The World of Warcraft Diary: A Journal of Computer Game Development

by John Staats

The World of Warcraft Diary offers a rare, unfiltered look inside the gaming industry. It was written by the game's first level designer, John Staats, from notes he took during WoW's creation. The WoW Diary explains why developers do things and debunks popular myths about the games industry. In great detail he covers the what it took to finish the project; the surprises, the arguments, the mistakes, and Blizzard's formula for success. The author includes anecdotes about the industry, the company, the dev team; how they worked together, and the philosophy behind their decisions.

The WoW Diary is a story made from notes taken during the dev team’s four year journey. It is a timeline of Vanilla WoW’s development cycle, a time-capsule with an exhausting amount of details that also looks at the anatomy of computer game studio. In order to illustrate how all the parts of computer game company work together, he interviewed everyone from the company’s founders to his former teammates; and the supporting departments who helped make WoW a reality.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Video Games, Games, Warcraft, Gaming, Game Design

351 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2018

Reviews

[Andreas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author was the dungeon designer of classic World of Warcraft. During his 4 years of work until the release of WoW, he wrote a monthly summary of the development team‘s work. Only some 14 years later, this book was released.
I played WoW nearly from the start, went on and off again in the following decade. At the same time, I worked through my career in the software industry. Currently, I play again classic WoW. And lead a development team in the industrial sector of the same size and similar pressure.
So, this book was extremely interesting to read. The level of engineering would be considered desastrous nowadays, e.g. using version control only in a very Late phase of the project. Also, the heavy build and delivery problems are no wonder.
I admire the team‘s motivation to work extreme long hours („crunch“) not only for a couple of months but for years. At the same time, this wouldn‘t be allowed under German regulations. I consider myself lucky that we have to actively manage against this kind of slavery.
Cool, fast read. I recommend the hardcover version due to the many screenshots and artwork.

[Fernleaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting read of the process behind designing and developing the massively-multiplayer-online RPG World of Warcraft. Starting about 4 years before the launch of the game, Staats gives you a behind-the-curtain look at what it took to develop the largest MMO of it's time from the struggles with writing the game engine and developing the tools to build the world to the incredible stress as the game neared launch and the camaraderie and cohesion of the team fractured due to burnout and the addition of large numbers of new staff. As a player since early 2005 it was humbling to see the incredible amount of work that went into coding the game, and some of stories of how design elements were discovered and especially the inclusion of some early screenshots and other behind-the-scenes images were fun to see.

Reading this has certainly spurred a bit of nostalgia for those early days of WoW, and I look forward to the time when WoW:Classic servers are available to reminisce more fully. Although I wasn't a hard-core Blizzard fan before I rather fell into WoW, I never fully appreciated how unique the franchise was in those early days, and just how lucky I was to be playing games from a company who really tried their hardest to make things accessible to people without the money for a high-end gaming rig. The contrasts to others in the gaming industry was very revealing in that manner.

I also appreciated how honest this book was. It wasn't sugar-coated, our-studio-is-the-best-studio fanboy writing. Staats portrays the good and the bad, how incredibly dedicated almost everyone on the project was, but also how profoundly exhausting the work became as time wore on, and how the various stressors (long hours, rapidly increasing staff, lack of efficient tools or crucial personnel, endless pizza nights) impacted the working environment. Overall this was an eye-opening read, and despite lapsing into a bit of technical detail in some places (I'm still not completely clear on what server concurrency is) I couldn't put it down, finishing the whole 320 page textbook over the course of a few nights.

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

The WoW Diary : A Journal of Computer Game Development (2018) by John Staats is a first person account of the creation of World of Warcraft. Staats worked on the game for years. Remarkably working at Blizzard was his first professional game job.

WoW was a cultural phenomenon that has made at least five billion dollars. In 2023, almost 20 years after its release, there are at least seven million players. This player base would bring in hundreds of millions of dollars.

Staats was working in marketing in New York and in his spare time was making levels and games. Remarkably he applied for and got a job at Blizzard. He took a sizable pay cut to work there. He started in 2001, years before the game would be released. Everquest was the biggest Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game at the time. The book consists of monthly entries that Staats wrote.

The book gets across just how hard the team worked for years. It was expected that everyone worked at least twice a week until 10 PM. They also worked for low wages. But they clearly loved working on something they really cared about. Surprisingly Blizzard also extensively recruited from their own QA staff for quite a few design and art positions.

