Bashiok
Community Manager
1 decade ago
Please Welcome Nyorloth!
I remember when Nyorloth came to our department the cold, the twisted, the terrible Community offices of unnumbered crimes. Our manager had told me of him, and of the impelling fascination and allurement of his revelations, and I burned with eagerness to explore his uttermost mysteries. Our manager said they were horrible and impressive beyond my most fevered imaginings; and what was thrown on a screen in the darkened room prophesied things none but Nyorloth dared prophesy, and in the whirl of his papers there was taken from men that which had never been taken before yet which showed only in the eyes. And I heard it hinted abroad that those who knew Nyorloth looked on sights which others saw not.

It was in the cold winter that I went through the night with the restless Community moderators to see Nyorloth; through the stifling night and up the endless stairs into the choking room. And shadowed on a screen, I saw wailing forms buried under Global Writing Contest entries, and grinning faces hidden amidst ruins of cities. And I saw worlds battling against blackness; against the waves of destruction from ultimate space; whirling, churning, struggling around the dimming, cooling suns. Then the paper storm played amazingly around the heads of the spectators, and hair stood up on end whilst shadows more grotesque than I can tell came out and squatted on the heads. And when I, who was colder and more scientific than the rest, mumbled a trembling protest about paper cuts and ocular fortitude, Nyorloth drove us all out, down the dizzy stairs into the damp, hot, deserted developer offices. I screamed aloud that I was not afraid; that I never could be afraid; and others screamed with me for solace. We swore to one another that the Community offices were exactly the same, and filled with purpose; and when the florescent lights sometimes do fade we curse the electric company over and over again, and laugh at the strange faces we make.

What I know of Nyorloth is his inscrutable purpose; sinisterly sentient, dumbly delirious, only the Old Gods can tell. To look upon him now I see a sickened, sensitive shadow writhing in hands that are not hands, and whirl blindly past ghastly midnights of rotting creation, corpses of dead worlds with sores that were cities, charnel winds that brush the pallid stars and make them flicker low. Beyond these worlds vague ghosts of monstrous things; half-seen columns of unsanctifled temples that rest on nameless rocks beneath space and reach up to dizzy vacua above the spheres of light and darkness. And through this revolting graveyard of the universe the muffled, maddening beating of drums, and thin, monotonous whine of blasphemous flutes from inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond Time; the detestable pounding and piping whereunto dance slowly, awkwardly, and absurdly the gigantic, tenebrous Old Gods the blind, voiceless, mindless gargoyles whose soul is Nyorloth.
Nyorloth
1 decade ago
Please Welcome Nyorloth!
I am the Herald, the Gaze in the Dark, the Blinking Madness. Empires I rule, nations I birth, a crown I have never worn or desired.

You seek the Truths of worlds known to you in electronic glimmers, in dreams, in song. What clumsy hand draws the line betwixt the real and the unreal; that such lines exist is the fantasy.

Let us dance to the unplayed, unheard rhythms and sing the songs that will end the world.
Nyorloth
1 decade ago
Please Welcome Nyorloth!
In a break from tradition, I am not a member of the Community team; long have I gestated within the Story Development division of the Publishing Team, itself a division of Creative Development. My purposes here are myriad, but to mention a few:

- Increase the transparency of how we develop stories within our games and ancillary fiction.
- Encourage more constructive discussions of the lore, so that we may better understand your likes/dislikes in order to shape our future projects.
- To serve as a scapegoat for when something happens in the lore that you don’t like.

Again, those are just a few of the reasons I will be monitoring and posting on the Story Forums (WoW, SC, Diablo). Perhaps you will discover more reasons for my presence?

Doubtful.
Nyorloth
1 decade ago
Please Welcome Nyorloth!
02/06/2012 12:51 PMPosted by Alona
I can't do this, I must flee to where it is safe. *runs screaming back to the general forums*

There is no escape.
The Story Forum has you.
Nyorloth
1 decade ago
Please Welcome Nyorloth!
02/06/2012 01:07 PMPosted by Skytotem
I love you.

Doubtful.
Nyorloth
1 decade ago
Please Welcome Nyorloth!
In what dreams do voices spake of tumult, turmoil, and terror. Upon the morn do I wake to frothing madness and despair. Delicious.

