TheRetroArcade
Veteran
Posts: 2,013
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
We narrowly dodged an FPMMORPG craze.
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Much of the current videogame landscape can be traced back to systems and design decisions either first conceived or formalized in World of Warcraft. From the universal RPGification of game mechanics to live service gameplay loops to incremental gearscore advancement, videogames as we know them look like they do in large part because of WoW.
If former Blizzard vice president and game designer Jeff Kaplan had his way during WoW's development, however, the games industry might have followed altogether different paths. In a 10-hour stream of his new studio's upcoming frontier survival game, The Legend of California, Kaplan said that in its early days, he envisioned it as a first-person game and tried to get others at Blizzard to do the same.
"I really wanted WoW to be first-person," Kaplan said. "I argued a lot for that."
Kaplan acknowledged that there are "a lot of arguments" in favor of WoW's third-person perspective, like the benefit of having a full view of your character. But Kaplan explained that his preference was defined by EverQuest, which enabled his entry into game development when his rants about its game design earned him a reputation with his Blizzard employee guildmates.
"EQ was all first-person, and weirdly, because it was first-person, I saw my guildmates up way more. And I feel like I saw and appreciated the character art way more," Kaplan said. "I wasn't seeing myself, but I knew other people were seeing me that , so in EQ I actually cared what my character looked like more than I did in WoW."
As a thought experiment, imagining the world where WoW was first-person quickly spirals out into some fascinating directions. Would a first-person WoW have had the same level of landmark success? How would its systems and mechanics be different to account for the player's different sense of—and relationship with—the MMO's spaces? And what strange ways would its influence have spiraled out into the wider games industry if the WoW clones of the late 2000s and early 2010s had the same first-person perspective?
Would we all have gotten sick of first-person MMOs in the same way we abandoned the action bar? Would that timeline's Destiny be a third-person juggernaut that would then shape industry standards in its own image?
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
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Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Much of the current videogame landscape can be traced back to systems and design decisions either first conceived or formalized in World of Warcraft. From the universal RPGification of game mechanics to live service gameplay loops to incremental gearscore advancement, videogames as we know them look like they do in large part because of WoW.
If former Blizzard vice president and game designer Jeff Kaplan had his way during WoW's development, however, the games industry might have followed altogether different paths. In a 10-hour stream of his new studio's upcoming frontier survival game, The Legend of California, Kaplan said that in its early days, he envisioned it as a first-person game and tried to get others at Blizzard to do the same.
"I really wanted WoW to be first-person," Kaplan said. "I argued a lot for that."
Kaplan acknowledged that there are "a lot of arguments" in favor of WoW's third-person perspective, like the benefit of having a full view of your character. But Kaplan explained that his preference was defined by EverQuest, which enabled his entry into game development when his rants about its game design earned him a reputation with his Blizzard employee guildmates.
"EQ was all first-person, and weirdly, because it was first-person, I saw my guildmates up way more. And I feel like I saw and appreciated the character art way more," Kaplan said. "I wasn't seeing myself, but I knew other people were seeing me that , so in EQ I actually cared what my character looked like more than I did in WoW."
As a thought experiment, imagining the world where WoW was first-person quickly spirals out into some fascinating directions. Would a first-person WoW have had the same level of landmark success? How would its systems and mechanics be different to account for the player's different sense of—and relationship with—the MMO's spaces? And what strange ways would its influence have spiraled out into the wider games industry if the WoW clones of the late 2000s and early 2010s had the same first-person perspective?
Would we all have gotten sick of first-person MMOs in the same way we abandoned the action bar? Would that timeline's Destiny be a third-person juggernaut that would then shape industry standards in its own image?
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?