Jeff Kaplan on WoW, Overwatch, and His New Game

Summary

Legendary game designer Jeff Kaplan, known for his work on World of Warcraft and Overwatch, discusses his journey from a passionate player to a visionary developer. He shares his early love for gaming, influenced by arcade classics and the dawn of PC gaming. Kaplan details his transition from a failed writing career, marked by extensive rejections, to discovering his calling in the burgeoning world of online games, specifically EverQuest, where he met his wife and honed his leadership skills. His path led him to Blizzard, where he contributed to World of Warcraft's monumental success, even becoming its game director and helping define expansions like Wrath of the Lich King. Kaplan reveals the ambitious, yet ultimately unsuccessful, development of 'Titan,' a massive MMO that taught valuable lessons about scope and focus. This experience paved the way for Overwatch, a game he describes as a 'hero factory' born from a vision of a hopeful future. He candidly discusses the challenges of game development, including crunch time, the importance of QA, and the evolving landscape of player engagement. After leaving Blizzard, Kaplan founded Kintsugiyama, working on 'The Legend of California,' an open-world action-survival game set in an alternate 1800s Gold Rush era California. He emphasizes the game's focus on craft, unique tone, and a player-driven experience, contrasting it with his previous work and highlighting the beauty found in imperfection. Kaplan also touches upon the future of gaming, AI's role, and the enduring power of human creativity.