http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/2649966340?page=4#63

Neth, do you think your voice has lost strength with the community?

No, I don't. I just think that people have concerns (of which we're aware of) and we're doing what we can to address what we can as we go.

As for having someone else speak, we've been talking and will continue to talk. Just recently Dave Kosak gave some insight on the new quest hubs. (On the blog.) Greg Street continues to share his own insights there as well. No matter your personal thoughts or feelings about what they have to say, they care deeply for the game and community.

While some may have concerns over whether their questions in the Q&As are being answered or not, we are talking there as well. We're here in the forums responding to what we can.

It's true we don't have infinite resources and that's been true since day one of World of Warcraft. That hasn't changed. I see it come up time and time again that the "good" devs have moved to the new project, but that too isn't true in the way people think it is and is insulting and dismissive to the guys (and gals) who have been on the team for years. The people working on World of Warcraft are people who have been here for years or are still being guided by those who have been here for years. The people who "left" WoW haven't really left either. They are here at the studio lending their ears and thoughts to those still working on World of Warcraft. They haven't washed their hands of the game and the company hasn't washed their hands either.

We know we aren't always going to agree on a direction. We know we can make mistakes or not anticipate every possible outcome, but there is no way I'm going to tell you that we don't care, or that the developers don't care or that we are insular from the concerns being voiced.

We are and continue to be passionate about the game and about the community. We're never going to give everyone their perfect answer, but that isn't going to stop us from trying to meet and exceed expectations where we can. We aren't beat or beaten but can understand how easy it is to buy into that idea with so many people repeating the thought. Sometimes it's hard to be positive when you only see the negative, but the positive is still there and we refuse to lay down and go with the negative flow of thought. As any game "ages" it is so easy to forget the good and the "polish" and start picking at what you see as flaws. It's also easy to take for granted all the things that are added in because they make so much sense. Eventually you forget that it was ever new to begin with because it feels like it was always there.

Again, we're totally open to constructive feedback. We're not deaf to it. We just may not react immediately or have the answer you want. It's just not always possible to. That doesn't mean we didn't hear it or think about it on one level or another and it doesn't mean that we are going to suddenly stop listening because we don't like what someone has to say. We're just asking that the dialogue stay open, honest, and most importantly constructive.

 

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It's also easy to dismiss fairly widely held concerns as aesthetics and push on with fundamental redesigns of core game mechanics under the veil of "design prerogative." That's fine but don't act like you won't pay the price for unpopular homogenization and the reduction of complexity (read: interesting non-standard or edge-case playstyle options) in favor of simplicity of maintenance and/or PVP "balance."

 

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And yet, everything they do is completely the opposite of what they say. There is no mystical secret why people complain. Hypocrisy begets ill feelings.

 

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"I see it come up time and time again that the "good" devs have moved to the new project, but that too isn't true in the way people think it is"


Ha ha I see what they did there. At least some honesty.


And what Peo said, hypocrisy and lying beget ill-will, that should not surprise Blizz.

 

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Argle Bargle...


This is what I got from it:


1. They know certain staff shouldnt be responding to players.

2. Boo hoo, they are people too.

3. They only will respond to "constructive" criticizm, ie, things they want to hear. They will ignore anything they dont like.

4. Once again, like a spoiled child, they act like their decisions are the correct ones and the players dont matter.


Im waiting for them to start patting the air and telling us "shhhh, shhh. You just dont understand."

 

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I love that he was so "butthurt" about the B team comments...

Truth hurts, doesn't it?

 

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He MUST be kidding.

 

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All of them act this way too. Funny stuff.


Nerdrage at its finest. Even among their peers, no one likes them. Hah!

 

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I laughed at that one a bit.

 

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I know I shouldn't take pleasure in it, but it is amusing to watch the once great MMO champion Blizzard tread water. They feel kind of second rate now. Even though they're still far and away the market leader, it's like everything they do is a lesson in how not to design a MMOs.

Whoever is ultimately in charge, their core designers, just come off as people that enjoy horrible video games. Ghostcrawler is of course the most visible and vocal target. The things he dismissed as "boring" or "pointless" tended to be things about the game people really liked. How he can not see how harmful homogenization is to not just the game but the genre at large is beyond me.

It would not surprise me in the least to see a new round of server merges and widespread free transfers soon. I know every day someone is all "doom and gloom" about MMO-X, but it's really obvious right now that WoW is declining more rapidly than I think anyone would have expected.

 

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