Blizzard game designer, Chris Kaleiki, has quit the company after working there for 13 years on World of Warcraft. After leaving, Kaleiki posted a video to YouTube explaining why he left the studio, saying that he's "just been unhappy with the state of the game".
In his 15-minute video on YouTube, Kaleiki goes into saying that he's been unhappy for a while and feels that the addition of World of Warcraft Classic, highlighted that the game has become a little muddled. Kaleiki used the importance of Guilds as an example saying how they were a big deal in Classic.
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"To do anything at end game you really need to be in a Guild. What this does is it creates interdependence among players, where they really need each other in order to be successful. And I think this can feel really restrictive at times, but ultimately what it really does is it creates cohesion, it creates community."
Now with modern WoW, Kaleiki feels that Guilds have become a lot less important, as the game now moves to have a focus on NPCs and their stories. He then goes on to say that the story seems to have become a much bigger part of the game and how that takes away from the players, who are the real story.
"Lately I think in the modern game the story is just a bigger part of it. The characters and all their own dramas really soak up a lot of air in the game. Whereas I think in a virtual world, in an MMO, really the players are the story."
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Despite not agreeing with some of the changes which have now formed modern WoW, Kaleiki does acknowledge the fact that much of this is what players wanted. But for him personally, it's a big disconnect from what the game originally was and what the game is now, and ultimately this is the reason he decided to leave.
To wrap up the video, Kaleiki leaves his former coworkers a small message wishing them the best for the future of the game and that he is rooting for the Shadowlands expansion.
Featured Image Credit: Blizzard,Topics: News, Blizzard, World of Warcraft, PC