WoW's new feature is a challenge for devs, also in terms of optimization
In an interview, a designer from the Blizzard studio explained how challenging it was to introduce the option for players to buy houses and freely decorate them.
During gamescom, Blizzard revealed some new features coming to World of Warcraft in the upcoming expansion, Midnight. This includes the ability to buy and decorate your own house with furniture and decorations collected during adventures. This feature was announced last year and is now becoming a reality. It will also be possible to create joint settlements for up to 50 people. In a conversation with GamesRadar+, design lead Toby Ragaini explained how the implementation of these solutions proceeded.
Toby Ragaini admitted that adding the option to buy and decorate houses was very difficult. WoW is an old and very complicated game, so it would be easy to mess up many things without proper caution. One of the elements that required a lot of attention was optimization. As the design lead explains:
Performance, for one thing. WoW runs on a ton of different machines, and we have to have a satisfying experience for everyone. The neighborhoods themselves and the houses are a challenge in terms of not being really anything like existing zones and the kinds of content that we've had before.
The creators also wanted the home mechanics to be simple to use but also offer depth for those who want it. Instead of trying to create one solution that would meet both of these criteria, the devs decided to make two systems:
- Basic mode - it provides the possibility to customize interiors in the style of the Animal Crossing series. So, we'll get a simple grid and some restrictions to avoid collisions with other objects and improper placement of objects.
- Advanced mode - it gives players full freedom to modify interiors, removing many limitations of the Basic mode and adding countless configuration options.
The creators know that players have been waiting for these elements for a long time, so they understand the importance of delivering high-quality content to meet the fans' expectations. As Regaini explains:
We get one shot at this to impress people. That one shot is precisely why the studio poured so much effort – and as a result, time – into implementing housing.
This is not the first time that Blizzard employees have emphasized how much effort they put into implementing the housing system. At the beginning of the year, the studio made it clear that the team is working on this new feature not for profit, but with the players in mind.
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Author: Adrian Werner
A true veteran of the Gamepressure newsroom, writing continuously since 2009 and still not having enough. He caught the gaming bug thanks to playing on his friend's ZX Spectrum. Then he switched to his own Commodore 64, and after a short adventure with 16-bit consoles, he forever entrusted his heart to PC games. A fan of niche productions, especially adventure games, RPGs and games of the immersive sim genre, as well as a mod enthusiast. Apart from games, he devourers stories in every form - books, series, movies, and comics.
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