BlizzCon 07: Opening Ceremony Live
Show Begins @ 11:00am Pacific, 1:00pm Central, August 3rd
11:31: Computers set up for Wrath of the Lich King demos. Hearthgard Keep and something Fjord. That's all. Getting out of here to check it out. Conference over.
11:30: "All that awaits you is death." Death Knight--paladin transforms into Death Knight, surrounded by enemies, kicks ass with black/purple magic. Ballista fires a giant projectile in siege combat. "For in the final hour, all must serve the one true King." Arthas shown briefly, glowing and stuff.
11:29: Showing video. Northrend looks rocky. Paladins looking up to the sky, dragon fies overhead. "It's begun. You all realize, I was once like you." Forests that are burning constantly. Some cool flame effects in dungeons, skull with fire pouring out. "The land itself can rise up against you. Long forgotten terrors will smother your courage." Giant snow creature attacks player.
11:28: Northrend plans: New zones, 5 man dungeons, 10 man raids, 25 man raids, hundreds of new quests, monsters, and items. "That stuff's all good, but even more exciting, for the first time in World of Warcraft, we're introducing the Death Knight hero class."
11:27: PVP features: New arenas, new battlegrounds, siege weapons, destructible buildings. New profession called Inscription. Permanently enhances player spells and abilities. The crowd oohs and ahhs at that.
11:26: Mentions Wrath of the Lich King. A few discernible boos. "Arthas has set events in motion that could threaten all life in Azeroth. As soon as you set foot in Northrend, you're going to be interacting with Arthas in one form or another. It's gonna be really cool. Now Arthas is no chump, so we'll be raising the level cap to 80."
11:25: "Now I know there's always rumors on the internet and thinks they know what I'm about to talk about? Keep your hands up. Okay, your accounts are all banned."
11:24: Going over the previously announced raiding and update content. Zul'Aman and guild banks. "How many of you play orcs? We've got some exciting changes for you guys. We're gonna triple the size of your shoulder-pads."
11:23: "I know some of you might be disappointed with voice chat, when you find out that hot night elf chick is really a dude on the other end."
11:22: Executive VP Frank Pierce is out to talk about Wrath of the Lich King.
11:20: First look at Terran units. Here we go. Or not. "Come to the developer gameplay panel for more details."
11:18: The bass is so cranked on this trailer that I can feel my internal organs shuddering. Cool.
11:16: Playing the old StarCraft II trailer. Attendee near me: "I've seen this so many times." Tell me about it.
11:12: Showing short video from the recent Korean event. And I thought this was crowded. Half of the country was there apparently. Some footage from the StarCraft tournaments they had. I hope none of these pro players are here. I just know I'd end up playing against them.
11:10: Plugging Dell's "Ultimate World of Warcraft gaming system." Some initial claps, followed by murmurs of discontent.
11:08: Talking about tournaments and contests. "Also, the World of Warcraft Trading Card Tournament." Over-enthusiastic fan lets out a piercing scream to much laughter. You see, she really isn't a trading card fan.
11:06: "People have flown in from all over the world, from places as far away as.. Europe." No cheers. "Nobody from Europe?"
11:03: "Now more than 9 million residents of Azeroth. That is bigger than half of the countries in the world." Mentions WoW South Park episode, more cheers.
11:02: Mike Morhaime comes out to thundering applause. Thanks crowd for their support. More clapping. Yay.
11:01: WoW artist Gary Platner on stage. "Where's all my Warlocks at?" "Booo."
11:00: People discussing their favorite mobs and their server's alliance/horde balance. Time for the show to start.
10:58: "Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats." "What seats?" It's been standing room only here for 30 minutes.
10:56: They have a lot of cool art all over the place here. Not many people in costume. Some girl is dressed up as the angel from the WoW graveyards. Look for a gallery sometime later today.
10:54: My back hurts. Lame. 6 minutes to go.
10:52: The show seems overcrowded in general. The lines to even the BlizzCon stores are a mile long. People are packing in, hoping for more announcements. StarCraft II beta? Diablo 3? Probably not, but hey, this isn't Disneyland.
10:46: Over my shoulder there is an American Gladiators-style jousting pit set up, with two fat guys struggling to stay on the raised platforms. Now they're playing the music from Gladiator. Very fitting.
10:40: The entire hall is packed with fans. The line for StarCraft II is an utter disaster. The over-priced concession stand next to me is very tempting. It's going to be a long day.
