Friday Feature : WoW Refresh

So, World of Warcraft is updating its characters, and whether you play WoW or not, it's kind of a big deal.

As games age, technology moves forward. Developers can do better work faster and with a lot more wiggle room in terms of Tech requirements, and during the lifespan of a successful MMO, adjustments need to be made. Most companies in the MMO market have not lasted long enough to truly require these changes, but Blizzard has. Like them or not, they are a company that cares about consistent and coherent art. As new updates get pushed out the door, the old work starts to look worse and worse, and the overall look of the game begins to suffer. Thankfully, Blizzard has injected a bit of life into its tired old starting races.

While this update might not bring back the people who left WoW, it will certainly make the existing players a lot happier, and provide us with some inspiration for our own work.












































Now I know that this is "CONCEPT World" and this isn't exactly Concept art, but its  one of the reasons that we do concept art. To make a game/movie/comic/etc you need concepts. All of these models, both the old versions, and the new, had them. I'm sure some people do concepts for no other reason than personal gratification, and that is definitely a legitimate reason, but professional concept art is done to further a goal. It is done to kick-start the process of bringing a world to life, or helping an aging world  step forward into a new age.

See y'all next week,

Thran


Special Thanks to Fanny Vergne and the Folks at Blizz!!