Blizzard has some big plans for their classic games, including Warcraft III. Not only is the company going to make their old games run on modern hardware, there are plans for new updates to keep gamers clicking away.
This information comes from an interview originally posted on the Brazilian site The Enemy. The article has been translated to English and shared on reddit as well.
The big goal for Blizzard’s Classic Games team is to get older titles running on modern hardware. While this may be a surprise, that task alone is a huge challenge. “Our original objectives were to update Warcraft III to run properly on modern operating systems, update the installation and distribution pipeline, and fix major issues,” the team told The Enemy. “Long term the move [to the updated patch pipeline] also greatly increases our velocity, so we can make and deploy new patches more quickly. It wasn’t easy or straightforward, and we appreciated the community’s patience while we made the conversions.”
Of course, balancing a game that hasn’t been touched in years is even harder. How do you go about tweaking game elements that have been the same for so long? Very carefully. “We’re believe gradual change is the correct approach, because the Warcraft III ecosystem has been unchanged for so many years,” the team said. “We think good balance starts with competitive map pools.”
These new maps are designed to encourage different play scenarios and tactics. “There will be maps that result in fast, frenetic games and others that allow for deeper, macro oriented play,” said the Classic Games team. “As the community helps us make refinements and becomes comfortable with the new pools, we will introduce balance changes with a focus on maximum optionality between races.”
All this new content has the Classic Games team excited, but they know they have to win over the fanbase for this new content to be a success. “We have some big ideas that people will be excited about – and we’re excited too – but first we need to get the basics right, and earn the community’s trust to make larger decisions in the future,” the team said.
When updating games, Blizzard says the company has learned from StarCraft: Remastered to spend more time listening to the hardcore fans. “Many of us helped develop these games originally – or grew up playing them – but there is a wealth of knowledge and suggestions from our loyal players that really helps drive decision making,” the Classic Games team said. “Who better to help us than the players who never stopped playing?”
There’s even more from the Blizzard Classic Games team about esports, balancing philosophy and other projects on The Enemy (or reddit, if you don’t know Portuguese).
So what do you think? Are you interested in seeing what’s next for classic Blizzard games like Warcraft III? What other classic games would you like to see playable on modern hardware? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
