Need Feedback on Blizz Behavior Video Topics

Community General Discussion
1

I’m thinking about making a youtube video series called “Antipatterns of Behavior Blizzard Must Stop to Win Back Player Trust”. Honestly, the series could use a snappier name, and if you’ve got one you’re willing to let me use, I’ll take it, but that’s not why I created this topic.

I jotted down a back-of-an-envelope list of Blizzard behaviors that this series could cover, but it seems like there’s quite a bit of overlap between them; I’d like to know: should I merge some of these topics together?

Also, are there other behaviors I should add to my list?

  1. Refusal to pivot when issues with a system are pointed out in Beta, leading to the exact problems Beta testers warned them about
  2. Complex systems consuming developers’ time fixing them
  3. They prioritize design goals over players’ experiences in-game
  4. Never apologizing, not really
  5. Bad additions wreck good ideas
  6. Tying systems together that would be better separate
  7. Abandoning good ideas due to flaws in those ideas what they needlessly added
  8. forcing players into content
  9. putting story into books instead of into the game
  10. one-size-fits-all design
  11. “fix it later” mentality

Sorry for my first edit being incomplete; I found out the hard way that control+enter posts instead of continuing to the next bullet point.

EDIT: So far, I’m adding these:

  1. Using grindy systems and timegating to keep players logging in, instead of giving us content
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2

will this discuss cost of development, internal metrics and time investment in retooling mid-development? options like subcontracting be brought up?

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What’d be the point?

They don’t have the brains, leadership or confidence to win back their players when literally everything is falling apart on them.

They can’t even hold onto their own staff right now, a good chunk of which are looking to unionize.

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4

i bet they just move HQ if they do. Like Boeing did.

5

I mean, it’s a real FAFO moment, don’tcha think

Bliz Fudged around with their player base and

Now they are Finding Out why that’s such a stupid thing to do.

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Not without California tearing a good chunk out of their backsides I’d bet.

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Well, I’m not sure those are antipatterns of behavior per se. Though what metrics they choose to pay attention to could be a topic if I get enough antipattern-of-behavior context surrounding it.

Though probably time investment will be a part of bullet point number 2, the complex systems eating up developers’ time trying to balance them…which I managed to not-have-in-my-first-edit thanks to me making a mistake, thinking control+enter meant “create bullet point 2 and let me start typing”. It actually means “post even though I’m not done typing”.

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I sure there is a island somewhere that they could put a sign. Here is Blizzard Headquarters all employees will submit by email their work.

End of all of it, taxes, fair wages and sand.
Might even get ducks.

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10

Blizzard’s consistent two takes on lore and story are, “Rule of Cool,” and, “Epic Do-Over.”

This game is 17 years old.

WoW still has only one lore tree.

After 17 years.

If anything Blizzard is unable to take a real chance and form a plan to actually give WoW the story legs it needs to stand on and actually GO somewhere as both a story and as a narrative.

The INability to innovate and write brand new and original lore that makes sense given where we were before and is translatable and followable as conveyed is what’s constantly costing Blizzard subscriptions.

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11

I’m not entirely sure what you’re on about but i’d love to see a yt series on it to expand on the points you’re making :slight_smile:

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12

Me?

…

It’s all over the in game content.

Since when has Blizzard done anything beyond reaching for Cool Points? How often have they rehashed the same old story just with a slight tweak like it’s utterly brand new and original?

And on the single lore tree, when have any of the races, factions, or even classes had actually made to order and fit into Azeroth content besides the Order Halls? And, for that matter, why were those abandoned and not fleshed out such that other classes could come by and visit?

Content potential is a very large gripe of mine, and most of WoW is about what Blizzard is willing to put minimal effort into in game. Nevermind the parts that they don’t even touch on at all.

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I’m all for a good story, but I thought the reason (edit: the reason players were leaving) was mostly because of systems being awful and forcing players into content, but if I can get a lot of context surrounding why the story is bad, I could add issues with story to the list I have above—the only story-thing I have so far is that they put too much of it into books instead of putting it in-game. I mean, the Jailer and Sylvanas are supposed to be important characters, and their in-game screentime is woefully inadequate. …I’m guessing you’ll agree with that, but that’s not quite what you’re talking about.

Well, what I was hoping I could get feedback on in particular was whether I should merge some of my points together. Like, 5, 6, 8, and 10 seem like they’re very related: one of the main reasons why we’re forced into content (e.g. Torghast) is because the systems attached to that content (e.g. Soul Ash) are tied into other systems (e.g. legendary acquisition). If Torghast was a separate part of the game players could choose to enter or skip at will, I think it’d receive a lot of praise; as it is, it’s tied together with other stuff, and that’s giving it the name “choreghast”.

So…shoot, should I merge those four points together and do one video covering them all?

