https://twitter.com/DaveKosak/status/1320920900787527681?s=19
He had left WoW a while back but he’s also jumping ship. Metzen also announced a new project today I think.
I think that leaves Afrasiabi as the only Visible Old Head Since Vanilla Narrative Story Dev left? Danuser started in 2015 at Blizz.
I don’t think he was directly involved in WoW’s story anymore but just Bad Vibes man.
Is that the interview where he said the new game he’s working on at the new company is going to suprise people?
Metzen announced a tabletop game company but idk
There is so much turnover in gaming companies that I find it hard to take any of this at more than face value. It sucks but eventually they burn out.
He was a good fit for Hearthstone. Boo.
Just remember that this is the guy who started Sylvanas’ Edge of Night “Arrows in the quiver” arc.
Which was a fine arc on it’s own and one people liked. Until the current team decided to ham fist Zooval into her lore and her secretly wanting to kill everyone was a 4D chess move no one saw coming.
Can… can the rest of the writing team go too?
https://wow.gamepedia.com/Sylvanas%27_Vengeance
Lady Sylvanas Windrunner says: But what now, hero? What of those freed from his grasp, but still shackled to their mortal coils?
Add this to Sylvanas mentioning that she had allies that can remove Koltira’s weakness in Cataclysm(Afrasiabi confirms he had been writing her the whole time) and it becomes clear that Afrasiabi had the Jailer in mind from the beginning but Kosak’s Edge of Night and his plan with Garrosh took precedent.
Afrasiabi is pushing his story in now that Kosak was removed from the WoW team even at the expense of the Story.
Considering Kosak was on the WoW team during the production of Legion he probably put Sylvanas into the role of Warchief which caused havoc with Afrasiabi’s Shadowlands Plot.
Too many very high ranking Lore Devs spoils the Plot just as too many Cooks spoil the Soup!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usfiAsWR4qU
Unfortunately, it’s 11 years too late. But better late than never.
I am intentionally ignoring his WoW “contributions.” Almost all of which were bad. He is part of the reason why the Alliance was turned into a lawful stupid human empire that fawns at Varian’s feet and quested through entire zones dedicated to memes.
Eh How much can you blame the lead game narrative designer anyway.
I have no knowledge of the position but https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narrative_designer makes it sound like its more about “How to deliver story” than the story itself. So its basically the experience rather than how it is told.
I mean I think he is responsible for some quests etc etc, Afrasiabi is creative director, but Idk what that is.
People mentioned that the metzen interview with scott from 2018 or whatever had metzen saying “its the game devs that are responsible for story stuff” but icant recall it being mentioned.
A lot.
10 characters.
It just feels like a giant meme
It’s ironic that the guy who wrote the three Cata Forsaken zones - three of the best zones in the game, that built up Sylvanas as the most active and for-their-people faction leader at the time by a wide margin - also wrote the short story responsible for absolutely ruining the character and casting the pebble that would leave the Forsaken in the pathetic, decapitated, identity-divested mess they’re in now.
Swings and roundabouts I guess.
I just threw up a bit in my mouth.
I mostly meant Silverpine. An engaging story, a player race given clear motivation, heavy input from your faction leader, intra-faction politics, significant lore developments, a great climax, the opposite faction being portrayed as a deadly threat… it’s all there. It’s a fantastic zone.
and the aesthetics! Lord I miss the aesthetic effort of Cata. But seems we’re getting more aesthetic effort in Shadowlands.
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-11-08-world-of-warcraft-and-the-masterplan-for-sylvanas
“I’ve heard these discussions on the internet about ‘she’s going off the rails’, but is she? I’ve been writing Sylvanas personally since 2006, and this is pretty much - the Wrathgate and the Blight and the Forsaken - in character. Those were all under Sylvanas’ orders. What we’re seeing now is an escalation of the plans Sylvanas has, clearly, and we’re in the middle of that.”
Afrasiabi wrote the Cata Forsaken Zones not Kosak. Kosak only wrote Edge of Night.
Afrasiabi wrote all the Revamped Zones in Cataclysm including both Stonetalon Mountains and the Forsaken Zones.
David Kosak wrote the New Zones in Cataclysm which resulted in a contradiction in Garrosh’s character that ultimately led to him being a Hot-Blooded Villain who had a “No bombing Non-Military Targets” Rule and a “No killing Children in their sleep” Rule.
Afrasiabi clashing with Kosak caused Blizzard’s writing to go out of control! Kosak should have been put heavily below Afrasiabi with the understanding that Afrasiabi would have to approve Kosak’s work before it even got on Alpha!
Start the clock on Afrasiabi’s departure.