Hearthstone Game Designer, Matt London, took to Twitter yesterday to celebrate the launch of Book of Mercenaries Cariel to talk about the development of the chapter. If you're interested in development insights, this is the thread for you to read.
Oh, right, spoilers, yo!
Quote From Matt London To celebrate the launch of Book of Mercenaries Cariel, I wanted to share some fun insights from the development of this chapter! Light spoilers below. I hope you'll follow along!
Which came first, the chicken or the easter egg? In this case it was the egg. As the cast for Year of the Gryphon shaped up, we realized it was critical that our warlock mercenary hail from Stormwind (for United in Stormwind)…
…But she also needed to have had run-ins with the Scourge and Kel'Thuzad (for…other reasons). An education at Scholomance Academy was the perfect backstory for Tamsin, so we let Judicious Junior inform our Tamsin design.
It was very exciting for the team to bring a diverse cast of human characters center stage in Year of the Gryphon. We worked closely with Blizzard's DE&I Network to ensure that while these characters had flaws and complex inner lives, we didn't slip into stereotypes.
The flashback/dream in Fight 1 was the first battle I concepted at the outset of design. It shows how war has transformed these women, changing character class, body, and purpose. The scope of WarCraft is so big, I wanted to explore how everyday Azeroth folk were impacted.
Fight 1 also gave us the chance to see a younger version of Cariel. Kudos to Moon Colony for the incredible work they did on this portrait – one of my favorite art pieces from the year.
This POV pivot on Dreadmist Peak was key to the story. Tamsin is the final boss in Kurtrus's book, and Kurtrus is the first boss in Tamsin's. Two chapters later, we see the aftermath of that duel, with Cariel reckoning with her choice to stand against her friend Kurtrus.
One of the big creative challenges for Book of Mercenaries was creating fight variety without much eng time. We tried to leverage existing tech from past adventures. In Fight 4, we remixed the "Take Flight!" tech from Belnaara in Dalaran Heist with light tower defense mechanics.
Fight 4 also highlights one of the cool collaborations Book of Mercenaries did with the Set Design team. As the questlines were developed, there was a lot of creative brainstorming between us. In some cases, like "Defend the Dwarven District," the Book of Mercs plot came first.
In other cases, like "Raid the Docks," the card design guided the story, and led to that awesome Hooktusk cameo in Tamsin's chapter.
A little game I play with myself: how subtly can I make references to other Blizzard IP? My favorite so far is Xyrella's "Heroes never die!" Her delivery is awesome. But these are strong contenders.
There are a number of Mass Effect alumni among the voice cast in Book of Mercenaries, most notably Tamsin (Kimberly Brooks), Rokara (Courtenay Taylor), and Guff (Fred Tatasciore). But Xur'gon might be the most surprising of all. Any guesses who it is?
And yes, I was starstruck recording of Book of Mercenaries. Blizzard gets the absolute best actors in the business, and if you'd told me that Wakko Warner, Zeratul, Balthier, Noctis, and Winnie the Pooh were all going to appear in a game I worked on, I'd have lost it.
These Fist of Anetheron minions really give a sense of the scale of the enlarged dreadlord. I love the idea that a character is so big and powerful that it has to be represented by more than one thing. Shoutout to Kurtrus's Fay Wray impression.
We had a challenge to show ten story arcs when 90% of the journey would be from another character's POV. For the Anetheron fight I wanted to show its importance by flexing many unique Book mechanics: Merc as Hero Power, Merc as Super Minion, and Multi-phase boss fights.
huge shoutout to Nondumiso Tembe who rocks it as Cariel. She takes her role so seriously and has a ton of fun as well, whether that's delving into her character's psyche or shipping Cariel with the other mercenaries.
Time to take a break. I'll follow up after you've had more time to play through the adventure. Book of Mercenaries has been an absolute joy to make. If you liked this thread, please retweet and follow. Guff will thank you with a tauren high five! (With his hoof.)
Comments
I've got to say that I've really been enjoying Book of Mercenaries. The fights are fun enough, but it's definitely in first place in terms of story and emotional impact among all the solo adventures - frankly, the only one that even comes anywhere close is Aranna's Outland adventures.
And you have to remember that these are free! I can definitely see myself replaying it when all ten chapters are out. Maybe the most entertaining WarCraft tale being told right now?
