WoW devs on balancing the whimsy & tension in patch 10.2
The Emerald Dream is home to plenty of whimsy, but it goes hand in hand with tension. Here is what the WoW devs had to say about balancing those emotions.
Amy Eastland
16th Oct 2023 17:00
Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
Patch 10.2 for World of Warcraft is close to release, and it brings a whole host of new characters and creatures to interact with in the Emerald Dream. There’ll be laughter, tears, and tension throughout this latest patch, and Associate Design Director and Game Designer Maria Hamilton and Laura Spreitzer sat down to talk in-depth about how they and the rest of the team managed to balance the fun elements with the tension carefully.
Within this patch, we see Tyrande taking on her new role in a position of power to look after the Emerald Dream and keep the new world tree away from Fyrakk. However, it’s not all doom and gloom within the Emerald Dream. There will also be the Superbloom event which is full of fun mechanics for players to experiment with and enjoy the chaos.
- Check out our interview with the WoW devs on the latest Superbloom event
Perfectly balanced emotion
Balancing the difficult emotional quests and scenes as well as allowing players to relieve the tension and experience the whimsy and wilderness of the Emerald Dream was crucial to the developers. “I think it’s important to have that whimsy too because there’s a pretty serious story going on. A major battle to try to defend the tree and stop Fyrakk from consuming it,” explains Hamilton. “Having that offbeat whimsy to go along with it to help break up the story is kind of fun and it helps break up the tension and some of the really big moments of the main campaign.”
This patch lends to some really important stories, such as the new world tree growing and Tyrande finding her place within the Emerald Dream, joined by some familiar friends. Allowing Tyrande to express the emotions necessary to create a powerful scene was paramount for the devs. “I think the contrast is part of what makes it special when you have those kinds of intense stories put next to this beautiful, whimsical place,” Spreitzer says. “I think we don't ever want to shy away from telling the stories that we need to tell and giving the characters the depth of emotion that they should have for their arcs and their history and everything.”
Tyrande’s moment
Tyrande has a big storyline within this patch, as well as Fyrakk being there to cause chaos and disruption to the Emerald Dream. Seeing this beautiful world set on fire by Fyrakk is almost similar to the burning of Teldrassil, and really tugs at the heartstrings. Even more so as Fyrakk is trying to get rid of this new world tree that hasn’t had any time to grow so that he can consume the power for himself.
“Letting Tyrande have her moment and really explore all of the pain that she's dealt with and the pain that the night elves, in general, have dealt with… It's part of some of the best part of the job is being able to show that and really explore that in-depth,” Spreitzer added, singing the praises of the cinematics team for Dragonflight. The cinematics allow players to see these characters in high definition, exploring their emotions and the dramatic storytelling that has been set up for this patch, such as Fyrakk raining destruction on the Emerald Dream.
Emotion and consequential story arcs are things that are very heavily considered by the devs for World of Warcraft, as it is paramount that the correct emotion is portrayed by the character, allowing players to become invested in the scenes in front of them.
For more on World of Warcraft, check out our homepage. Here is what the WoW devs had to say about Tyrande's new role in-game.
About The Author
Amy Eastland
Amy was a Guides Writer for GGRecon. She has a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing and Journalism, and has previously worked for companies such as Gfinity and HITC. Her favourite games include Dark Souls 3, Elden Ring, and Crash Bandicoot Warped. When she's not at work, she's hanging out with her black cat, Shelby.
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