The conversation around the upcoming expansion midnight World of Warcraft was dominated by the addition of the long -awaited housing system, but expansion is much more than one acknowledged impressive function.
Midnight will take us to Quel'Thalas and the renovated city of Silvermoon, the home of the Elves and the Sun, which worship – the font of pure light energy. At this year's Gamescom I had the opportunity to talk to Ely Cannon, the artistic director of World of Warcraft, about the visual direction of midnight.
An old ghostly reimaginated
“We always try to capture nostalgia,” Cannon explains. “Especially when we look at the spaces that have existed for a long time. What are the key seeds we want to present, and how can we intensify them with our current skills and current knowledge?”
Quel'thalas was originally added to Burning Crusade (2007) and continues to serve as a starting point for Elves blood. However, these characters can now decide to start in a common initial area, instead of exile.
“For example, what we are trying to do in Eversong Woods is to really capture the enchanted, lyrical nature of the elves. And with Zul'aman – aggressive, dark and predictive nature of this forest and people who live there,” he continues.
Silvermoon City was historically fought with the Amani Forest Trolls of Zul'aman, while the blood elves eventually won in conflict, so the once powerful Amani of the Empire destroyed. Zul'aman, as well as Silvermoon City, had barely touched since the release of Cataclysm (2010).
In the beautiful film, which was broadcast on the opening night of Gamescom, we see Silvermoon City and Sunwell under the invasion of emptiness. The city is rescued at the last possible moment by the boiling prayer of Lady Liadrin, which provokes an army of paladins from Sunwell to oppose the forces of emptiness. This dual theme of light and darkness is the core of midnight.
Void Beckons
“With every expansion we want to lean into the contrast of experience,” Cannon tells me. “Have light and bright places like Eversong, and a dark and premonition like Zul'aman – we really want to make sure that when you go from one place to another, you feel transported. You feel you have a unique experience that is constantly engaging and challenging.”
“With this particular expansion we play on the extreme light and the extreme darkness and what both of these elements mean individually,” says Cannon.
Midnight will see how the player will try to unite Elfkinda to oppose the invasion of emptiness, a deliberate narrative that supports the topic of the ongoing worldsoul saga.
Midnight is the second of the three expansion, which forms the world saga that began through the war inside and will be closed by the last titanium.
“If you think about [The War Within]”We are increasingly moving towards reunification and creating a world that feels more” one world, one people “against greater threats and conflicts,” he explains. He has been giving up World of Warcraft for some time from his faction system.
Burning Crusade offered blood to the elves as an option for Horde and Draenei for those who were in line with the Alliance. Unfortunately, for Eredar fans, Midnight's Story is not the center of Midnight's Story, despite their historical bonds on the Elf's blood.
“For the most part, the races we choose are usually driven by the story we want to tell during a particular expansion,” Cannon says. “That's why we landed on the blood of the Elves and Trolls – Zul'aman and other places will really tell the story of this saga.”
One of these places is Silvermoon City, one of the hubs burning Crusade era has been updated to match other modern cities World of Warcraft. The city will also be fully integrated into the continent – the area is currently installed, which may cause it to feel disconnected.
“I worked on a burning crusade,” says veteran Blizzard. “I think the city of Silvermoon has always captured imagination, but I think the level design will really allow him to feel like any of the other modern cities we did in World of Warcraft.”
While the reworking of the city of Silvermoon is positive for each World of Warcraft player, the real recipient of the Midnight release is a long forgotten portal to Silvermoon City found in Orgrimmar, which will have pilgrims passing through its glittering surface.
World of Warcraft
- Released
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23 November 2004
- Esrb
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T for adolescents: blood and gore, raw humor, mild language, suggestive themes, alcohol use, violence (online interaction is not evaluated)
