World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Interviews

The web is home to two more World of Warcraft: Cataclysm interviews that were conducted earlier in the week, presumably just before the expansion pack’s launch on December 7th.

AusGamers chats with lead world designer Alex Afrasiabi:

AG: In terms of the two new races – what do they bring to the fray? First of all, the Worgen, what’s different about them that might entice new players to jump in and give them a go, and then I guess the same for the Goblins?

Alex: So Worgen bring something to the Alliance that has not existed, which is more of a monstrous race – a monstrous silhouette. Of course they’re steeped in lore, at one time they were Gilneans, well actually they still are, and at one point in time, Gilneans had a tie with the Alliance. But what’s attractive, I think, and personally for me, with the Worgen is that they have a human aspect, which is of course their Gilnean form and then they can shapeshift… and you know, that’s just cool – they transform into a big, burly warrior and who doesn’t love a big Worgen?

And Goblins bring something incredibly unique to the Horde, which is a small race. Whenever we’re designing creatures or classes for player races, one of the things that’s really important to us is the silhouette – what does this creature, this player, look like against the backdrop of the Horde, or the backdrop of the Alliance? And something that was missing from the Horde is a Gnome, right – the shorter race. And so what better race to fill that gap than the Goblin?

Historically they’re an ally of the Horde, or were an ally of the Horde and they hate Gnomes, with a fiery burning passion, which is awesome for us, and they’re something familiar, which is again something very important for the Worgen and the Goblin in that they’re familiar to the players – it’s a lot easier to a player, at least a returning player, to digest something that’s known as opposed to something alien. At the same time, both of them are just really, really cool – so for new players coming in, they can just decide: do they want to pick cool little green guy, or awesome, burly wolf guy?

While The Guardian corners designers Dave Kosak and Greg Street:

Can time-short or lapsed players compete in things like PvP (player vs player) or do you have to spend a serious amount of time getting the right armour and weapons to stand a chance?

DK: One of the nice things about PvP is that we reward players for just taking part. You earn a little bit each time you play and if you stick with it for a short wile then you will be able to upgrade your gear and stand a better chance of succeeding.

GS: We try and have content for all skill levels. With pvp it is pretty easy to get points. All you need to do is participate in the battlegrounds with a team and you will get reward. If you are not very good you can still get rewards. Hardcore players will go to the arena and really hone their skills.

DK: A year or so ago we launched a feature called Dungeon Finder which enables you to easily group up with friends to do a dungeon. Even though that feature has been out for a while we really expect it to come into its own in Cataclysm. Lower level players who may have skipped over level 15 dungeons on old characters because it was too much hassle to find a team will find it much easier now to find a dungeon and finish the story.