Compared to the first CG animation released before, the second official CG animation sparked even more discussion among players.
One reason is that with the previous promotions and buzz, players' expectations for "World of Warcraft" were sky-high.
Another reason is that this time, the CG animation finally involved characters that players were familiar with from "Warcraft."
That character is Arthas.
Although "Warcraft" doesn't have a single constant main character, and the story is told from the perspective of factions like humans, night elves, undead, and orcs, characters with names and personalities made a deep impression on players, especially Arthas.
His storyline is quite extensive and has generated a lot of debate.
After all, what was Arthas like before his fall?
He was a rich and handsome prince, a paladin of the Silver Hand at a young age, and had a beautiful fiancée.
But later, Arthas became a death knight, influenced by the will of the Lich King within Frostmourne, and committed the act of patricide.
This transformation from good to evil, combined with the large amount of story involved, means that when people mention "Warcraft," Arthas is often the first character that comes to most players' minds.
This beautifully made CG animation has once again brought back players' past memories of Arthas.
Another point is that this is official confirmation: Arthas is definitely a villain.
All the expectations the old king had for Arthas have become the opposite.
The old king hoped Arthas would become a symbol of justice.
But Arthas became the Lich King.
He hoped Arthas would use his power with caution, that true victory meant inspiring the fighting spirit in his people's hearts.
But Arthas used the power of Frostmourne, turning his subjects into undead.
These very controversial and thought-provoking points have led some players who played Warcraft back then to discuss the content again.
"As expected! The silly guy finally became the real big villain, the Meow King!"
"What's with Meow King? It's the Lich King, not Meow King! Don't give the silly guy random nicknames!"
"You guys down there, stop it!"
"Actually, if you think about it, Arthas is quite tragic. When he needed support the most, Uther ran off to tattle to his parents, and Jaina said she couldn't watch Arthas do this, and then she just left."
"That's true, you guys. If Uther and Jaina had stood by Arthas's side back then, who would have ended up becoming the Lich King? Is Illidan a possibility?"
"Stop bragging, everyone. I'm more curious if we'll be able to fight Arthas and get his Frostmourne when it comes out."
"+1, and Illidan's Warglaives of Azzinoth!"
"Speaking of Frostmourne, I wonder if we'll get the happy fire sword too?"
"Happy fire sword, my foot! Even if there's a fire-element weapon corresponding to Frostmourne, it shouldn't be called the happy fire sword!"
"What's the big deal? Why are you so serious! And doesn't happy fire sword sound catchy?"
With the release of this second promotional CG animation, players' enthusiasm was once again pushed to a peak.
It also made some game developers during the same period hesitate, as they couldn't gauge when this game would be released.
If it was just in the initial development stage, it wouldn't matter.
After all, no actual gameplay footage of the game had been shown yet.
Considering the settings for "Nebula World" and the "Azeroth map," everyone understood what a massive game "World of Warcraft" was.
But the key issue was that these elements showed Lucas had planned ahead.
No one wanted to clash with this game, which could be considered a behemoth.
As players excitedly awaited, and time slowly passed, some game developers began to cautiously release their new games.
For example, FOW's "Wasteland 1981," with its new brainwave control update, achieved considerable sales once again after its release. However, its reputation was slightly lower than the first installment, with a 0.2-point decrease in rating.
In addition, other game developers also launched new titles one after another.
And during this time, what Lucas and Nebula Games were doing was releasing CG animations.
"I have been imprisoned for ten thousand years and banished from my homeland."
"And now you dare to intrude upon my domain... You are seeking your own doom!"
One CG animation after another was released, much like an ongoing TV series.
Especially after Arthas, the appearance of Illidan once again pushed the popularity of "World of Warcraft" to a new high.
For most players, Illidan's popularity could completely rival Arthas's.
This could be seen from the heroes released in "Warcraft" back then.
For players who didn't delve into RTS gameplay and only played through the story, the undead and night elves were always represented by DK and DH, which stood for Death Knight and Demon Hunter, as their initial heroes.
Of course, like Arthas, Illidan would not be a boss that players could fight from the beginning in "World of Warcraft."
After all, there were only so many named bosses, and they couldn't all be released to players at once.
At the same time, in terms of plot, the early versions of "World of Warcraft" and the later versions were completely different.
The early Warcraft plot did have some stiff parts, but the overall direction was still logical. However, when Blizzard started to slack off, it became clear what "no limits" meant.
Whether characters are redeemed or not is not the main issue. The key is how the plot handles their corruption and redemption. If two flattering words can sway someone who was originally corrupted, then if they were corrupted for a cause, wasn't that corruption in vain?
And compared to the early versions where Onyxia, the black dragon princess, secretly infiltrated for decades, destroyed Varian, colluded with Blackrock Mountain to indirectly create the Brotherhood, and only revealed her true form due to a small oversight by the marshal, the later methods of the Queen of the Banshees showed no queenly demeanor. Furthermore, from having a distinct personality in the early stages to suffering from split personality later on, her character went on a rollercoaster ride, almost to the point of borrowing a golf club from the madman next door.
In contrast, Kerrigan in "StarCraft" having a savior complex despite having killed countless people seems completely acceptable.
Of course, Warcraft hasn't only been in decline. If you have to say what has become increasingly outstanding and prominent, look at how good the game's CG animations are.
Of course, for the later story, there's no need for Lucas to rush now. As an MMORPG, with version updates and iterations, there's plenty of time to refine it.
(End of chapter)
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