Alexstrasza was a character in WC2. Not one seen in game but she was there in the manual.
Using ritualistic magiks dowered by the ancient Shaman, the Dragonmaw clan was responsible for the capture of the Dragon Queen Alexstraza and the Horde’s current subjugation of the Dragons of Azeroth
Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness Manual, page 69 and again on page 73 under the ‘Dragon’ subtitle (units of the Horde faction)
http://ftp.blizzard.com/pub/misc/Warcraft%202%20Battlenet%20edition.PDF
Technically seen in-game, the horde version of the aerie (I forgot the name) is supposed to be her at least for the first part of the game (BTDP is supposed to be after she escaped)
I missed that part. Thanks. I’ll have to read that manual when I have time.
They already self inserted literally me into the game.
https://www.wowhead.com/npc=28497/chad
They also put everyone I’ve ever disagreed with into the game as well!
https://www.wowhead.com/npc=11407/varjun
They’ve even got the same posture lol
Nathanos was not a self insert. Just the single one character who isn’t on board with praising the ground the player walks on which the edgy kids hated so much because they were used to be constantly complimented by other NPCs all the time which was really something fun and new which makes his death the more so eragous.
I hope Keeshan never comes back.
Starcraft 2 story was great because despite being the original bad guys the Zerg still had an amazing story and weren’t ignroed just because space humans and Protoss needed their own story. Something Warcraft will never do where it is all about humans and elves.
He said his favorite character is Malfurion and his main in the game is your generic male human paladin.
I mean, if this is how you define self-insert, a writer using their own life experiences to influence a character or thier arc, then I feel like a lot of characters in fiction are going to be self-inserts because that is just a part of the writing process.
Basing a character on yourself or your life experiences isn’t really something to be criticized as long as it’s done well imo.
Eh, having a favorite character is different from a character being a self-insert. You’d have to have a pretty big ego for that to be the case.
Thrall is definitely Metzen’s self insert, if you compare Metzen’s RL life situations and emotional state over time then Thrall just happens to perfectly mirror it.
To my knowledge he is really the only outright one like that, though.
Probably because Knaak(who consistently made Malfurion be overpowered creating huge storms on a regular basis) had Malfurion get married before Cataclysm could release.
With Malfurion having already gone through his marriage Metzen was left to fall back to the person he voiced.
Thrall thus became a Self Insert though not a full-fledged Power Fantasy like Malfurion past Cataclysm.
Knaak makes everyone he writes into overpowered Characters: Rhonin gains the power to subjugate Animals and gains leadership over the Council of 6 while marrying a Windrunner, the Dragon Queen becomes the embodiment of Life, Deathwing becomes the embodiment of the Earth, Ysera becomes the embodiment of Dreams, Malygos becomes the embodiment of Magic, Nozdormu becomes the embodiment of Time, Brox scratches Sargeras, Illidan comes up with a successful plan to banish the Legion that Malfurion makes use of, Malfurion creates overpowered storms on a regular basis, Azshara is put on Archimonde’s level, the Old Gods become Tentacled Lovecraftian Horrors despite not being described as such by the WC3 Manual, Anveena becomes the Sunwell, Xavius becomes the Nightmare Lord and Varian becomes the Chosen of Goldrinn.
Metzen has also stated his favorite among his OCs was Malfurion. Using a character to process his thoughts on personal event =/= inherently a self insert, neither really is that on that front.
Metzen hasn’t written thrall since legion.
Sure it is. Why should it be above criticism? Being “done well” is subjective in the first place.
There is a difference between creating a portrayal of your experiences, compared to making the narrative bend to your experiences.
There is definitely room for criticism when discussing Thrall being Metzen’s self insert. I have never been a Thrall fan, so dealing with Metzen’s internal trauma and strife in order to progress through Cata was a bore and a chore. Many Alliance Players at the time felt the same way.
Just because some people (other than me) fan girl over Metzen and his self insert Thrall does not mean it is done well or beyond criticism.
Rabid fandom that is blind and deaf to critiques does not mean it is well done.