Theorycraft #034 — John Staats

Recorded 04/13/2022 All opinions expressed herein are those of the folks on the show and none of their past or present employers! We're beyond thrilled to be joined by John Staats, level designer and author of The WoW Diary, which chronicles all the sweat and laughter that went into the development of vanilla World of Warcraft. As a bonus, Kevin Jordan's back in the host chair! We ask John about everything we can. Enjoy these three veterans exploring their shared past and taking questions from you, the listener. 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:10 Who Is John Staats? 00:05:05 How Did It See the Light of Day? 00:09:19 On Note-Taking 00:13:26 Crunch Culture 00:20:31 Office Camaraderie 00:28:37 Where Does LD Inspiration Come From? 00:32:18 Uniqueness of Blizzard Level Design 00:39:11 Blackrock Depths 00:50:35 Fun Trivia 00:54:59 Best Way to Make a Game? 01:03:28 Metzen 01:06:16 Translating WoW's Visual Style 01:13:54 Story and Narrative 01:16:37 Karazhan 01:24:20 Riot MMO / Titan 01:33:44 Question #1: The Sad Aftermath of Vanilla Launch 01:39:48 Question #2: Environment Design Shifts 01:42:55 Question #3: John Eats His Hat 01:47:38 Question #4: Madison Avenue More of John's creativity and passion at: http://whenitsready.com/ Purchase The WoW Diary here: https://www.amazon.com/WoW-Diary-Jour...