The book is full of interesting quotes. Staats has some good quotes about why things worked at Blizzard. One is “The key to making this dynamic work was ensuring that every member of the team was passionate about their work, which required careful, selective hiring”. It’s a telling quote. Blizzard managed to carefully find people who really cared about games, got them to work really hard and also managed to avoid paying them high salaries. They were also able to keep teams going by financing things themselves rather than relying on publishers.

The book has a great deal about how Blizzard got the mechanics of WoW to work so well. This was by putting in a staggering amount of effort and getting constant feedback from others who were also passionate game players.

It’s also interesting to see how WoW was built not to push the technology too hard to lots of people could play it without the latest hardware.

The WoW Diary is really worth a read. It gives a very interesting account of a team building one of the most successful games ever. Staats does a really good job of capturing what it must have been like creating WoW.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very niche, very nerdy, very good.

(Also somehow I have read four books about Blizzard this year, this was easily the best.)

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Executive Summary: It's hard for me to be partial about this book as it combines two things that have consumed most of my time the last 15 years: World of Warcraft and Software Development.

Full Review
World of Warcraft changed my life. I've made lifelong friends and had unforgettable experiences that no other game before or since has matched. It's also coincided with my professional career as a software developer as I graduated from college the year wow was released.

Once upon a time I had aspirations to be a game developer, but somewhere along the way I decided I wanted to play games more than I wanted to write them. This book shows I made the right choice. I've spent far more hours playing World of Warcraft than I'd like to think about, but I don't know that I'd have wanted to put in the countless hours it took Blizzard to make.

This book combines two things I love in one package. When the kickstarter was announced I backed it immediately. Blizzard has been notoriously closed lipped about everything, especially the development of their games. I was a bit shocked to hear they not only approved of the book but also contributed various images.

It was fascinating to me to learn about early features that got cut, design decisions that were made and the marvel the game ever got released in the first place. For someone like me this was a perfect blend of storytelling and technology.

I don't think it's so technical that your average World of Warcraft fan wouldn't be able to follow it. I don't know if they will have the same enjoyment I did however. I found myself reading longer than I planned every time I picked it up. For that reason I gave it 5 stars.

I'd love to see similar books about the time and development of the game since it's launch, in particular the lessons learned and hardware and software details they applied to fix all the scaling and uptime issues they had in the early years of the game.

If you're interested in a peek behind the curtain of Blizzard, or World of Warcraft in particular this book is worth checking out.

[Graham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. Full stop. I loved the deep dives into game development. I loved the point of view of the book (a diary). The book (diary?) had me gripped the entire way through, and it got me to play WoW again. If you are interested in either game development or World of Warcraft, I think this is a must read. It’s written by a dungeon designer but he interviewed/grilled a bunch of people on the team about their jobs and about their decisions and such, so there is a wide swath of information covered here!

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read. I worked on a number of 3D titles back in the mid 90s and this pretty much matched my experiences as well. I was pretty nostalgic for those times until reading this. Now I remember why I stopped doing that type of work.
Well written. Any fan of WOW will like to get some of the behind the scenes how it was made.

[Jeremy Neville · Rating 5 out of 5]

Background: I have been developing indie games as a hobby for almost 10 years. Nothing successful at the time of writing, but I know my way around at this point. I've never played WoW, and I'm just barely familiar with it via osmosis from others.

Biggest like: even having never played the subject material, this is such an engaging writeup on what the "AAA" game development world looked like in the early 2000s. Lots of nostalgia for what games looked like and felt like back then.

Biggest dislike: nothing really! For what it sets out to do, it fails at nothing

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating insight into the development and people behind one of the world's most popular and successful games. Beautifully well-written and kept me entertained through every page. Finding out all the quirks, hacks and brilliant implementations that make up my favourite game was a joy to read.

[ZRC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great. Classic WoW was a huge part of my teenage years and getting an inside look on its development is a nostalgic trip. John Staats is a great writer, and covers the mood and ambience (specifically the final phase of development) brilliantly. If you're interested in game development, you should read this book. I should note that it may be a bit difficult to traverse if you're not technically inclined, but software development/programming experience isn't a requirement.

[André Escalhão · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. Yes, it was mainly because I love WoW and have played it for almost 14 years now. I read this in preparation for Classic and it did not disappoint. The nostalgia hit was way too strong and sometimes I found myself holding back tears, remembering my first steps into this world.

To see the developers struggling and being excited about the game, sometimes at the same time, reminded me of how much this is a product of passion. And how much sweat and blood was poured in this title.

