A fan of World of Warcraft wanted all NPCs in the game to have their quest texts spoken. However, Blizzard didn’t like this at all.
In theory, it was a nice plan: all quest lines in World of Warcraft were to be provided with voice output. Essentially, it would have required nothing more than a small interface addon and many, many hours of mp3 files recorded by various community members. The project already generated attention on Reddit and in the forums of mmo-champion, and found some supporters.
Even a small teaser trailer for his addon was already finished by Tio Miklas and showed a few scenes from the Forest of Elwynn.
But as the project gained more support, Blizzard also took notice. Ultimately, it was Josh “Lore” Allen, the community manager of World of Warcraft, who contacted Miklas and delivered the negative news:
The project must be discontinued. Blizzard sees this as a violation of their intellectual property. They consider the project a “new interpretation” of Blizzard’s work and therefore cannot allow it.
No legal consequences, but clear words
However, Blizzard kindly asks the author to cease development and distribution of the addon, and there are no legal claims as of yet.
“The problem is not any potential revenue. The problem is simply that Blizzard does not want third parties to create story content in World of Warcraft, and voiceovers for existing quest texts fall under that. No one here thinks you’re acting with malicious intent – I am completely honest when I say we find your work impressive!”
A voiceover of the quest lines will therefore not take place – at least not from fans.
Cortyn says: Basically, I find it extremely unfortunate that these projects are crushed by Blizzard at the root. It would have benefited the game world and sounded like a great project that would have significantly enhanced the old world. Since it would only have taken place in the form of an interface expansion and thus – presumably – only a fraction of the players would have come into contact with it, I find the approach regrettable. Ultimately, however, the decision rests with Blizzard, even if many developers find the idea of such an addon great.
What do you think of this decision? A logical decision by Blizzard? Or would you have liked to see the project?
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