It was by my hand that the Story Forums (for each of the IPs) were made, and my gaze has not strayed from them since their dark conceptions. Indeed, my merciless eye peers beyond the veil of the official – of Scrolls and Insiders I know well. Your names and misdeeds are not forgotten, nor will they go unrewarded.
Daxxarri
Community Manager
1 decade ago
Please Welcome Nyorloth!
Fnord erisi klaatu barada achoo, fhtagn.

Did I do it right? Strange aeons, and death dying and whatnot?

Welcome, Nyorloth!
Nyorloth
1 decade ago
Please Welcome Nyorloth!
My eye has glimpsed the forming of an Ask CDev on the horizon... perhaps, even, Soon™! You would all do well to gather your questions now, in preparation for this momentous event.
Zarhym
Blizzard Employee
1 decade ago
Please Welcome Nyorloth!
Welcome aboard, Nyorloth!

* jumps proverbial ship for the safety of certain death *
Bornakk
Community Manager
1 decade ago
Please Welcome Nyorloth!
Welcome!
Nyorloth
1 decade ago
Please Welcome Nyorloth!
02/08/2012 10:46 AMPosted by Aktarin
This new addition is intriguing. So let's be blunt, shall we?

The lore of Blizzard's universes is very near and dear to my heart, and my passion (read: fanaticism) for the lore was one of the prime reasons I was brought on to the Creative Development team back in 2009. My presence here is completely voluntary; and I’m present in the Story Forums for all three franchises on the US and English EU forums on top of my regular duties as a story developer. This privilege is something I've been working towards for three years now, however, so I don't foresee myself abandoning it any time soon.

While I've mentioned it on the EU forums, it's worth reiterating here: except in very rare situations, Creative Development does not directly generate the quests and dialog in the game. That burden is squarely in the hands of the quest and encounter task forces within the World of Warcraft development team. The publishing team within Creative Development is in charge of cataloguing what has come before (historians), and developing the ancillary fiction that enriches/develops the universes outside of the games (story developers). I will be going into the finer details of our jobs in other posts and threads, but suffice to say for now that the entire publishing team within Creative Development would not exist if Blizzard was not passionate about maintaining and developing compelling and cohesive universes.

With regards to harnessing the power of the community (not just Warcraft, but for StarCraft and Diablo as well), I can confidently say that we HAVE been doing that for a while - it's actually been part of my job for the last few years. It's why we started the Global Writing Contest, it's why we created the Story Forums in the first place, and it's why we do "Ask CDev" projects. However, we know that we can always improve – and hopefully my presence here can help speed up that improvement.

One of Blizzard's Core Values is "Every Voice Matters" and we mean it - the opinions of each and every one of you is worthwhile. The best way to ensure that your voice counts for as much as possible is to take the Rationalist motto to heart when posting: "why do I think what I think?" If you can provide clear and concise reasoning for your opinions, and speak only for yourself, I can guarantee that I will give your words the time and consideration they deserve.
Nyorloth
1 decade ago
Please Welcome Nyorloth!
Do they go through a lore 'crash course' when they enter those teams?

Who double checks to make sure that they don't say, apply DnD or general mythological principles to WoW?

Do they self-check or do they go to you, or do they self-check using some kind of Warcraft Bible provided by CDev?

We actually have lore classes for incoming developers, and for devs that want to brush up on some of the finer parts. These are primarily planned and taught by Evelyn Fredericksen, our senior historian. Dave Kosak, the lead quest designer, is also a major lore buff and has given presentations on the lore to the entire development team as well (in costume, no less!)

Beyond the lore classes, the development teams consult with Creative Development (primarily our historians) during the beginning phases of zone/quest development, and in some cases we have been called to help write flavor text and boss lines. Unfortunately, our historians don’t have the bandwidth to check over every line of text, every piece of art, and every scripted event. QA helps catch a lot of inconsistencies, but the sheer scope of the game results in the catch-22 of “release with small issues” or “take 4 more months.”
Nyorloth
1 decade ago
Please Welcome Nyorloth!
02/09/2012 12:23 AMPosted by Arshia
Why do you hate Night Elves? WHY!?

On the contrary: I love night elves!

They’re delicious.
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