BlizzCon 2023 Interview: WoW: The War Within's Encounters And Visual Teams Work Hand In Hand

mmorpg.com:

World of Warcraft: The War Within is the next expansion set to release for the decades-long-running MMORPG. Touted as during the BlizzCon 2023 Opening Ceremony part of the culmination of nearly twenty years of Warcraft history, The War Within is the first of three chapters that will see the resolution to narrative threads that have been dangling for years. And like any expansion, it will feature new areas for players to discover, along with more than a handful of dungeons and encounters they can tackle at varying difficulties.

These new biomes included in the depths of Khaz Algar range from The Ringing Deeps, Hallowfall, and Azj-Kahet — each of those locations nestled deep beneath the surface of Azeroth. Assistant Lead Encounter Designer Drew de Sousa and Lead Visual Development Artist Gabe Gonzalez discussed in detail these new areas were created, and how Visual Development and Encounter teams worked hand-in-hand to bring these areas, dungeons included, to life.

“This expansion is very unique in the sense that we are exploring maybe non-traditional archetypes or zones. For World of Warcraft, there’s always been a deep layer or two to the fantasy that we’re trying to hit. We’re trying to go big with the zones and make a unique flavor for your (the player’s) experience.” Gonzales, the Lead Visual Development Artist on World of Warcraft, said when asked about the inspiration for the new zones that will appear in The War Within. “We definitely talked to a lot of experts about underground biomes and underground caves.” 

However, the Visual Development team wanted to make a space that wasn’t just claustrophobic or oppressive to players, and be something that can still feel good with dragonriding — a new way of traversal that