A must read for anyone with a history with the game. I can't wait to jump back to classic in a couple of weeks.

[Miikka Lehtonen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating and candid look at the lengthy development process behind one of the most popular video games of all times. Staats writes in a breezy and very readable style, and the book is full of fascinating anecdotes and stories. Together with a well designed and airy layout this makes for light, entertaining reading.

For someone who has played World of Warcraft on and off since the game launched, the WoW Diary was essential reading. I would also recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who is interested in getting a look at how video games are made, warts and all.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

a very interesting, insightful and detailed diary of the development of WoW. the most important thing to note about this is that John Staats a) got permission from Blizz to publish this and b) it's from his contemporaneous development diary, not from memory or flawed anecdotes. it's as close as you can possibly get to being a fly on the wall at Blizz HQ in the early 00s as WoW was in development.

[Rodrigo García Carmona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Verdaderamente deseaba que este libro me hubiera gustado más de lo que me ha gustado, que fuera mejor de lo que es. Porque, aunque hace ya muchos años que no juego, World of Warcraft es una parte muy importante de mi vida. Es un juego que me ha traído mucha felicidad y que recuerdo con un cariño especial; puede que por su componente social, pero también porque para mí fue verdaderamente como viajar a otro mundo. Además llegó en el momento perfecto de mi vida.

Quizá por eso esperaba mucho de este libro. O, al menos, algo más de lo que obtuve. Ansiaba descubrir en sus páginas una descripción en detalle de los roles que participaron en la creación del juego, una explicación profunda de se ejecutó y estructuró su desarrollo, un desgrane de cómo se fueron tomando las decisiones (técnicas, artísticas o de diseño) o, al menos, una historia interesante e inspiradora. Pero el libro no contiene nada de eso, sino simplemente una descripción, mes a mes, de cómo se fue creando este videojuego. Un descripción que no entra en detalle, que se limita a explicar (o a veces incluso simplemente a enumerar) las cosas de forma superficial y sucinta. Quizá es que el autor ha intentado hacer la obra demasiado accesible a cualquier lector, pero cualquier persona que sepa un poco cómo se crea un videojuego o cómo funciona un estudio de desarrollo encontrará pocas lecciones importantes que aplicar a su trabajo. Básicamente, que se debe implicar a todos los miembros del equipo en el proceso de desarrollo, que la calidad exige un esfuerzo grupal, que las ideas pueden ser buenas o malas independientemente de quién las enuncie, y que es mejor no estar atado por restricciones externas que afecten al desarrollo.

Si algo deja patente este libro, es que, a pesar de todo, la creación de World of Warcraft no fue precisamente un proceso ejemplar. Sus páginas hablan de un crunch constante, de trabajo por las noches durante dos días en semana y los fines de semana como norma, y de la abrumadora presión a la que se sometió a todos los desarrolladores para sacar este videojuego adelante. De hecho, los últimos capítulos del libro narran el profundo hartazgo del equipo, del abandono por parte del director Allen Adham por razones personales (siendo sustituido por Rob Pardo), de la frustración de los trabajadores de cierta edad por no poder iniciar una familia, y del deseo generalizado de no volver a trabajar en un MMO nunca más. Y, lo peor de todo, es que parece como si el autor (un diseñador de niveles, un cargo medio) a veces justificara y entendiera esta forma de trabajar, escudándose en que "no se obligaba a nadie", como si la presión del grupo no existiera. A esto se le suman errores de producción que resultan alucinantes, como que al principio del desarrollo pensaran que una única persona podría hacer todas las quests del juego (sobrándole tiempo para otras tareas además). Pero no quiero hablar más del crunch, porque tampoco es un tema que pueda tener más recorrido más allá de que está mal y debe evitarse (y, desde luego, nunca normalizarse).

Lo bueno: el libro tiene momentos de brillantez, como cuando se muestra con ejemplos la sabiduría de los creativos senior a la hora de ceder e incorporar en la toma de decisiones a cargos más bajos, cuando se detalla el cambio de una herramienta a otra por razones técnicas, o cuando se proporcionan detalles de aspectos normalmente ignorados (como las dificultades de la programación de los servidores o de las herramientas internas), pero son muy pocos. De nuevo, quizá sea culpa mía, que esperaba un libro de lecciones aprendidas y un post-mortem detallado, cuando realmente lo que se me ofrecía es simplemente un diario de diseño que cualquiera, independientemente de sus conocimientos sobre creación de videojuegos, debería poder leer. De hecho, el título parece sugerir esto.

