helpful nor purposeful.
There are no games for everyone
Pardo does not delude himself into thinking he ever wanted to create a game for all players. “There is no game that everyone likes. One must abandon that illusion right from the start.” He is still surprised, years later, at how successful World of Warcraft ultimately became: “We wanted to create a game that would at least make Blizzard fans consider trying an MMO.“ At least that is definitely accomplished.
At the same time, he also notes that Blizzard does not have a monopoly on wisdom nor the only successful values in the industry. For example, one could take Valve: “They pursue a completely different philosophy and also have very successful games.”
Pardo has taken a break from the gaming industry since 2014, but now he is contemplating a return.
