This is a trailer were they definitely sat down and traced the history the Black Temple, with all its twists and turns. It was originally inhabited by the Draenei, who worshipped the holy force of goodness known as the Light. However, Orcish Warlocks lead by Ner'zhul massacred the Draenei and defiled the temple with demonic magic. However, they eventually destroyed Draenor itself with their dark magics, and the Burning Legion took over the temple until Illidan the betrayer came along, and with the help of Akama, the former Draenei High Priest of the temple, took it over.

They debated over who would narrate the trailer for some time. Maiev Shadowsong was considered because of her intense hatred for Illidan, but eventually Akama was picked due to his deep emotional connection to the temple, and to set up the story of patch whereby Akama would betray Illidan and help players defeat him and retake the temple.

They described turning back the clock to show the flashbacks in the movie, designing Akama as a Draenei High Priest with vestments and symbols hearkening to his future as a broken, and changing the Brothel of the Modern Black Temple to the bright gardens of the ancient temple of Karabor. They were proud that they did well enough that many people speculated that the old Karabor would show up in game as a Caverns of Time instance.

They added smaller touches to complete the story and make it seem real. The Draenei girl who follows Akama around was given a name, Coraa -- with an a at the end to make it properly Draenei -- and was dressed in red to signify her status as Akama's heart. They borrowed Warcraft 3 sounds and dialogue to sprinkle into the scenes that duplicated Illidan's conquest of Outland and the Black Temple.

They ran into some trouble created Ner'zhul, the ancient evil Orc Shaman, as he'd only shown up in proper illustrations twice before: Once in a Metzen sketch, and once, briefly, in an old Warcraft 2 cinematic. They sent designs past Metzen, Samwise Dher idier, and other Blizzard lore gurus, and got him in the World of Warcraft, if only briefly, for the first time. They mentioned too, that he was wielding the legendary Staff of Sargeras. Before you ask, it probably won't be in-game loot any time soon.

Whereas the Black Temple's story used lots of Lore directly, the Diablo universe is a bit more sparse on lore, with very few supplemental materials or games released to tell the greater story of Sanctuary and its people. Still, the lore came into play when the team created the gameplay trailer for the Wizard class, they still used lore, but in a more subtle, emotional way.

The history of Sanctuary's people goes back 4,500 years, but even then, much has been forgotten. This is especially true in the 20 years since the Prime Evils were banished and the World Stone destroyed. The people of Sanctuary simply do not want to remember the war between Heaven and Hell. The few that saw it first hand were either killed or driven mad. Even those who fought back suffered. Blood Raven and the Summoner of Diablo 2 were the heroes of Diablo 1, as was the Dark Wanderer.

Overall, those few who remember anything about Demons and Angels try to forget it, and it is dismissed as superstition.

Into this world comes the Wizard, who the Diablo 3 team described as an outcast of sorts, a girl who was alienated, who learned her craft on her own and made her own way in the world. That confidence allows her to face the legions of hell with a smirk, defying the anger of other humans who just want to forget and don't want any trouble.

Of course, part of the problem in creating the trailer was Diablo 3's locked camera. They wanted to pan around, to show the legions coming in head on, but the developers hated to break the camera for them. Of course, they eventually prevailed, the developers did like the final movie.

The other major idea behind the Wizard movie was carnage. They wanted to capture that visceral feel of the Diablo universe. While watching, you take your hands off the keyboard and watch, but once the movie's over, you should feel pumped to go back to the keyboard and play.


Questions and Answers

The first questioner wanted to know if there would be Blu-Ray DVDs of the cinematics and cutscenes one day. Joeyray Hall said they had seriously considered the idea. It might take some time, as some of the earlier cutscene files are so ancient as to be unable to be accessed through a modern computer. When asked how soon we might expect a Blu-Ray DVD anyway, he answered, "When it's done."

Another questioner wanted to know why there were so many discrepancies in the South Park WoW Episode, such as the existence of a Human Hunter. The answer is that, since South Park's audience is so large, Matt and Trey needed to make changes to make it accessible to a larger, non-WoW playing audience. However, they tried as much as possible to respect the spirit of the game, and the DVD Production team is very happy with how it turned out.

Another person wanted to know if the team hated Gnomes, and if they would be featured in future cinematics. The team answered that they love Gnomes, and try to fit a gnome into every in-game cutscene they can. Terran himself actually plays Gnomes exclusively. However, he said, it's sort of hard to make them epic. That got him a lot of laughs and boos.

One person wanted to know if there plans to release old cinematics and scenes not currently on DVD. They say that they will try to fit them on future Collector's Edition DVDs. Another person asked if they ever use motion capture in cinematics, and they answered that everything is hand-painted, no motion capture. That got them a lot of applause.


Terran's mom wondered if the Wrathgate cutscene would be able to be viewed again once the quest was completed. Apparently, you will be able to talk to an NPC and ask them what happened at the Wrath Gate, at which point the cutscene will play again.

Someone asked about the Legendary Pictures Warcraft Movie, but alas, with a lawyer at the table, all they could do was refer him to PR. Of course, if you weren't aware, Chris Metzen gave a slightly fuller answer on the movie issue in the World of Warcraft Q&A panel, which I liveblogged on WoW Insider.

So, the DVD Production panel was actually a whole lot of fun. The team has a very quirky sense of humor and a lot of camraderie, and a love of storytelling that I'm enamoured with. Joeyray Hall thanked us all for coming, and said he was afraid that they'd have an audience of nothing but family members. Certainly, this panel was probably one of the hidden gems of BlizzCon, and I am glad I had a chance to stop by.