Blizzard Releases Five-Part Video Series On Kel'Thuzad
Kel’Thuzad, the Archlich of Naxxramas, is a faithful servant of the Lich King and an iconic character in the Warcraft universe. He first appeared as an Undead campaign hero in Warcraft III and has since been in a number of other Blizzard games including World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and as of yesterday, Heroes of the Storm. Earlier this week, Blizzard Entertainment released a five-part video series chronicling how Kel’Thuzad was “resurrected” for HoTS.
Heroes of the Storm Game Director Alan Dabiri says:
“Being the team that worked on Warcraft III, it’s very important for us to do a great job on Kel’Thuzad. He’s such an iconic character, an iconic villain that players from many games in the Blizzard universe have experienced. And so, being able to bring him into our game and do the kind of Heroes take of him is a special moment for us.”
Bringing a character from one game to another involves a lot more than just copying over assets, especially with a character as well-known as Kel'Thuzad. “Kel’Thuzad is an iconic Warcraft villain and it’s incredibly important that we do justice to that character, and we can’t screw this up,” says Blizzard Chief Product Officer Frank Pearce.
Check out the entire video series below. Enjoy!
Honoring A Legacy
Join us for episode one of Resurrecting Kel’thuzad as we show how the Heroes of the Storm team honored the legacy set forth by the hundreds of Blizzard Entertainment employees that have brought this iconic villain to life over the past 20+ years.
Paper To Pixel
In episode two of Resurrecting Kel’thuzad we’ll show you how we took the Archlich of Naxxramas from paper to pixels, setting his journey to the Nexus in motion. Join us for the initial concept meetings and see how the design and art teams start to flesh out Kel’Thuzad’s bones.
Merging Art, Design, and Fantasy
In episode three of Resurrecting Kel’thuzad our art team will show you what goes into capturing the fantasy of an established character from an existing universe in the unique world of the Nexus, while the designers put the Archlich in front of the rest of the team for the first time in an initial design playtest.
Finding The Fun
In episode four of Resurrecting Kel’thuzad we’ll take you through the art and design iteration phases and show you some of the steps these teams take to bring the most fun version of every Hero into the Nexus.
Kel’Thuzad – The Lich Comes To Life
In the final episode of Resurrecting Kel’thuzad we’ll take a look at what goes into putting the finishing touches on the Archlich of Naxxramas, including finding the perfect voice actor for Kel’Thuzad’s iconic and infamous lines.
