World of Warcraft Preview, Part Three

GameSpy has dished up the third installment of their World of Warcraft preview, this time sitting down with Blizzard’s Jeff Kaplan to learn more about the MMORPG. An excerpt to follow:

Q: Will the world evolve and its story move forward as time passes? Will cities and regions change hands as various factions contend with each other, and how much influence will players have over this process?

A: Yes, in fact we’ve already left certain areas of the world closed off, which we plan to open up at a later date. Our Creative Director, Chris Metzen, is the keeper of Warcraft lore and our great storyteller. He has been setting up the story for World of Warcraft from Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos through Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne. These games all come together to tell one rich story. So you might see some ominous chained doors in a zone that are impassable. One day those doors will lead to new content.

As for player interaction, we want players to feel like they are part of the big picture, not just looking at it. For instance, in one of our towns, Horde players will be challenged by invading Alliance raiders. If all the Horde players were to band together and thwart the attack, the town will remain viable and thriving. However, if players do not get involved in the fray, the town will become overrun and unusable for a short period of time.