En resumen: es un libro que no me ha inspirado en absoluto, una narración correcta, descriptiva y poco más. No va a conseguir que nadie que lo lea se lance a crear su propio videojuego. Quizá sea, en cierta forma, un fiel reflejo del proceso que dio lugar a ese World of Warcraft que tanto he amado: cuatro años de enormes esfuerzos y de trabajo diario. Sin más. Sin romanticismos. Lo que este libro transmite es que hacer videojuegos, por inspiradores y geniales que estos sean, no deja de ser un trabajo como cualquier otro.

[Fel · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favourite types of books are game development books. I love to know how different things were made, and all the usually hidden work that went into the finished product. Where did things go wrong, and where di they go well? What is the creative process behind these other industries' works?

This particular book follows the development of World of Warcraft from when John Staats joined the team until it shipped in Novemeber of 2004--he covers various aspects of development, giving an excellent view of just what goes into making an MMO. He also, thankfully, spent a lot of time asking what other people were doing the project, so it feels like we get a fairly in-depth overview of all the different moving parts--and there are a lot of moving parts.

Staats writing style is very clear and easy to read, with a fairly nerdy (unsurprisingly) sense of humour. I found it a very enjoyable and engaging read, and often didn't want to put the book down.

I read this on my kindle, and my one complaint about it is that often things felt very abruptly interruupted by the interesting but sometimes only tangentially relevant pictures and their captions. Captions often had extremely interesting information as well, so I didn't want to skip them, but it often felt like I was losing my train of thought with all the interuptions to the main body of the text--plus in an e-book, it was difficult to tell if the section was over or there would be more after the pictures. This was a constant gripe I had while reading the book, and I really wish a little more thought had been given to these pictures placement in the ebook versions.

Another warning is that as soon as the game ships in November 2004, the narrative stops entirely. There's basically no closure for how the game ultimately did in the Korean market, even though a lot had been built up and left kind of in the air before it finally shipped. There ​was​ some discussion of numbers when it finally sold, and the experience involved with that, but that's about all. I found this a very unsatisfying conclusion--I know the book had to end somewhere, but with all that build up on the uncertainity in the Asian market, I thought for sure he would at least mention in passing how it ultimately did there (as he does for the US market).

Otherwise, this is a very well written book. While I have a fair background in computer science and graphics in particular, I do feel that it would be accessible to the layperson. If you've ever had any particular interest in WoW's development history, I do recommend the book. It's an engaging read, with lots of fun stories.

[Mark Abersold · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was hard to find, but King County libraries had a copy so I only had to go as far as Shoreline.

My five-star rating here has a qualifier: I was very interested in learning about what this book had to say. If you're not interested in game development or software development, or not interested in the game itself, you probably won't enjoy this book very much. If you play WoW, or played it in the past, then you will probably find this book interesting.

I thought this was a fascinating journal of the development of one of the most popular, influential, and consequential video games of the early 2000's. There's several things I learned when reading this, such as:

1. Being a WoW developer was a nightmare from 2001-2004. It wasn't crunch time 100% of the time, but there were long stretches where team members basically had no life outside of their job. I got into software development originally because I wanted to make video games, and I was finishing college around the time they were finishing the game - I'm sure glad I never got into the video game industry.

2. Some of the features that made the game a success were discovered by accident. The questing system in particular was originally only meant to introduce players to the world, but then let them do their own thing. When players didn't know what to do once their quests were finished, the team realized they needed to make quests for every zone and every level. This ended up being one of the key features that kept players engaged.

3. Creating the game was a huge risk that paid off - video games are already a risky venture, even more so for MMOs. Blizzard had never really made a 3D game before, and they hardly knew what they were doing at first. This journal provided a huge amount of insight into why it was risky, what their challenges were, and what set Blizzard apart from other game studios.

There's not a lot of info into how the tech itself worked, so if you're like me and want to learn those details, you won't get them here. But it's a fascinating and detailed account of how the game was created. My own relationship with the game is complex, but I had a lot of good memories playing it between 2005-2010 (with an 18 month break in the middle). I appreciate the author's insight and perspective.

[Clay C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

If youre not playing WoW, watching videos about WoW, or thinking about WoW, why not start reading about WoW?

