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msfbgraves · 3 years

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I see you, villain? The problem of Percival Graves

Thinking about the othering of villains, of course I thought of Percival Graves (because when do I not think of Percival Graves, aight) - and the problems he creates if you present him as a villain. Because in the world Rowling created he cannot have that function. In fact, Percival Graves a living, breathing indictment of JKR’s morals.

More under the cut because this is going to be long!

Simply put, a villain has to embody everything the narrative, and the audience, instinctively and collectively knows is wrong. In-story, a few characters can understandably choose their path, but for the most part - no. What they do is antithetical to the morality of the audience. Yetr what Graves does, for most of the movie, is not clearly villainous. In fact, hardly anything he does is.

Hang on, though! He wanted to kill Tina and Newt without so much as a trial! And we know she is good, right? She works at MACUSA, she tries to protect the wizarding world, she likes our hero, her sister is a sweetheart...

Graves also works at MACUSA. Queenie works at MACUSA. So that cannot readily code them as evil. Graves also works to protect the wizarding world. He’s shown to be a kind man to Tina, at least - he is not an all out bully. He is also more openmindend than the leader of the supposed good guys, Seraphina Picquery.

Then, maybe, the point is that MACUSA is not good, and aligning yourself with them is an evil thing to do. Fair enough, but if that is the case - what does that make Tina and Queenie at the end of the film?

Getting back to the fact he wanted to kill Tina and Newt...

Yes, he wanted to execute Tina and Newt. And as such, was exercising powers that the institution they both represent, sanctions. Again, the institution our heroes support, and if not do not actively oppose, condones this. In that light, is Graves the only villain? Or is he supported by a greater evil our heroes also align themselves with? To the audience the execution order is a great big no-no, but in-story, Graves is completely within his moral rights to do what he does.

But Graves is manipulating Credence.

Yes. Graves is manipulating Credence. And in doing so, is doing more for him than anyone has ever done for him before, including Tina. There’s little Modesty, but even she turns away from him in the end, and, being ten, there’s not much she can do for him up until that point. Tina went after his Ma once, and that changed exactly nothing as he was made to forget the whole incident. (The script implies that he hasn’t but that wasn’t made clear other than in one look, so it’s hard to take that as fact.)The rest of the wizarding world has left him to rot for his whole life. Graves wants something from him, yes - but he also promises him something in return and does him smaller favours: he listens to him, more than once (”You’re upset. It’s your mother again. What did she say? Tell me.”) he heals his wounds, he puts a meal in him (in the Lego movie at least) and he gives him physical affection. Conditional love is an abuse tactic, but in context, this can hardly be seen as a villanous action, not when our ‘good guys’ are worse than useless.

Graves wasn’t going to make good on his promises to Credence, though. He dropped Credence like a hot potato when he didn’t need him anymore.

Yes. Graves’ in-story, truly immoral flaw is that he is racist towards Squibs. But you know, so is almost the entire wizarding world. They also condone the subjugation of non-human magical creatures, as Newt is all too aware. Graves is certainly no hero, but this alone also can’t make him a villain in the context of the world he is in, because then everybody is.

He hit and verbally abused Credence.

He did (poor boy). It wasn’t a random moment - more of a ‘Snap out of it, we have no time for this’ we’ve seen people do in movies before, but that was inexcusable. That’s his society’s racism in full view.

He went after Newt.

Of course he did. Newt was a fugitive trying to tamper with a dangerous beast - it really was kind of his job.

He went after Tina.

Again, fugitive trying to tamper with a dangerous beast. Kind of his job.

He tried to manipulate Credence again

He tried to save his life. In order to use him later, perhaps, but he might have absolutely made good on his promise to get Credence a place in the wizarding world now he knew he was a wizard (and his racism thereby no longer a factor). (”You are a miracle. Come with me. Think of what we could achieve together.”)

The Graves we’re presented with is a manipulative, dangerous man, complicit in an evil system - but so are they all. In this system, human life, wizard or no, is extremely cheap. Yes, Graves can execute on a whim, but so can, and does, Picquery. She too takes life for some perceived greater good, just as we already know Grindelwald does.

The one who calls this all out? The one who refuses to be complicit? Is Graves!

If the wizarding status quo is as rotten as it is, being opposed to it cannot make a character villainous. And yes, when Graves is revealed to be Grindelwald - and as a visual shorthand is immediately othered more (he is made uglier and is spouting nonsense) this point still stands. Yes, he’s killed people to further his objectives. Well, so has MACUSA! They’ve killed Credence! They would have killed Newt and Tina. And is there any justice for the non-magical people that get killed due to MACUSA’s negligence? (Chastity Barebone? Shaw - he may be an asshole, but what of his Dad? All those other people Credence’s unchecked magic has injured or killed?)

