Whatever you feel about the way that World of Warcraft is handling Wrath of the Lich King Classic, it’s probably rooted in a great deal of nostalgia for the expansion as it was originally launched. Mechanics and execution are important, but who can forget that first boat ride into Northrend, the windowing as the Alliance ship to Howling Fjord wound through canyons and caverns, the bitter tundra of Borean Tundra, the lush pines of Grizzly Hills, and so on. It makes sense, then, to take a look at the making of Northrend with three of the veteran staff at Blizzard who worked on the expansion.
While Ely Cannon, Aaron Keller, and Sarah Boulian-Verrall all have different jobs at the studio now, they all worked as lead level designers when the expansion was being made, and all three share their memories of bringing Northrend to life from the grand vistas to the small details. If you’re curious about how level design works for the MMORPG or just want to take a trip down memory lane for these particular vistas, check out the full video just below.