This was an incredible insight into the development of World of Warcraft by one of the people who was integral in creating it. I've played WoW on and off since I was in third grade and it was so interesting to learn first-hand how many of the choices in the gamer were made, as well as what things were like behind the scenes at Blizzard. Also included are details about things like programming and code which I know nothing about but that Staats does a wonderful job of explaining to a layman audience. Not to mention that Staats has such an engaging and clear writing style throughout the book. I would recommend this in a heartbeat to anyone who plays WoW, or honestly anyone who plays video games.
My only gripe with the book (which isnt really a problem with the book just a personal preference of me the reader) is that its almost too big-picture at times. The book is mostly about the production of the game itself and covers interesting events like press events and foreign releases. However, often Staats will say something like, "we had already finished the Razorfen dungeons and Scholomance at this point" and as the reader I wished he had included more of the day-to-day, nitty gritty details about how these dungeons were made! That said, the book would probably be twice as long if this was included (although I definitely wouldn't have had a problem with that!) and what we have here is still an amazing, enlightening testament to game development.
Honestly, to me this book felt like a love letter to the now-fading MMO genre. MMOs are incredibly difficult to make, require huge teams of talented people who still have to work late and put their lives on pause, cost fortunes, need an ungodly amount of server power, and have no promise of even being popular or successful on launch. And yet, people like Staats and the rest of the Team 2 still choose to make them, knowing their potential to achieve something incredible. There's something to be said here about the nature of art and the creative process, but I'll leave it to a smarter reviewer than me to say it.

[Robertjulia]

"The WoW Diary: A Journal of Computer Game Development" is a fascinating book written by John Staats, a former developer on the massively popular online game, World of Warcraft (WoW). The book is a detailed account of Staats' experience working on WoW during its early development stages, from 2000 to 2004.

One of the strengths of this book is its insider's perspective on the game development process. Staats provides an in-depth look at the challenges and successes of creating a game as massive and complex as WoW, and his personal anecdotes and insights make for an engaging and informative read.

Another strength of the book is its attention to detail. Staats provides a wealth of information about the design decisions and technical challenges that went into creating WoW, and his behind-the-scenes account of the game's development is sure to fascinate fans of the game and those interested in the game development industry.

The book also includes a number of illustrations and diagrams, including concept art and maps, which help bring the development process to life and give readers a better understanding of the creative process behind the game.

One potential weakness of the book is its narrow focus. While Staats' account of WoW's development is detailed and thorough, it may not appeal to readers who are not fans of the game or the game development industry.

Overall, "The WoW Diary: A Journal of Computer Game Development" is an insightful and engaging book that offers a fascinating look at the development of one of the most popular and influential games of all time. Fans of the game and those interested in the game development industry will find much to enjoy in this book.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a genuine treasure trove for someone like me whose played the game on and off for 15 years, and who is a software developer. It offers an open and honest look behind the scenes, with all the good, bad and ugly.

There is such a journey from basically just trying to the mastering of a process. It's given me new understanding of why some things were as they are. And it's made it clear to me that striving for perfection on the first try is an absurdity that kills innovation (my personal takeaway as a developer).

I'm so glad this book exists because it's both a recording of a history, but also a look behind the scenes of one of the most polished and thought out games that had my loyalty simply because I could trust in the Blizzard brand. I could see this being used as industry recommended reading, both for games and software development, and for both employees and bosses.

My most heartfelt thanks to the author, not only for being a part of creating the online world that gained me many friends, taught me life skills and helped me with mental health. But also for taking the time to write and release this book, letting us see behind the scenes and teaching valuable lessons through a recounting of how everything evolved.

[Kris Veldhuizen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it. I have next to no knowledge of game development but this book gave a really good indication of everything that comes with it, and then some. While talking about his own experiences as a developer on World of Warcraft, John Staats gives you tons of information, technical and otherwise, in an engaging and captivating way. I really enjoyed reading about the technical parts of developing an MMO, but also about the commercial sides of it, or even the personal; it’s crazy the insane hours the employees put in, and that over the course of five years.

Having played the game for quite a few years, it was also a lot of fun and incredibly insightful to read about the conception and development of such established notions as Elwynn Forest, Deadmines, Molten Core, Karazhan or even the Auction House. The diary is also littered with sometimes hilarious anecdotes which I’ve already recounted to some friends. I would absolutely LOVE for John Staats to write another volume, for which I’m sure he still has material, seeing as at the end of the book he mentions he stayed on the game for another ten years.

