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Dragonflight patch 10.1 involves World Of Warcraft subsequent week (May 2), and forward of its launch, builders from Blizzard Entertainment have sat down with NME to debate the way it labored to make the “cowboy mole people” Niffen really feel like a pure addition to Azeroth.
Earlier within the week, Blizzard shared a video detailing all the things that followers can anticipate from patch 10.1.
Besides a brand new raid and an additional zone, the video showcased the introduction of a brand new race — the subterranean mole-like Niffen — and the return of a snail racing, which first appeared within the land of Highmountain.
Speaking to NME, recreation director Ion Hazzikostas and lead quest designer Josh Augustine explored how Blizzard Entertainment labored to make sure the Niffen felt like they’d all the time been residing on this planet of Azeroth.
Augustine defined that the World Of Warcraft universe can have “everything from silly goblins to serious heart-wrenching stories,” and the invention of a brand new space — corresponding to Dragonflight 10.1’s Zaralek Cavern — provided a “great opportunity” to introduce new inhabitants to Azeroth.
“A lot of times, with the Niffen for example, when we go to new places it’s really natural to think ‘who would be down here?’ It’s really natural to come up with a new race and culture, then start digging into…if they’ve been down here, how did they survive? What are their skills? What sort of traditions have they developed? It’s such a fun thought process to dig into.”
“I remember the first time I saw they had cowboy hats,” Augustine recalled. “The first time that came in from [the art team], a million ideas sprang up about how we can use these little cowboy mole people.”
Meet the lovable rats who helped encourage Niffen tradition.#BuildingAzeroth pic.twitter.com/T7fx5DVOv9
— World of Warcraft (@Warcraft) April 26, 2023
Besides the Niffen’s fancy hats, Augustine shared that Blizzard created a “cave diving” recreation to assist categorical the race’s tradition.
“As you dive into these caves, they function a little like mini escape rooms,” shared Augustine, who defined that gamers will be capable of pair up with a Niffen in a “contained area” to smell, dig and seek for clues that can result in treasure.
Likewise, not all Niffen are the identical — Hazzikostas teased that gamers will be capable of discover a monster-hunting Niffen on their travels.
“I love the new cultures we have in here,” the director added. “The Niffen are adorable — they have so many fun activities.”
Elsewhere, Hazzikostas and Augustine additionally advised NME about how Dragonflight patch 10.1 will enhance an space of WoW that Blizzard “hasn’t traditionally done as well” with. Check again with NME at present (April 27) for extra traces from our interview.
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