World of Warcraft fans are about to experience Wrath of the Lich King for a second time when it hits Classic servers. For many players, Wrath of the Lich King represented World of Warcraft at its best. The vaunted expansion brought players back to Northrend for the first time since Warcraft 3, and allowed them to face off against the Lich King: one of World of Warcraft’s most infamous villains. However, as one might expect, bringing a 14-year-old expansion back to life is no simple matter.
Game Rant participated in a group interview with World of Warcraft Classic associate production director Clayton Stone and senior software engineer Kevin Vigue that discussed hurdles faced when preparing this return to Wrath of the Lich King. Capturing the legacy of World of Warcraft’s most iconic chapters was no small feat. Stone and Vigue told some of the best stories from the development of Wrath of the Lich King Classic, and shared what they were most excited for from Classic’s future.
When Old and New World of Warcraft Code Collides
The process of preparing a World of Warcraft Classic expansion is not as simple as flicking a switch. Vigue said World of Warcraft starts with the final patch of an expansion - Patch 3.3.5 in the case of Wrath of the Lich King - and hooks it up to modern code. The retail World of Warcraft framework allows stronger servers, better usability, and better prevention from exploits and hackers. From there, it is a matter of going backward and finding what isn’t working amid the millions of items, enemies, and textures.
Sometimes, everything works perfectly the first time around. Other times, the developers are not so lucky. “We have all the old data, we’ve hooked it up with the code, and we think it is mostly working right,” Vigue said. “But what does ‘working right’ look like?” Making this magic happen is one of the biggest steps toward releasing a World of Warcraft Classic expansion.
“Lining [the two sets of code] up so they work correctly together is kind of like someone giving you a jigsaw puzzle, and the two pieces are assembled into nice large chunks. You just have to put them together… but they don’t quite fit.”
As one might imagine, this process has led to hilarious moments as seen during the early Scourge Invasion triggers during the Wrath of the Lich King Classic Pre-Patch event. Vigue shared a few other stories from behind the curtain as well. While synchronizing data with Northrend, a mistake in the code caused none of the NPC model textures to load in Dalaran except Rhonin, leader of the Kirin Tor. Vigue triggered the “All Is Well That Ends Well” quest ending - the city-wide event associated with completing Ulduar. Rhonin proceeded to give his “Citizens of Dalaran” speech to a city full of error cubes.
Another story came during a World of Warcraft developer test of the Death Knight starting area in Wrath of the Lich King Classic. Near the end of the experience, several Death Knight characters can team up and face the forces of the Light in a pitched battle at Light’s Hope Chapel. “The battle went pretty smoothly… until the very end,” Vigue said. At a certain point, the battle stops for an RP event between Tirion Fordring, Darion Mograine, the Lich King, and others. However, NPC Maxwell Tyrosus didn’t act as expected. “He didn’t kneel down like all the other NPCs. He stayed hostile. So he ran around punching these low-level Death Knights while everyone else was having their nice RP moment and doing their dramatic speeches.”
The World of Warcraft engine is constantly evolving, meaning the Classic development team will always have a long road ahead when it comes to recreating old-school content - even if it revisits some of the more contemporary World of Warcraft expansions. That said, if the Classic community wants to continue down the nostalgic journey, the World of Warcraft developers are more than willing to combine these codes and wade through bugs.
World of Warcraft’s Mark on History
To say World of Warcraft left an indelible mark on the gaming industry would be an understatement. Though it was not the first MMORPG on the market, its popularity and rampant success over the past two decades reshaped the genre as a whole. To many, Wrath of the Lich King was the height of World of Warcraft’s greatness, meaning World of Warcraft Classic’s return to Wrath of the Lich King is perhaps its most-anticipated chapter.
Wrath of the Lich King is just as important to World of Warcraft Classic’s developers. Though Vigue was deep into World of Warcraft during its original run, Stone said he joined after Wrath of the Lich King. When he first experienced Northrend, it was with all content available, including flying and higher levels. “When I think about how I’ll be able to start on day one and quest alongside all the players in Northrend from the beginning to experience the rollout of that content as it was originally done? I’m just thrilled to be able to do that.” Wrath of the Lich King Classic will give many players like Stone the chance to relive a monumental chapter of World of Warcraft history they otherwise missed.
Likewise, Vigue cannot wait for this momentous chapter to begin again. A Horde player primarily, Vogue had never tried the Alliance starting experience in the Howling Fjord until development began for Wrath of the Lich King Classic. He described the breathtaking sight of sailing through the narrow pass of the Fjord, underneath the burning wreckage of a ship suspended by vrykul raiders, and beginning his journey in the shadow of the imposing Utgarde Keep high above him. At that moment, he felt like a kid stepping into the frozen north again for the first time.
“Going through that experience again on the ground is something I had forgotten how cool it was because I haven’t done it since 2008. This is conjuring up those same memories that I still remember. It feels like I’m an adventurer ready to go through Warcraft.”
The Wrath of the Lich King Classic is something fans and developers alike are excited to experience. “I could easily answer ‘What are you most excited for players to see?’ in 20 different ways,” Vigue said. There is something indescribably special about the World of Warcraft experience, doubly so now that many of its developers - Vigue and Stone included - grew up playing the titanic MMORPG. World of Warcraft Classic represents the nostalgic core of that historic gaming experience.
World of Warcraft is available on PC. Wrath of the Lich King Classic launches September 26.