Seeing that we are all playing WoW now, I would like to take this time to reflect on my experiences with its developer Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard has been in my life ever since Diablo in 1996. I was around four years old when this game burst onto the scenes and of course my Dad (a hardcore WoW player these days) picked it right up for himself. Now at the time I had no idea what it was, but a few yeas later (when I was around 6) I got my first chance to play it, and all I can say was from that day my life changed forever. Not only was this game rated M (for Mature) it was my first M game. As a six year old I felt like a total bad ass (although in reality I wasn't allowed to play it, but I found ways to sneak it). Diablo is the game that introduced me to RPGs, before that it was all Mario and Megaman (which are also amazing franchises). It doesn't stop there though, in 1998 (the year I started playing Diablo) another little game came out.....Starcraft.
I had no concept of what a RTS (Real Time Strategy) game was all about, but Blizzard introduced me to that genre with arguably the GREATEST RTS EVER MADE (just ask the Koreans). This game was rated T (for Teen) so I had no problems asking my Dad if I could play it (the only problem was I had to share the computer with my older brother,twin brother, and father). Nevertheless, I got to play and develop a love affair with Starcraft. My favorite race was the Terran and their totally awesome siege tanks then in 2000 the sequel to Diablo debuted: Diablo II.
Not only was Diablo II bigger and better; it gave me the chance to interact with other players around the world via Battle.net. I did use Battle.net on the first Diablo, but I didn't really understand it. Luckily I was old enough to realize how awesome it was to play with other people online and Blizzard put another change on my concept of games, online games. I actually rarely got the chance to play this game due to my brothers interest in it. It was a dark time where I moved from being part of the PC master race, to a lowly console gamer (tragic I know).
I was first introduced to the Warcraft mythology in Warcraft III (for those who don't know Warcraft was a RTS before a MMORPG). Here (and the expansion that came out a year later) I learned the story behind the MMO through this game (I don't want to bore you with the details, if you aren't already bored). Then in 2004 the whole gaming medium was changed forever by (cue dramatic music) World of Warcraft.
This is were my life stops for a good four years, everything else just became a joke compared to the all powerful WoW (now you may have different opinions on this, but it's my blog so shut up). There were a couple of false starts with characters, an undead warlock, a dwarf warrior, and a night elf hunter, but finally my dwarf priest was created (my first level 60, they grow up so fast). Healing I found was my strong suit and I really enjoyed playing it. I was a member of my Dad's guild "The Snow Goons." My life was consumed by Thursday night raids until 2am and all nighters on the weekends. But tragically all good things had to come to an end, and in 2008 that's where I stopped playing and really got into Halo. Blizzard was on the back burner until 2010 when Starcraft II came out, but by this time I was too big into competitive online and Starcraft II was just way too hard for my taste.
Now you know my life story with Blizzard Entertainment (sorry if it ran a little long). This leads me into a point I wanted to reach: Is there any games/developer that completely changed how you game and/or the way you look at games. You obviously know mine, but I'm curious to learn what you think.
Evan, it's really interesting that you started with Blizzard that long ago. They really seemed to impact you and pretty much developed a hobby of yours and is a part of your childhood. Actually, it is part of your family so you probably value it more. I don't think I have a developer that I have followed since I was young. However, I guess you could say sterotypical games have followed me. I know it's over used but Mario has been part of every console I have ever owned. I know that seems sort of lame but that is the only thing I can really think of. The fact that it brings you and your family together is pretty amazing. A lot of family bonding includes awful family vacations are meaningless traditions but you guys have something in common. I hope you continue these game traditions with your future children and so forth.
ReplyDeleteI had a upbringing like you basically, started with SNES when I was 5 and between my brother and I we just kept going. Sony was the first time I really got into gaming, but Metal Gear Solid that gave me the taste I have today. Kojima is a brilliant man.(Period!) But yea from there it was just all out games lol. In fact Final Fantasy 8 was the game that finally got me to read, screw Mr.Seuss! But yea like my Mom said to me when Modern Warfare 3 launched and some 20 million people were on at 12:15 "I guess there's some comfort in knowing that one of them will be operating on me when I'm old" (Twitch shooters to her = steady hands, no luck or Network issues influence 12 year old's at all lol)
ReplyDeleteVery interesting, and also really cool your dad likes Blizzard's games - I wouldn't have expected an adult to like Diablo. Anyway, I can find somewhat of a parallel between us. You were introduced to Diablo at six, myself Doom at six. Entirely different style of gameplay, but almost equally as spooky given the age. But probably five years later I bought Diablo, of my own volition, and played the single player for a while (and who lets an eleven year old buy an M rated game? Well, the same place sold me a Danzig cd at the same age so I shouldn't be too surprised). I digress.. Anyways, when D2 Expansion came out was when the magic really started happening and addiction was in full swing. I went through the phases where all the rare finds were the game's top items - the shako, doombringer, IKs - then paled in comparison to the runewords that reshaped the game a lot.. the dupes, fakes, etc. all hitting their peak in D2 around '05 or so.. and then I passed one addiction off for another and bought Counter-Strike. Players expiered, rarities gone forever, etc. and the flame hasn't been rekindled since - unless WoW counts as a stand in for it (which I consider it to).
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