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The history of Warcraft Adventures

Way back in late 1996 (or early 1997) I read in the Swedish edition of PC Gamer that Blizzard would release a point-and-click adventure game called “Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans” (the game was set for a Q4 1997 release). Well, I really liked what I saw from the game at the time (especially since I was a huge fan of Warcraft 1 and 2). Well, the game didn´t launch by the end of 1997. So I got really disappointed that I didn´t get a chance to play the game during the Christmas season, and sadly enough more bad news would follow.

You see. Blizzard decided to cancel the development of “Warcraft adventures” (which they did back in 1998), because they felt like their game looked rather outdated in comparison to LucasArts “The Curse of Monkey Island” (1997, October) and their upcoming game “Grim Fandango (1998, October). Thus the following press release by Blizzard:

Blizzard Announcement — 22 May 1998 Press Desk: Blizzard Cancels Warcraft Adventures:

“Blizzard wants to take a minute to respond to the Warcraft Adventures petition that is circulating on the Internet. First, we want to express our gratitude to the Warcraft fans that took the time to organize such an effort. We recognize that the cancellation of Warcraft Adventures has disappointed some of our customers, and we appreciate that they have shared their opinions with us.

Secondly, we want let you know that stopping development was not a decision that was taken lightly. It was a hard call to make, but each of us knows that it was the right choice. The cancellation was not a business or marketing decision or even a statement about the adventure genre. The decision centered around the level of value that we want to give our customers. In essence, it was a case of stepping up and really proving to ourselves and gamers that we will not sell out on the quality of our games.

And finally, we hope that Warcraft fans will consider our track record and trust our judgement on ending the project. The cancellation of Warcraft Adventures does not signal the demise of Azeroth. We have every intention of returning to the Warcraft world because there are still chapters to be told. We will keep you informed as we announce future Warcraft plans.”



So as you might imagine. I (and many others) felt very heart-broken by Blizzard´s decision to kill-off “Warcraft Adventures”. Even so, I never gave up hope about the game. As I truly believed that Blizzard would pick up the pieces and start developing the game again at some point in the future (to finish off what they once started so to speak). Well, since the years went by in a handful…I of lost most of my hope for “Warcraft Adventures” (this was around 2000-2002 sometime).

Warcraft Adventures is back from the dead

However, out of nowhere came hope in the shape of Andrey Molchanov´s gameplay series of “Warcraft Adventures” via Youtube (Molchanov uploaded his first Youtube gameplay video on the 16th of February 2011). Well, let´s just say that Molchanov set the Internet (and the Warcraft community) on fire with his video (s). Nevertheless, Blizzard still didn´t pick up on the idea to complete “Warcraft Adventures”. Nor did the public have access to the playable demo of the game. Until now, that is, because a Russian Gamer called Reidor uploaded the demo for (it´s 500 MB large) Warcraft Adventures” just recently:

“After 18 years of waiting, project Warcraft Adventures cancelled Blizzard in 1998 year, finally released! This is full pre-released version witn in-game cinematics + interest txt docs. This is my gift for all Blizzard fans, old and new.” – Reidor, via scrollsoflore



Activision pulls the plug on the Warcraft Adventures demo

That´s great news of course. However, Activision was fast on the trigger to have Mediafire to remove the demo from their service (via a DMCA claim, as seen in the picture above). So you have to search for the “Warcraft Adventures” demo elsewhere *cough cough torrent sites cough cough***. I´m of course aware that it was just a matter of time before Activision would pull off a move like this (just like in the case with Nintendo, whom has been killing of fan-made games and whatnot quite a lot as of lately…).

Nevertheless, it seems like a handful of people got the chance to download the game before Activision pulled the plug on the download link via Mediafire (I don´t like this move more than anyone else, but Activision owns the “Warcraft” IP. So they have the legal right to send out DMCA claims). So one can only hope that “Warcraft Adventures” will be uploaded and publicly available “elsewhere”. As for here and now though, you could always watch and enjoy Molchanov´s playthrough of the demo for “Warcraft Adventures” on Youtube (you can watch the first video out of five down below).

As for the DMCA claim by Activision, this is what I would have done:

1. I would have checked with every download service that has hosted the demo for “Warcraft Adventures” and ask for download stats (let´s say that 10-50,000 people had downloaded the demo and truly enjoyed it).

2. Then I would have made an official Blizzard post and asked the Warcraft fans if they would be interested in a remake of “Warcraft Adventures” (the post would contain a link to an online petition and a official download link to the old demo).

3. And “if” enough people liked the thought of a full remake of “Warcraft Adventures”, then “maybe” a Kickstarter or indiegogo campaign could be done?

And with that said, what´s your take on this matter? Let us know what you think about the game, and Activision´s DMCA take down of “Warcraft Adventures” in the comment section down below!

***Disclaimer***

This is a personal opinion of the writer, and it doesn’t necessarily represent the other writers (nor The Gaming Ground´s) opinions.

Source:

Scrollsoflore



Robin “V-Act” Ek

The Gaming Ground

Twitter: @TheGamingGround

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Tags: Blizzard, PC games, Retro games, Warcraft, Warcraft adventures