Major announcements, exciting e-sport finals, and an exhilarating closing concert — these were only some of the elements that made this year’s annual convention, Blizzcon more epic than ever. After witnessing how fast the convention passes were sold out and found out I would not be able to go myself, I was happy to acquire a virtual ticket to witness this experience. Needless to say, being a hardcore Blizzard fan, I set fairly high expectations for the convention (and paying money for the ticket, of course), and they were all quite met or exceeded.
Blizzard did not keep their fans in suspense, making several amazing reveals at an opening ceremony. First and foremost was the unveiling of Overwatch, Blizzard’s first brand-new IP (Intellectual Property) in the past 17 years, and their take on a multiplayer shooter game. Based on information from various panels, the game is supposed to feature fast-paced and strategic gameplay supported by a wide range of diverse and unique characters in a world “roughly 60 years into the future.” As an “Overwatch,” players will engage in objective-based fights. Overwatch’s Director Jeff Kaplan says, “The game is less about scoring kills than about achieving goals and feeling like “being a hero.” At the convention, players were able to test 12 characters and several maps, with many more promised by Blizzard for their early 2015 beta.
Other major news was also on par with what the fans wanted. With the release of “Warlords of Draenor” this week, World of Warcraft also celebrates its 10–year anniversary of the game and 20–year anniversary of the series with a new Warcraft movie produced by Legendary. Part of the future of World of Warcraft was also discussed, as the developers envisioned the popular MMORPG “will still be around for 10 years or more.”
Starcraft II’s third part, “Legacy of the Void,” was announced as the Protoss (my favorite Starcraft race) will finally take the center stage in the story line. Another exciting factor for this game will be “Returning of Lurkers,” a massively popular Zerg unit in Starcraft but not present in Starcraft II.
In addition, Hearthstone is getting a new expansion set for the end of this year called “Goblins vs. Gnomes,” which features the two aforementioned races with their various explosive gadgets and many more random effects. After a long wait, Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard’s own attempt at a MOBA, will finally be entering the closed beta in early 2015 as fans now scramble to sign up.
Besides exciting announcements, the finals of various Blizzard-backed e-sport tournaments were also played, with the most anticipated being the Starcraft II World Championship finals. Without a doubt, the Koreans have an absolute advantage over all other regions and are still the best at Starcraft, and the grand final was a best of seven match between Terran player, MMA, and Zerg player, Life (obviously both Korean). Life, in the end, won with a 4-1 domination after some sneaky Zergling and Baneling rushes accompanied by various other strategies.
In Hearthstone, American player Firebat took home a $100,000 prize and the title of first ever Hearthstone World Champion after layers of eliminations and a showdown of strategies. Arguably some luck was involved in a card game, but luck matters very little given the format of the Hearthstone tournament and some of top players competing.
In the Heroes of the Storm exhibition match, Cloud 9 prevailed as Blizzard showed off its potential for their latest game and gamers had a glance at “pro-level” plays of a game technically still in alpha.
Besides these events in the spotlight, there were many other news bits that were worth noting. Blizzard made efforts to address the future of their games, including everything from its Warcraft franchise to the new Overwatch, and other series like Starcraft, Diablo, Heroes of the Storm, and Hearthstone. They also had an area with over 800 computers for eager fans to playtest some of the contents.
The two days of gaming fun ended on an epic note as Metallica took the stage for a 90-minute performance, something that, according to Blizzcon’s organizers, they would not have envisioned when they first started. In an interview with Lars Ulrich, the band’s drummer, he mentioned that “I have 3 sons, all boys… they pretty much played everything [made by Blizzard] there is,” signifying excitement for both Metallica and Blizzard collaborate.
Looking forward to next year, I can’t wait for Blizzard Entertainment to bring out more high quality content for the players, and I cannot wait to see how Blizzard will potentially make Blizzcon 2015 better than ever — given this year’s massive success.
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