Guild Wars 2’s Mike Z on storytelling, philosophy, and season five

Guild Wars 2 turned six years old late last month, and to mark the occasion, Red Bull (yes, that one) sat down with Game Director Mike Zadorojny to take a look back at how the game’s cornerstone, the Living World, has unfolded over the years. In the interview, Zadorojny talks about how the designers and developers at ArenaNet approached the always-challenging subject of how to make the story in an MMO, where everyone’s a hero, feel truly personal.

He also discusses the overall philosophy that has governed Guild Wars 2 from the very start: “From the very beginning, we knew Guild Wars 2 was going to be about the friendships that players make,” he says, adding that “MMOs are a social environment. It’s about playing together . . . and sharing a love of fantasy, of video games, of the lore, it’s all about coming together and doing these things.” To close out the interview, Zadorojny delves into the ways in which the game’s focus has shifted and grown over the course of its development and teases what fans can expect from Guild Wars 2 in its upcoming fifth season. To hear everything Zadorojny had to say in his own words, you can check out the full video past the cut, or stay tuned for our own interview from PAX later this week.