Senior Art Director Samwise Didier has announced his retirement after 32 years at Blizzard. A true legend is leaving the company behind WoW and Diablo.
Samwise Didier joined Blizzard in 1991 when it was still called Silicon & Synapse. For more than 32 years, he has remained loyal to the company and contributed to pretty much every major title: from The Lost Vikings to Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo, up to World of Warcraft.
As a confessed panda fan, Didier was personally responsible for the creation of the Pandaren in the Warcraft universe. What started as a joke has developed into a real part of the games. But behind the friendly facade of the Pandaren, abysses may lurk.
However, Didier was not only active as an artist and art director, but also worked as a producer and lent his voice to one or the other character in Warcraft 3 and WoW.
Whether Diablo or World of Warcraft: Samwise Didier had his fingers in every pie.
How an Artist Applied for a Job and Found a Family
Samwise Didier announced his farewell on November 10, 2023, via X, formerly known as Twitter. This was also his last working day. In an accompanying text, he reflects on his time at Blizzard. For him, it was never just a job, but rather a second family.
We have included the post along with a German translation here:
Translation:
Today is a big day for me, and I wanted to share the news with all of you. I am saying goodbye to my beloved Blizzard Entertainment, and today will be my last day. Most kids I know move out of the house at 18 (well, maybe not nowadays). It took me almost twice as long! That is both inspiring and intimidating.
Blizzard was never just a job for me. I joined the company in 1991, and it immediately became my second home. I found out that I have a family I didn’t even know I had! I grew up there. I learned almost everything I know about art there. I learned how to use a computer (I only knew Atari 2600 and Nintendo), I learned how to use Photoshop, I learned how to create a user interface and make thousands of buttons. I learned how to create 3D models of my art, how to texture and animate them, and even how to make them shoot fireballs or lasers. I could see my art come to life! Damn, I even joined my first band at Blizzard. And on top of that, I had the privilege of working on some of the greatest games this good old world has ever seen. Thank you, Blizzard, for everything.
The post has already received almost 400 comments (as of November 11, 2:00 PM), in which people say goodbye to Didier and wish him all the best for the future. Among them is also Blizzard CEO Mike Ybarra personally.
He thanks “Sammy” for everything he has done for the company. Didier helped develop Blizzard’s unique artistic style, and many artists have learned from him over the years.
It remains to be seen how the Blizzard legend will continue. He might still stay connected with fans on his YouTube channel “ABC With Samwise,” where he talks about various topics and draws characters from the Blizzard universe.
“ABC” stands for Didier’s saying “Always Be Creating.” He leaves this message to the community in his farewell post.
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