Solo Content, Xal'atath's Build Up, & Remix Returning - Taliesin & Evitel Interviews Ion Hazzikostas

wowhead.com:

Taliesin & Evitel had a chance to sit down face-to-face with Ion Hazzikostas at Gamescom in Cologne. Check out what the Game Director of World of Warcraft had to say.

Taliesin & Evitel Interview with Ion Hazzikostas

Early Access Launch

• The World of Warcraft team has grown and gained experience and confidence, allowing Ion to not be on site for launch.
• Being away was only mildly stressful, but it's a relief to feel that he's not needed and that the launch went smoothly without him on site.

How is the role of WoW Game Director different now than 8 years ago?

• WoW has grown in breadth since he took over in Battle for Azeroth. Now he oversees not only The War Within but also Cataclysm Classic, Season of Discovery, Era, Hardcore, Remix, and Plunderstorm — all the sub-sections of WoW.
• His job has become substantially less involved in the day-to-day creation of the games; he now guides a new group of leaders.

Chris Metzen & How WoW is Made Differently Now

• The change in the structure of the team and the influx of new talent have contributed to the new feel of the game.
• Instead of creating a framework for an expansion and then filling in details, they established the setting and then pursued stories that the creators wanted to tell, resulting in more earnestness and passion in the work.
• The diversity of creation makes having real coordination and purposeful integration harder.
• Where they are landing is having a strong creative vision that helps drive the overall arc of three expansions, while having the interstitial gaps filled in and molded by a process that empowers every voice on the team.

Warband Alts in Follower Dungeons

• Incorporating Warband characters into Follower Dungeons is something they are going to look into.
• There are hurdles to figure out like making sure that doesn't become the only way to play, for example, if you have your Warband in your group and they are all leveling and getting experience at the same time.
• From a flavor