LAMike and other World of Warcraft players
 

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/10/te...ts/10warr.html

World of Warcraft Keeps Growing, Even as Players Test Its Limits


By SETH SCHIESEL

Published: February 10, 2005


IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 7 - It was 4:33 p.m. Thursday, and 263,863 people were reaching through cyberspace to explore the sprawling World of Warcraft.

On the windswept plains of the Arathi Highlands, priests and paladins battled creatures of elemental fire and water as they strove to free the spirit of an entrapped princess. To the south, leather workers and alchemists crowded around auctioneers in the bustling underground city Ironforge to hawk their wares while speculators sifted for bargains.

Meanwhile, high in towering Blackrock Spire, dozens of gnomes and humans, dwarves and night elves banded together to assault the legions of the fearsome General Drakkisath.

And in an unmarked building in a nondescript office park here, the builders at Blizzard Entertainment were assembling yet another challenge for the player-heroes of World of Warcraft, the colorful three-dimensional online fantasy that since its release 10 weeks ago has become one of the world's fastest-selling computer games.

From around a dark, windowless room, nine young men peered into the unfinished virtual interior of Karazhan, a haunted tower set in a forlorn mountain pass that will open later this year. "As you can see, the architecture is a little ornate, a little Gothicky," said Aaron Keller, a 29-year-old designer, gesturing to the 3-D model on the computer screen before him. "We're thinking about turning these arches into horse heads."

Twenty minutes of discussion ensued about animal heads carved into just a few spots of one segment of a tower that many users will never even see. It might seem self-indulgent, but it is just one example of the fanatical attention to detail that over the last decade has made Blizzard a premier developer of PC games and turned its Warcraft, Diablo and StarCraft universes into landmark game franchises. (The studio has a minimal presence in the console market.)
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3 page article on your current obsession!! :thumbsup

World of warcraft looks awesome, but i'd be afraid that if i started playng i would get no work done

I don't have the proper computer for it myself. And I actually am more interested in EQII thouhg the more I read about WOW I think when I get a new computer I'll have to get them both!! :>))

I been playing since last night. All i've been doing is running around killing bats and farmers and undeads. How do you talk to people and team up and shit? can u sell crappy old weapons? whats the deal with guilds?

I don't play the game yet so I couldnt tell you. But I'm sure people here who do would be willing to help you.