JKR desperately wanted to write a good-vs-evil dichotomy, but what she has actually written is a chaos-vs-order dichotomy. True, a lot of what codes our heroes as good is their rejection of of the established, inhumane order, but so does Graves. Yes, he is ultimately a worse person than our heroes because he is a racist and abuser where Tina, Queenie and Newt are not. but that is not what the movie is about. Our heroes are not trying to fight for magical and non-magical integration - that is supposedly what Grindelwald (and so too, Graves) is doing. They are trying to restore order. That’s what the whole conflict is about. Order vs chaos. In the beginning, Newt’s creatures cause chaos that needs to be stopped. Credence causes chaos that needs to be stopped. Well, they succeed - in the end, Newt’s creatures are caught, the non magical people neutralised, Credence is killed, and Graves - who has declared his opposition to order openly - is defeated.

That is also what technically makes Graves the villain of this story - he is very much trying to further chaos by using an Obscurial. But when order is inhumane, trying to disrupt it cannot be seen as evil.

That’s why Grindelwald, as a villain, really doesn’t work. The audience isn’t convinced the current order should survive. After all, what good does it do? Why perpetuate an institutional evil?

In the second film, they have to ramp up the otherness of Grindelwald - he is uglier and very much more chaotic and he kills more people than the established order does - at least, so we’re told. He goes on causing massive chaos, and this actually, is coded as one of the Crimes of Grindelwald - but the audience doesn’t buy it. Going back to the first film, what we’re presented with as the villain is a handsome, extremely competent, eloquent, manipulative and abusive (granted), but at times merely friendly influential man who is the sole source of comfort for a suffering teen, whose life he tries to save. (For his own ends, ok, but Credence himself is also not entirely pure - he does cause multiple deaths.) Graves then goes on to rebel, magnificently, against a morally corrupt world order, because he could not save Credence’s life.

I kind of stan that last bit, too.

Now, I’m not surprised that JKR’s subconscious believes that order should be protected against chaos - she is a middle aged white billonaire trans exclusionary radical feminist. But the rest of the world really isn’t that on board with her “The world is fucked but let’s keep it that way” worldview. The end of the first film still kind of works because both Newt and Tina are rebels at heart who are falling in love and Queenie is also saying “Kindly fuck off” to the established order. But it is a bittersweet ending, because a young troubled man could not be saved and a handsome, badass rebel turned into a bleached pineapple.

Or did he? Where is he?

Where is Percival Graves...?

#percival graves #fantastic beasts and where to find them #fbawtft #crimes of grindelwald #gellert grindelwald #meta #credence barebone #newt scamander #tina goldstein #queenie goldstein

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catflowerqueen · 4 years

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Okay, I finished Hiveswap 2 in... basically all one go. I will definitely have to do multiple replays to get all the Steam achievements, but that can wait until I do all my actual work and projects. Thoughts and major spoilers below.

Well Hiveswap 2 was certainly interesting! I can see why it took so long to make, and why Friendisms had to come first. That game certainly gives some more background lore to certain situations, though it also kind of… gave me certain character expectations that I feel were left unfulfilled. Like… given it is Alternia, and Doc Scratch admitted to messing around with everyone involved via his whatever-it-was making people more open to befriending the reader, I guess I’m not entirely surprised how certain situations ended up? Just… severely disappointed.

As far as gameplay goes, I think that the item management system was a little better than in part one, and it was cool that you actually got to switch between playing as Joey and playing as Xefros, and that they each had different commentary when you clicked on things. There is also a replayability factor, which is nice. The music was also really cool, especially how you could tell that the same melody was being used in every train car, just changed up a little to better fit the “theme” of the castes present in the cars. And that even held true when it got a lot darker/more depressing during the final quest! I’m also extremely glad that there was a functional hint system, because there were times when I really, really needed it.

But the bee minigame came pretty much out of nowhere, and the formatting for the directions was horrendous because it gave them to you after the game already started. Not in a tutorial fashion, either! Which meant that I couldn’t really read or understand what was actually going on until I’d failed the game two or three times, making the whole thing really tedious. Also… I’m kind of annoyed at how little actually got carried over when you use the “import Act 1 data” function? Like… inventory was the same, and maybe there were some things I missed, but it didn’t keep the name I gave Dammek’s lusus! It didn’t even use the default name for that option, either, or even throw in a line about Xefros telling you what it’s actual name was at some point while you were fleeing, which would at least explain the discrepancy.

Then there was the jade and teal car… and oh boy do I have a lot of complaints against that car. It’s honestly the one I had the most problems with, from both a gameplay and story perspective. For one thing, it dragged on way, way too long—especially for a middle section of the game. It would have worked a lot better as an endgame thing, I think, just in terms of the way games and stories are supposed to ramp up the action as you play, so things get progressively harder as you go. While there was some nice foreshadowing of how depraved the purple caste really is during that section… like the early game foreshadowing for it, it only really works effectively if you know the source material.

I mean. I guess Xefros’ discomfort in general works and gives it more of a wham/gut-punch for those who don’t know the source ahead of time, but… still.

