BlizzCon: Morhaime, Dabiri kick off Blizzard’s first fan convention

After a horrendously long registration line — next year, Blizzard Entertainment needs to just mail tickets to folks, and if they don’t, make sure to get your tickets the night before the show, no matter what — Blizzard President Mike Morhaime welcomed gamers to the company’s first-ever convention, BlizzCon.

“Eleven years ago, we created the first Warcraft game, Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. It could be played by two humans over a modem, and we thought that was pretty good,” he said. “When Frank Allen and I started Blizzard, we just wanted to make great games.”

Almost 8,000 people were expected to attend BlizzCon over the weekend, he said.

“So, on behalf of everyone at Blizzard, we want to thank you.”

He also had two bits of news. The second — that Blood Elves would be playable in the first World of Warcraft expansion, the Burning Crusade — was already fairly well-known via leaks from the international media prior to the show.

But the first was greeted with applause and cheers: The zerg will be playable in multiplayer StarCraft: Ghost, the forthcoming console game.

Shane Dabiri, the lead producer for World of Warcraft, then took over the presentation, segueing into a presentation of the Burning Crusade.

Like Morhaime, Dabiri thanked the players in attendance for making it all possible, and reaffirmed the development team’s commitment to content updates for the current game. Among the forthcoming additions to World of Warcraft were the two dungeons of Al’Qiraj, Kel’Thuzad’s flying necropolis of Naxxramas, linked auction houses “in every city” (at which the audience predictably went crazy), weather (“I’m not talking about Southern California-type weather,” but sandstorms, blizzards, driving rain, fog and so on) and more.

As for the Burning Crusade, he covered what had been rumored in light detail:

“You’ll be able to play two new races, the first of which we’re debuting today: The Blood Elves of Quel’Thalas.”

Also included in the Burning Crusade will be Medivh’s Tower of Kharazan and the Caverns of Time, along with a chance to face off with Illidan Stormrage himself, the main villain of the expansion.

“You get to go to the Black Temple and kick his ass.”

Epic flying mounts will be available in Outland, the shattered remains of Draenor. And they’ll be needed, since there will be areas that cannot be reached except by flying.

The new profession of Jewelcrafting, which owes a lot to the Diablo II socketing system, will also be added in the expansion.

“There’s just too much. I’d rather just show you,” he said, signalling for the video to play. (The video is also available at the Burning Crusade official site.)

“Blood elves, huh? I guess that means more guys playing girls,” he grinned.

Halloween in the World of Warcraft

Halloween has always been big at Blizzard Entertainment, and this year, they celebrated in World of Warcraft in grand style. The fun included masks, candy that cast different magical effects, trick or treat quests, vandalism quests (including stink bombs and making beer in a bar go rancid) and so on.

Here are some screenshots that Jenn took:

Free 10 day pass to World of Warcraft

If you’ve wanted to try out World of Warcraft and have access to the disks to install it on your computer, let me know. Blizzard sent out Guest Pass Keys to all current players:

Dear World of Warcraft® Subscriber:

You are eligible to receive a FREE 30-day credit* to your World of Warcraft subscription when you recruit a friend using the Guest Pass key below. This key is trackable back to your account and if your friend becomes a World of Warcraft subscriber and pays for their first 30 days of subscription time, your account will be automatically credited with a free 30 days. It’s that simple.

Here’s how it works:

1. Give a friend the Guest Pass Key provided below.

2. Install World of Warcraft on his or her machine using your Game CDs (your friend will not need the CDs to play the game after installation)

3. Have your friend enter the special Guest Pass Key below when prompted during the installation process (the Key can only be used once).

4. Your friend will have 10 days of free access to World of Warcraft.

5. When your friend completes their 10 free days, they will be given an option to upgrade to a full version of World of Warcraft by purchasing a retail copy of the game.

6. When your friend upgrades to a full version of World of Warcraft and then pays for their first month of World of Warcraft, your account will be automatically credited with a FREE 30-day World of Warcraft subscription.

7. Offer expires January 1st, 2006. Your friend must upgade to the full version of World of Warcraft on or before this date in order for you to receive the free 30 days of World of Warcraft subscription time.

Joss Whedon talks and guests on Veronica Mars

Joss Whedon, long a fan of Veronica Mars, just reviewed the new Veronica Mars Season One DVD set in Entertainment Weekly.

At the center of it all is Veronica herself. Bell is most remarkable not for what she brings (warmth, intelligence, and big funny) but for what she leaves out. For all the pathos of her arc, she never begs for our affection. There is a distance to her, a hole in the center of Veronica’s persona. Bell constantly conveys it without even seeming to be aware of it. It’s a star turn with zero pyrotechnics, and apart from the occasionally awkward voice-over, it’s a teeny bit flawless.

In return for all the Veronica love, Joss will be appearing in the sixth episode this season, apparently as a cranky car rental employee. (Kevin Smith was in last week’s episode as a publicity-loving convenience store clerk.)

Terry Pratchett on NPR

Terry Pratchett, author of the Discworld novels and co-author, with Neil Gaiman, of Good Omens, was interviewed by NPR yesterday on science-fiction themes invading literary fiction. Also interviewed was Susanna Clarke, author of the wonderful Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.