SKIRMISHER

How does a maker of B-quality DOS and console games become the single most successful videogame company in the world’s history?

Some heavyweight question, indeed. And the nuke of an answer is in a recent write-up on Blizzard at The Escapist.

On how Blizzard hit gold with the first Warcraft, Russ Pitts writes:

“…the premise was simple enough for someone unfamiliar with the Tolkien books to appreciate. It didn’t hurt that Warcraft, in addition to a more compellingly familiar story, offered a handful of other gameplay improvements over Dune II, as well. The resulting product was a game that was at once familiar, accessible and addictive - in other words, a breakout hit.”

The Escapist includes an enlightening interview with the guys who are responsible for breakthrough games like Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo–games that mostly defined my sleepless college days.

Says Dave Brevik:

“We were making console games in hopes of someday obtaining the clout to develop our own title. Turns out it happened much more quickly than we had anticipated.”

And yeah, they’re still not letting go of that hilltop: as of last count, World of Warcraft, one of their latest online-based games, has 6 million subscribers, and Blizzard is still on a rampage to wipe off competition on the face of the earth. Which is actually a good thing; much better than it sounds.

SECRET SAUCE: THE RISE OF BLIZZARD [The Escapist]

RIPPLES IN THE POND: THE IMPACT OF WORLD OF WARCRAFT ON THE MASSIVE GENRE [The Escapist]

Stumble it!