1. You Chose…
World of
Warcraft
Before the
“Mists of Pandaria”

2. So, let’s just say we are
game designers…
 …more specifically, Game designers
working on the new WoW expansion:
Mists of Pandaria. Imagine yourselves in
that board room, locked in by Blizzard
and they won’t let you out until you have
at least the beginnings or a synopsis of
the opening level.

3. Let’s start by
asking ourselves…
 Who?
 What?
 Where?
 When?
 Why?

4. To continue we must know our
main characters…
 Who are the Pandarens?
 What do they do?
 Where do they come from?
 When do they make contact with the
WoW universe?
 Why are they there?

5. Pandaren Backstory
 An April Fool’s Joke by
Blizzard for Warcraft III.
 Blizzard did not
expect/intend for the
Pandaren race to gain
fans and a following as
they received hundreds
upon thousands of
fanmail relating to the
adorable lovable
panda race.

6. What is “Game logic”?
 What is the most believable way we can
integrate the Pandaren into the folklore
and the world of WoW seamlessly without
having a lot of people rage at us or
upsetting the balance of this living and
breathing world of Azeroth?

7. The Main Mystery
Pandaria
 There is a disturbance on the Island.
 You must go out and found out what that is.
 But in order to do that you must go prove that you are worthy by
seeking out the Fire Spirit.
 Overcome the Fire Spirit’s challenge.
 You must now seek out the other Spirit to determine what the
problem is.
 You have to choose to first find the Water Spirit or the Earth Spirit.
 You must find someone with a lead on the Spirits’ whereabouts.
 You have chosen to look for the Water Spirit First .
 An Elder tells you he used to be his friend and that the Water Spirit
is Lonely and needs a new friend.
 You have to play with it and become friends before it will follow
you.
 You form a friendly bond with the Water Spirit and now you are
off to find the Earth Spirit.
 The Earth Spirit has been found, but he is in a deep sleep, ETC.

8. The Mystery, something is wrong with your home. You must investigate.

9. One Spirit down, two more to go.

10. We have to find a way to wake up the Third Spirit?!?

11. Fourth Spirit is found, but he is afraid of something. We should help him.

12. We find out what the problem is…

13. The new Qs are who are these people and how do we help save our home.

14. The final Question: Where do I go? Which side do I choose?

15. You did it but there was so much more...
You went through a lot to get there, but they kept you engaged.

16. Sometimes the simplest Questions
have the hardest answers.