An index of all of the post-mortems breaking down the lesson I’ve learn from major visible work I did back on my World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Ori and The Will of The Wisps and other other unannounced projects (post-release).
You can get notified here, when I release the next post mortem.
World of Warcraft:
1. Attumen The Huntsman: The Dangers of Neglecting Research in Game Design
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Element: Attumen the Huntsman, the first boss in Karazhan Raid
Discipline: Content Design
2. Nazan & Vazruden: The Story of The Boss Who Stole The Show in Hellfire Ramparts
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Element: Nazan & Vazruden, Final boss of Hellfire Ramparts
Discipline: Content Design
3. The Underbog: Technical Limitations and Design Reflections on My First Solo Dungeon
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Element: The Underbog, a 5-man Dungeon
Discipline: Content Design
3.1. Hungarfen: My Journey to Mastering Complexity and Gradual Tension
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Element: Hungarfen, Dungeon Boss
Discipline: Content Design
3.2. Ghaz’an & Swamplord Musel’ik: Adding Clarity to My Game Design Toolbox
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Elements: Ghaz’an, the second boss of The Underbog, Swamplord Musel’ik, the third boss of The Underbog
Discipline: Content Design
3.3. The Black Stalker: Fun for Designers Doesn’t Guarantee Fun for Players
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Element: The Black Stalker, the final boss of The Underbog
Discipline: Content Design
4. The Big Bad Wolf: Embracing Simplicity in Designing Boss Fights
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Element: The Big Bad Wolf, raid boss in Karazhan
Discipline: Content Design
5. Nightbane: The Dynamics of Collaboration & Designing for External Stakeholders
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Element: Nightbane, the final boss in Return to Karazhan
Discipline: Content Design
5.1. Nightbane: Overcoming Unforeseen Technical Challenges
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Element: Nightbane, the final boss in Return to Karazhan
Discipline: Content Design
5.2. Nightbane: When Design Assumptions Collide with Actual Gameplay
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Element: Nightbane, the final boss in Return to Karazhan
Discipline: Content Design
6. Shade of Aran: Unveiling the Ingredients of a Well-Crafted Boss Encounter
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Element: Shades of Aran, a boss in Karazhan
Discipline: Content Design
6.1. Finding the Golden Nuggets: How to Prioritize Design Ideas for Shades of Aran
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Element: Shades of Aran, a boss in Karazhan
Discipline: Content Design
6.2. Shade of Aran: The Power of Playtesting for Iterative Game Design
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Element: Shades of Aran, a boss in Karazhan
Discipline: Content Design
7. The Clash of Novelty and Game Difficult
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Element: Netherspite, a boss in Karazhan
Discipline: Content Design
8. Investing in Novelty: Taking Risks for Extraordinary Rewards and Unique Player Experiences
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Element: The Chess Event, a special quest in Karazan
Discipline: Content Design
9. Leveling Up Together: The Synergy of Structure and Mentorship in Game Content Creation
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Element: Outdoor Spawning
Discipline: Content Design
10. Finding Harmony: Balancing Fantasy and Gameplay Mechanics for a Memorable Experience
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Element: The Ring of Blood, 5-man quest chain
Discipline: Content Design
11. Connecting With Your Class: Class Quests and the Art of Personalized Gameplay
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Element: Anzu, heroic only dungeon boss in Sethekk Halls
Discipline: Content Design
31. First WoW Class Overhaul: Redefining the Warlock Class in World of Warcraft
Game: World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria
Game Element: Warlock Class Overhaul
Discipline: Class Design
31.1. Forging a Legacy: The Impact of a Novel Resource System in the Gaming World
Game: World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria
Game Element: Warlock Class Overhaul
Discipline: Class Design
32. Back to the Roots: How Unnecessary Skills Hindered the Warlock Class
Game: World of Warcraft: Classic
Game Element: Warlock Class Overhaul
Discipline: Class Design
32.1. The Core Fantasy: What Went Wrong in Warlock Talent Trees Along the Way
Game: World of Warcraft: Classic
Game Element: Warlock Class Overhaul
Discipline: Class Design
32.2. From Temporary Relief to Long-Term Burden: The Story of Warlocks and Band-Aid Fixes
Game: World of Warcraft: Classic
Game Element: Warlock Class Overaul – Spells
Discipline: Class Design
32.3. Balancing Act: The Relationship Between Streamlining and Gameplay Balance
Game: World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
Game Element: Warlock Class Overhaul – Spells
Discipline: Class Design
32.4. The Art of Trade-offs: Managing Limited Design Space in Game Development
Game: World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
Game Element: Warlock Class Overhaul – Spells & Core Fantasy
Discipline: Class Design
Remaining unfinished Post-Mortems
12. Helping Out – High Astromancer Solarian
13. Fly Away, Little Birds – Akil’zon
14. The Illidari Council
15. Death Knights, Talents and Timing
16. Northrend – World Events
17. Wintergrasp – Aka, Where Not to Stick It
18. The Amphitheatre of Anguish
19. Northrend Battleground – What was it called again?
20. Vehicle Technology – Unifying Fractured Ideas
21. Flame Leviathan & The Gauntlet
22. XT-002 Deconstructor
23. Lord Marrowgar
24. The Crucible of Carnage
25. Tricks, Traps and Tape – Icecrown Dungeons
25.1. Pit of Saron – Forgemaster Garfrost
25.2. The Icicle Gauntlet
26. Murozond – End Time
27. Mage Legendary Quest – Return to the Nexus
28. Lord Rhyolith
29. Morchok
30. Hagara the Stormbinder
33. Priming Pet Battles
7 Responses
Wow, this is some list. Does this mean we’re getting an article for each dot point? I feel spoiled if that’s the case…
Oh, man. If you manage to write a post mortem for all this, I’d buy it as a book.
Looking forward to Rhyolith (my most hated heroic boss of all time) and of course the warlock overhaul! Hope you find the time to continue these.
Thanks guys, That’s my hope for this year.
Very interested in your assessment of these…you’re in my feedreader, so I won’t miss a thing. 🙂
Armchair incentive design analysis is a hobby of mine, so I’m going to be especially curious about your efforts on Wintergrasp. Lots of interesting topics!
The more I think about it, the more I realize that the Warlock overhaul was the epitome of pure class design in WoW. Three completely differentiated specs that fit a theme, each with a distinct playstyle, novel raid utility, and a bad ass questline. It’s a shame they won’t do the same for the other pures. Excited to read more about it. Also, Murozond would’ve been an amazing raid boss.