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They need to take responsibility for their actions. Not blame the fallout on the unreasonable expectation of paying customers.

Fix it later, but only if they can’t get away with leaving it unchanged. The criteria? If too many players have left over something it was predicted people would quit over, they fix it in the next patch. With a bandaid fix that shows up they didn’t intend to fix it and think players were the problem.

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Forced content that’s somehow “optional.”
Story that convinces the player to check out rather than stick with it
Currencies and grinds that “retain” the player that feel like work

With so much should-be in game content off in out of game books, why is anyone at Blizzard confused that players are lost as to what’s supposedly going on in game?

The utterly huge uncanny valley that is the disconnect between Blizzard’s Developers and the player base, their paying customers, is all due to Blizzard.

And yet we, the players, are to be led to believe it is somehow OUR fault.

I just guess Blizzard is convinced that they can do no wrong? Because nothing else makes sense. Blizzard seems to think that ANY story they come up with about WoW is automatically worthy of WoW, unlike what has been said before,

“the true test of an idea is whether or not one can entertain said idea without automatically accepting it.” Paraphrasing Aristotle.

https://www.amazon.com/educated-entertain-thought-without-accepting/dp/1730744117

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Current Blizzard does not want to work.

And trust me, it shows.

Danuser, with the current story.
The Developers that put the vast majority of said story into Books, and not in game.
The bugs that don’t get fixed unless the players nearly riot.
And the fun one? The players, like me, that want more of the untapped potential out of the game? Ignored.

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17

It can’t be stressed enough just how easy it is to fix the game.

Which makes their repeated failures all the more damning.

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18

The truth hurts…

Blizzard.

Nevermind they can’t even recode 2004 WoW’s baseline to prevent and remove all the bugs in game because the original code is so bloated now that it’s likely nearly a single patch from the game possibly breaking to the point of not even being recoverable.

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I think I need a little more context on that. I know I want to talk about forced content in general, but what’s the “somehow optional” part?

Are you talking about timegating? I can totally add that, especially since it ties a bit into the next one:

I’m thinking I’ll call this one something like “trying to get players to stick around with grindy systems instead of with content”. Actually giving us content is providing a fun experience for us; giving us grindy chores to do…isn’t.

Their arrogance is definitely something they need to let go of. I doubt it’ll be easy for them; I’m a software developer, myself (not in the gaming industry), and finding out that I wasn’t quite the rockstar developer that I thought I was…well, to say that it wasn’t fun at all would be an understatement. I’ll probably do a whole separate video about my experience with that, too.

I wish I could simultaneously go easy on them and tell them what they need to hear to turn the game around, but that may not be possible.

That’s definitely one of the points I want to cover!

I think I’ll mostly be covering that in points 1 and 11; 1 was mostly about what happens in Beta. I mean, in Legion, beta testers warned them about legendary acquisition, but they didn’t pivot, and exactly the problems beta testers told them would happen, did happen. In BfA, beta testers warned them about azerite armor, but they didn’t pivot, and exactly the problems beta testers told them would happen did. Same story in Shadowlands with covenants and conduit energy.

Of course, if that’s part of a broader antipattern of behavior where they don’t fix bugs in general, I should bring that up at some point; maybe I’ll mention it in 1 and go more in-depth in 11.

At this point, I’m wondering if I should wear a suit and tie when I record one of these youtube videos, and send it to the attorneys of the shareholders who are suing Activision Blizzard King. I mean, maybe they can force Blizzard to change their MO. Is that even worth a shot?

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Couldn’t hurt?

As for the optional “content,” please see 9.1.5 and the Mage Tower, where the single largest zone / content area is said Mage Tower, and yet it’s tuned such that the version that was pushed live never saw the PTR.

The issue with Blizzard is Blizzard, and yet, they point their fingers at the players and act like it’s just us that’s the issue with WoW. Like if the players all up and leaving will somehow vindicate their game as perfect despite the fact that only they themselves have chosen to ignore players during every single test, be it Alpha, Beta, Patch, Expansion…

Blizzard has not once to my knowledge EVER tacked nor changed course on a design choice until at least AFTER said issue goes live and then blows up in their face.

And? By doing so, Blizzard only constantly proves itself to be unable to do any different.

BC? I’m pretty sure there was some part of the game where they chose to stick to their guns and then the content pushed live somehow blew up in their faces due to bad design choices on Blizzard’s part.

And yet? It’s all and only our fault.

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21

Doesn’t seem very original, wouldn’t a video series talking about the ridiculous and childish behavior of the fan base be more interesting? If nothing else, it would be fresh ground.

You know, things like how when they add a recolor of a mount for M+ seasons, people complain “it’s just a recolor”, but when Blizzard adds a recolor of a tier set, people completely lose their minds if they cannot acquire it easily.

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