I'm up for a replay when all chapters are available.
I don't think I'm expecting the narrative to be "concluded," though. There will probably be some wrap-up around the shards, but I assume the storytellers want to leave other parts open ended, so that these characters will continue being Mercenaries.
The story and plot is much more riveting compared to Book of Heroes, that's for sure. BoH almost felt like a history lesson, whereas BoM entangles many different mercenaries together in several different chapters or from a certain merc's point of view.
Matt London gives us details on story, process, and tech recycling.
And most of the comments here are about..... cartoon tits.
Well done, fam.
In fairness, it's only really 1 comment with its own string of responses. If anything, you're the bigger offender by bringing them into a second, independent comment without actually discussing what Matt said either :P
Anyone guessed who Xur'gon's voice actor is?
Pretty cool learning about this stuff, Cariel's voice actor is from the same country as me!
That portrait is indeed amazing. Both in terms of artwork, and the fact that blizz actually allowed it to go through. I mean, we're supposed to be disgusted by the nonexistent controversy that was the objectification of Jaina's center lines, and somehow this one is completely a-okay? Or is there something Im not noticing?
There's always the chance that we get that portrait in the tavern pass next expansion. Make it happen blizz.
There's definitely something I'm missing: where is the inconsistency here? The young Cariel artwork even has an orange under-shirt thing (vest? I'm no fashionista that's for sure :P) serving a similar role to the bit they added to Jaina's artwork.
Some of Tamsin's artwork is more revealing, but we already have those so that can't be what you are referring to.
Tamsin confirms that it's okay as long as it's necrophilia.
Lol, are we seriously suggesting that wearing a singlet beneath that vest with both shoulders and sides exposed as being technically equal or superior or if you prefer, serving a similar role, to what is a mere triangle over Jaina's vest?
Im just pointing out that Jaina nerf is an overreaction to a nonexistent circumstance. Its just as mind boggling as is that removed Tracer's pose in overwatch. The fact that you can point out that Tamsin Roame's pic is almost if not more revealing only nails my point further.
Perhaps Im flogging a dead horse here by pointing this out. I just find it funny every time I see a new pic that contrast badly with the decision to nerf Jaina's portrait.
I personally think the differencce between Jaina and any other portrait is that you see Jaina before all the others. She is the postergirl of HS and it makes sense for her to dress more modestly to draw in bigger crowd.
Edit: Just realized I forgot to reinstal Grammarly those types are never getting fixed
I'm guessing they tend to have softer images for things that are going to last more in the game duration?
Woah, there. Hold up. I fully appreciate that I'm pretty far out of the 'loop' when it comes to sensibilities on sexualised images, but when did exposed shoulders become part of the discussion? The world is a whole lot randier than I thought if they're even being discussed.
The whole problem with Jaina's original art (insofar as there was one) was with her cleavage. So yes, in that regard Cariel's singlet is serving a similar, if not identical role.
FWIW, I personally prefer nerfed Jaina, and always found it a bit weird that she wore revealing clothing so much. Women are free to do that if they choose - that's the whole point in feminism after all - but there was never anything in her personality that indicated she would make such a choice, which is why it felt a lot like the male-driven fantasy stereotype of females wearing as skimpy clothing as possible. Her covered up, post-BfA clothing feels like a better fit with her personality.
That brings us to Tamsin. Would she believably wear revealing clothing? Maybe, and more than Jaina at any rate. I imagine she doesn't give a sh*t about the implications, whereas Jaina would get fed up of telling people to stop looking at her boobs. Does that mean Blizz is being perfectly consistent? Ehhh, unlikely. But I will say the ideal, perfectly woke position would end up with a range of clothing across the whole sexualisation spectrum (well, OK, we can probably stop some time before reaching nudity). The important part is that the decision is made on a character-by-character basis to fit with their personality, rather than just some fantasy genre default.
based take.
I'll also add that Jaina's old portrait, despite my love for big booba, looked absolutely ridiculous and clashed heavily with the serious vibe it was going for. The new one just looks better, there's no way around that.
However, I will not accept the grave injustice inflicted upon Lady Anacondra. The trailer promised booba and I was robbed...not to mention that her undershirt looks weirdly tacked on as if it was an afterthought. At least one of the Mercenary portraits frees the cleavage so there's justice at last.