[Andrej Karpathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Behind the scenes look at the making of one of the greatest games ever, that continues to thrive to this day 20 years later (with many people including myself preferring to play the very original 2004 "classic" release over today's "retail" version). Core team of 50 people, 5 years, no bs focus mode in a dingy environment, a lot of crunch time. At the end, the entire team burnt out but gaming history mode. Lots of fun anecdotes if you've played the game, e.g. why the Human starting areas are so much more detailed, why the ship in the Deadmines is in a cave, how there is a dungeon in Blasted Lands noone has visited, Assmaster lore, and why Molten Core is so simple and barren (it was sprinted in 1 week by John at the very end, haha!). I think we're lucky that John has captured the development of this masterpiece so nicely in this book as a matter of historical record.

Recommending if you've played WoW or if you're interested in companies and environments that are able to create high quality, lasting, genre-defining games instead of plenty of similar mmorpg slop that was made around the same time.

[Erwinsmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The World of Warcraft Diary is an incredible insider's look into one of the most influential games in the industry. Written by John Staats, WoW's first level designer, the book provides an unfiltered perspective on the game's creation, sharing the challenges, decisions, and unique moments that shaped its success. It’s a great resource for anyone interested in game development, offering insights that go beyond the surface-level knowledge about game design. If you’re looking to dive deeper into game creation, gamestudio.n-ix.com offers detailed resources and expertise about the intricacies of professional game development. Understanding the real work that goes into creating games like WoW can inspire your own creative journey within the world of gaming.

[Alexander R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coming to this as a 3d designer and animator I found this book thrilling. Staats remarks that he's going to try to keep it simple for people who aren't as technical which made me worried but he definitely pushes all the right buttons for anyone who is technically curious about how WoW came together.

Beyond that it is an incredible lesson on avoiding pitfalls in company culture, game design, social interactions etc... It truly feels like a distilled summary of all the lessons learned while creating World of Warcraft and it feels like you can take those lessons with you even if you don't do the same type of work.

[Max Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not enough anecdotes but still very informative.

I was expecting more of the war stories but it's more of a description of the whole developmental process from someone who worked on WoW for years and talked to the team daily. One of the things that stands out is how bad their tools were.A single tools programmer for a team of seventy people, heh. I'd imagine it added a lot of those crunch hours they've spent years on. I guess, burning out on the job is a given in Blizzard. Another one is how NCSoft literally hired game journos in Korea to bad-mouth WOW before release. A good read, overall.

[Justin Spivey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really recommend this. It’s a day-to-day developer diary from someone who was at Blizzard from pre-alpha all the way through shipping classic World of Warcraft.

It’s obviously a bonus if you’re into WoW or MMOs, but I think it’s genuinely fascinating even if you’re not steeped in that world. At its core, it’s a book about being on the ground floor of a project where the entire team is incredibly passionate and what it’s like to create something that ends up effecting millions of people.

It’s short, sharp, and extremely well put together. Just a very cool look behind the curtain of one of the most influential games ever made.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in 2days, which says enough how fun and insightfull the book is. Really loved this personal memoirs of one of the WoWdungeon designers (a game I actually never played, but always found fascinating). I would've given this book one star more if there's was more in-depth technical detailing which sometimes was a bit thin (,which was expected as the author wasn't a developer on the team. However it would've been cool if small text inserts (written by Devs?) could give some more texture to many of the problems and solutions that are described throughout.

[A37927 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been playing videogames my entire life and I consider World of Warcraft (the original Vanilla game and the first expansions) to be the pinnacle of everything achievable. If you ask me about the best videogame in history, for me it's WoW. So when I found out about the existence of an internal development diary I was very happy. The content, beyond its didactic level, is very enriching of what was already a full experience. A great read if you're fan of the game or are interested in knowing how an MMO is developed. Many thanks to John Staats for writing this wonderful book.

[Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great look behind the curtain at MMO development. There's some content here that really made me smile, even as someone who only dabbled in WoW for a few months in the late 2000s.

Dragged a bit in the second half, where it was clear the development machine was in full flow and there was little to say outside of "we crunched (spoiler: we crunched more)".

An easy read, and a fun way to spend a few days. If you're into game dev, give this a go.

[Corentin Xa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting book for game devs. I was surprised by the chaos level even at Blizzard, it felt familiar. Good to learn about their decision making processes, strategies (like 2 days late work per week to avoid burn) and quality.
Pictures were interesting, more of them would be even better. Seeing things like tools, office floor plans, white boards, etc. was great.

[Edgar Deduchov · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting story into game development. You will not necessarily find all the tidbits related to the WoW story itself, but it's a great diary of the journey for a game development and sheds a lot of light on the difficulties, challenges & crunching that has to be done. Most likely, we do not see the blood & tears, but this book comes close to present those.