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The Worgen are back.
The next topic was the development of the zones, and the talk included a basic run-through of the process of their creation. The zones start out in brainstorming sessions where the team throws out ideas that are eventually mapped and prototyped to see how they feel. Ideas that make it through those stages are also checked to make sure they don't cause any technical or other performance issues. If there are no problems, then the stages are marked for inclusion in the game and passed on to the other art teams for polish.
The talk also touched on the various improvements that have been making their way into the game since its launch, which dovetailed into talk of the work being done for Cataclysm. Visual improvements such as more detail in levels, a greater viewing distance, and vertex shading have smoothed out the game's look so far. Cataclysm will continue to offer more improvements in those areas and include an impressive revamp of water in the game that improves its appearance and includes some very cool reflection effects, which will be implemented everywhere it can.
Lead city and dungeon artist Wendy Vetter took the mic next and ran the audience through the creation of cities and dungeons. The team starts by examining the storyline and background lore tied to what's being created. She then discussed the kind of gameplay needed for the areas. Once that's all sorted, the team pulls reference materials and artists begin creating concepts and experimenting with color and lighting. Silhouettes are also key, since the team wants to make sure players are able to recognize locations at a glance. Central to work on cities and dungeons is the use of a style guide to ensure that what's created correlates to character design.
Vetter also touched on the new technology being implemented in the Cataclysm expansion and how the new cities and dungeons are benefitting. Texture blending is playing a big role in giving the new underwater area, the Abyssal Maw, an organic look. Vetter closed her section with a movie showing a montage focusing on the Worgen village, which mixes sketches with gameplay to show off how the art is translating into the game.
