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It's amazing to think about how long World of Warcraft has been around for. What was an absolutely monumental project 20 years ago still lives on today as a fairly active MMORPG.While I was only a freshman in high school when World of Warcraft came out, the landscape described by John Staats was familiar to me: while only a consumer, I remember the wild west MMORPG market back then. I remember browsing MMORPG.com and seeing literally hundreds of games in development, most of which either never came out or launched only to be halls of smoke and mirrors.WoW, on the other hand, was different. While I wasn't interested in the game at first, a few months after launch I was hooked. It became something I'd play on and off for the next 16 years.I've always wondered about all the choices that went into that game -- the why and how -- and I've also wondered about many of the "urban legends" that have persisted over the years about the game's development. Staats' examination of every inch of the dev cycle is interesting and revealing: a lot of old questions I had about WoW were answered, and it was very interesting to see into the culture of Blizzard at the time.This is very much a dev diary in that if you're looking for juicy drama or something along those lines, you won't find it here. Staats is respectful of his team -- and Blizzard. While I would've liked to hear more about his thoughts of the current company, I understand why that didn't really have a place here.Overall, if you're a fan of World of Warcraft -- especially Classic -- then this is a must buy.

I am not a Game Designer or Developer. I am just someone who played and absolutely loves Vanilla WoW. I listen to the Countdown to Classic Podcast and love John's calls about the various dungeons he built. With that being said, this book is amazing. I love reading and seeing how the game all came together. If you are a fan of Vanilla WoW this is a must read.10/10

08/07 - 1 StarJust to clear things up, in terms of the content & subject matter this book wholely deserves it's 5-Star rating.Unfortunately I seem to have been unlucky and recieved a defective copy, currently missing the table of contents and pages 1-12! Searching online this doesn't appear to be a common issue however be sure to have a flick through to ensure all the pages are present in your copy.As an international buyer (UK) i'm gutted to have to now go through the process of sending it back to the states and awaiting a replacement copy.---18/07 - I've received my replacement copy and am pleased to report all pages are present.

This is the closest thing I can get to a in depth documentary of the foundations of such a fantastical developer journey for the company and people, ever since hearing how they pulled their strings around to cobble together the developments of Warcraft 3's cinematic, I knew I wanted to be a developer in the entertainment industry. I love the personal flare to everything and really described how most of us artists drives and ambitions are little crazy. It's a job but more a life style and to hear of the success, sacrifices, and hardships - I think, may be the reason I read this book so fast. When I was 11, I was reading the World of Warcraft strategy guide for reading assignments, and now I feel like I'm full circle in the moments when my dad was a developer and what he went through at those same times, I was reading about WoW, now reading this WoW story. I hope Bonfire's studio or something soon is much like the Blizzard spark that makes a similar impact on the industry as Blizzard has done and we creators inspire another generation of fantasy! :)

This is a wonderful read that gives you a very informative and interesting look into WoW and the gaming industry. You get to hear what it’s like to work in the trenches making a gigantic game without knowing if it will be successful or if decisions made early in the process will doom it to obscurity.Coming at the end of the Everquest era, you learn how that game influences not only Blizzard but other companies as well. You also get to see how building on Warcraft’s success leads to some of the first setbacks when they tried to use its graphics engine. How tools affect game design and function, how teams function as they grow at an increasing rate, and how Blizzard internal atmosphere works to foster each team’s work. Read this gripping inside story of how a group of dedicated people created one of the greatest gaming worlds in history that’s still going strong over 15 years later!Highly recommend, especially for anyone in the industry.

As a WoW player for 10 years and an IT professional, this book was fascinating with the detail that went into making my favorite game of all time. I learned internal Blizzard lingo, how the game was developed, how the company grew as a result, and everything in between. If you are into WoW and curious about what's under the hood, I highly recommend this book. Or even if you play other MMOs or games and are interested in their development. WoW changed the world of gaming and came out at such a unique time and this book chronicles it so well. Only thing I didn't like about this book was when it ended and I couldn't read more!

I used to play WoW a lot and it was a great read to learn about what was going on behind the scenes. The author organizes the WoW development in chronological order and keeps the story interesting from start to end.One minor complaint though, at first glance, this book seems thrown together due to the horribly designed cover. Ugly collage of screenshots, and the title is not even padded on the left or top side from the screenshots. It kind of amazes me that someone who spent so much time designing aesthetically pleasing dungeons and obsessing about every detail to present content to players doesn't think twice about how ugly and unprofessional the cover to his book is. Even hiring someone on fiverr for $10 could have turned out something 10x better.

It was great but seemed a bit short.Would have liked more granular detail on designing dungeons.I teach game design and have put this on are my 📚 reading list.

Recommended for developers or WoW fans. The writing isn’t top-notch: there are repeats, dead-ends and other oddities in the tale. If I read one more “blah blah (spoiler alert: it wasn’t)” I would have had to stop reading. But, it *was* at least quite interesting, which is what I was looking for.

Excellent insight into the development of the original World of Warcraft.

John goes through the whole development process in such an interesting and compelling way, that it had me on the edge of my seat the whole time.It really is something special to be allowed to take such an intimate view behind the scenes of a game you love. What a great book.I am thinking about reading it again!!

For everyone nostalgic about the creation of the game. Bought it on kindle because it was out of stock on hard copy, no regret, such a great read.