[Ninja Dodo]

Interesting bit of trivia...

Turns out the main reason Warcraft Adventures got canned was that Curse of Monkey Island came out. Though they did like the project a lot, CMI was much better than what they had at that time and they figured they could spend another year redoing a bunch of stuff and *maybe* get it up to the same level as CMI... or they could drop it. And even if they managed to make it as good as CMI it probably still wouldn't sell, because despite its qualities Curse didn't sell very well at all.

So they canned it.

From an interesting Warren Spector interview with Blizzard's Mike Morhaime... part of a larger series of lectures and interviews with various game developers.

[ShadeJackrabbit]

Interesting. I thought CMI was a great game but... I guess others disagreed.

[ozzie]

Yeah, I remember reading something like this many years ago in an Adventure Special in the german magazine PC Games.
The problem was that graphically Warcraft Adventures looked a bit outdated.
In a poll most users said that they were interested in it nevertheless.

I think I would have preferred Warcraft Adventures to Monkey island 3, but then, who knows how good it really was?
It's kinda weird that they chose the adventure genre anyway, for a story about wars and much violence. A story-based RPG might have been a better idea.

[kadji-kun]

Im really hoping they bring back Warcraft Adventures. It truly had an interesting concept when they discussed it at E3 95

[Ninja Dodo]

Ozzie: I remember hearing the "not good enough" argument at the time, but the comparison to Curse was new to me.

kadji-kun: Short of a leaked version I'd say the chances of that happening are about nil. If Blizzard wasn't about to release a game that they didn't feel met their standards of quality then, they certainly won't release it now.

[Draco2.5]

It is a shame that Warcraft Adventures never came about, but it instills in me a certrain respect for Blizzard's strict policy of only releasing games they feel are up to their standards.

Originally Posted by Draco2.5

It is a shame that Warcraft Adventures never came about, but it instills in me a certrain respect for Blizzard's strict policy of only releasing games they feel are up to their standards.

I totally agree. There standard of quality is what gives them their excellent reputation. While I know of many people who dislike World of Warcraft it is hard to argue that it isn't the best-quality MMO on the market today. Same goes with their RTS games and RPGs.

I also think it would be awesome to see some sort of Warcraft Adventures. They do many other brand spin offs such as boardgames, card games and miniatures so I do not believe a spin off adventure game (preferably episodic like Sam & Max) would be too difficult for Blizzard.

On the other hand, The Curse of Monkey Island is my favorite game so of course no other game compares.

[kadji-kun]

Originally Posted by Ninja Dodo

Ozzie: I remember hearing the "not good enough" argument at the time, but the comparison to Curse was new to me.

kadji-kun: Short of a leaked version I'd say the chances of that happening are about nil. If Blizzard wasn't about to release a game that they didn't feel met their standards of quality then, they certainly won't release it now.

Well I was talking with a rep of Blizzard. He said even though the game wont be made, the idea can still carry over to future games. This doesn't mean Warcraft Adventures would never come back. Starcraft Ghost though is a sure death though.

[Thello]

While I'd have liked to see the finished result, it was probably a smart move that they canned it.

I wish Blizzard would branch out into new franchises instead of milking the same cows for the rest of eternity. Starcraft, Warcraft, Diablo; call me when you try something else.

[Ninja Dodo]

btw if anyone wants to check out the interview themselves the bit about cancelled games is at around 2:10.

Actually Morhaime also mentioned in the interview that as early as Diablo they were thinking wouldn't it be cool if you could run around in Warcraft? WoW came from that and they even toyed for a while with the idea of having a singleplayer component to it, but ultimately they decided that would be making two completely different games and they dropped it for the time being.

Thello: Well, the only game they've made more than one sequel to is Warcraft and in fairness they have created three excellent original franchises from scratch. That's not something many game devs can say. And Starcraft is a cool universe that deserves another story.

[kadji-kun]

Originally Posted by Ninja Dodo

btw if anyone wants to check out the interview themselves the bit about cancelled games is at around 2:10.

Actually Morhaime also mentioned in the interview that as early as Diablo they were thinking wouldn't it be cool if you could run around in Warcraft? WoW came from that and they even toyed for a while with the idea of having a singleplayer component to it, but ultimately they decided that would be making two completely different games and they dropped it for the time being.

As true as that is, I still think Bioware does a better job at creating universes than Blizzard (Planescape, Baulder's Gate, Mass Effect) all in which hasnt been milked to death. Sure they have (except mass effect) been based on board games (D&D) but that doesnt mean a smarter move than creating a universe based on an extremely simple concept.

Why am I saying this? Because I'm sick of gamers saying the Blizzard franchise has the most indepth and creative universe, then in reality, they are the mos basic universes out there.

That said, Im happy I didnt say this to the rep I met.

[Ninja Dodo]

Planescape is Black Isle, I believe... and Mass Effect is about to be milked, but horses for courses... If you like the Bioware, more power to you.

Warcraft I would agree is not an especially original universe, though its particular brand of humour - zugzug - is refreshing, but Starcraft while certainly not a beacon of invention has a flair and style to it that makes it a uniquely appealing setting towering above the irretrievably generic sci-fi usually seen in games.

"Got your Zerg right here!"

[kadji-kun]

Originally Posted by Ninja Dodo

Planescape is Black Isle, I believe... and Mass Effect is about to be milked, but horses for courses... If you like the Bioware, more power to you.

Warcraft I would agree is not an especially original universe, though its particular brand of humour - zugzug - is refreshing, but Starcraft while certainly not a beacon of invention has a flair and style to it that makes it a uniquely appealing setting towering above the irretrievably generic sci-fi usually seen in games.

"Got your Zerg right here!"

Nah, I'll stick with Space Quest for my Sci Fi humour.

[Catbert]

They took the warhammer 40k universe and put some very interesting twists to it. I liked the whole "marines are ww1-like cannon fodder" idea, especially. The other two races have been done to death on other universes, but they got some of the terrans' characteristics really nicely thought out.

[ozzie]

After seeing the interview for myself I have to agree with their decision.
Still, it's sad the unfinished version didn't get leaked somehow, it would have been interesting to see what they were doing.
But I hope that Blizzard will do someday something wholly original again. To me their games are totally uninteresting.

[Ninja Dodo]

Personally I didn't care for Warcraft 3. I mean it was good... you know, solid, but it didn't feel inspired. Maybe part of what failed to gel for me was the disconnect between the grittiness of the story and the whimsical style of the in-game.

Diablo I enjoyed playing the demo, but I never played the full game so can't say much about it.

Starcraft though... I was impressed. It still had a sense of humour, but a more grounded believable humour and the story and gameplay really clicked. I'm looking forward to seeing what they've done with the sequel.