Anyways, the length isn’t my only complaint with that section. The story was very interesting, I’ll admit, but the execution was not very good, especially when it came to the evidence. Now, I know this is apparently a common complaint with Phoenix Wright games, which that section is based on—that there is a specific order and place you need to use specific pieces of evidence, even when logic dictates that there is a far simpler solution to the problem. Like… at one point you need to come up with a motive for Tegiri to be hanging out by the Jade lockers. Considering that the entire trial has to do with the theft of a “forbidden book on rainbow drinkers,” this is something you find out during the evidence collection phase before the trial even begins, and another piece of evidence collected clearly states (or at least implies extremely heavily) that Tegiri is into rainbow drinker stuff, one would think that piece of evidence would be enough for a motive, right? Wrong. Instead, you have to use a broken action figure… and then you STILL use the other piece of evidence to show that he’s into weird romance stuff and would have been interested in reading the book! And that’s not the only time stuff like that happens!

Not to mention the section in the middle where the trial takes recess. The dialogue implies that what’s happening is you’re getting the chance to collect more evidence and statements… but, no, what’s actually happening is that you’re supposed to be taking this time to accuse other people of actually being the culprit by combining two pieces of evidence. The problem is, it doesn’t tell you this is what’s happening, give you any warning that you won’t be able to talk to the people you’re accusing again if you combine the wrong evidence, or let you use any selection screen aside from the evidence ones when it would be extremely helpful to be able to check on the timeline or suspect section again in order to get a refresher on where everyone was. And one of the pieces of evidence is a diary—but once you have it in your possession, you can’t check the relevant entry again! It only says who the diary belongs to and that some of it is censored. And since there is reason to believe that someone else messed with the diary to implicate the owner, it would be very helpful to actually get to explore that further in depth!

I really do hope that this is a case where there are multiple different endings, since the way it left off on my playthrough left an extremely bitter taste in my mouth, especially in regards to Tyzias’s character, who I actually really, really liked in Friendisms! But here… I got the “Scapegoat” achievement (which is why I’m hoping that there are other ways to complete this section), with the end result being that even though we got our client declared innocent, we also got an innocent (or at least, one heavily implied to be innocent afterwards) person declared guilty—in part because our co-counsel did not inform us of the fact that she witnessed evidence being tampered with and, in fact, knew who the true culprit was all along. And while her “Experiment” was deemed a success—and, I suppose, was technically successful within the set rules and did actually follow the whole “innocent until proven guilty” thing—it just highlighted that legislacerators still don’t actually care about justice. She could have, at any point, chimed in about what she saw, but was more interested in “keeping the peace” afterwards than actually getting the true culprit. And, yeah, baby steps and all, but…

I suppose thematically it does work well considering what happens at the end of the game when reaching the purple car, but…

I just thought better of Tyzias, is all. Friendisms implied that she was a real revolutionary for change, and, yes, I know that this wouldn’t be obvious to someone who didn’t play that game and some allowances must be made for that, but… even so, it just seems really out of character, and I don’t think it can all be blamed on forgetting lessons they learned while hanging out with the Reader/those things not actually happening in this continuity, for whatever reason (though, given how Fozzer was acting, and the fact that Chixie brings up the whole “Mask” persona, I’m pretty sure that we can assume they all remember some things that happened… just in a way that’s vague enough that those who played Friendisms can catch the references while those who didn’t won’t be lost on what’s going on)

…And, in hindsight, the whole thing was probably unnecessary to begin with since the book actually got found before the idea off a trial even came up??? I mean, part of that is because Marvus suddenly wandered in and seemed very interesting in holding one, and they didn’t want to upset him, but… yeah, it’s definitely a case of “this all could have been avoided,” especially since the book is apparently only forbidden for the jades to read. But I’m willing to give that one a pass, since trolls are weird and there were various circumstances escalating the situation.

I still think that Tagora had something to do with it, given what we know about his infatuation with Rainbow Drinkers from Friendisms… but that never actually came up in the game? I see where there may have been an opportunity for it, but it wasn’t a very clear-cut one and, at least the direction my playthrough went—would have required the player to actually have done his route in Friendisms.

(EDIT: Apparently there are some different ways to do this trial, according to some things already up on Steam, but they are dependent on some very early choices in the game--which would presumably affect some other choices in later games, and which means that i’m going to have to do many different playthroughs if i want to see everything available--and it still isn’t likely to remove the taint on my feelings towards Tyzias. After all, I’ll know that such capabilities for ruthlessness remain in her character, whether or not they’re actively showing.)

Also, hero-mode Xefros looks a lot older than I thought he was. And apparently joey is old enough to at least be a Freshman in high school??? I thought she was still in middle school!

As for other characters… some I felt were still in-character, some weren’t. Like… for what little we actually saw of Karako’s personality, considering he doesn’t really talk, I thought he was fine… despite being extremely surprised he was actually on the train at all considering his youth and, well, what little personality we saw indicating that he doesn’t really do “civilization” much. But the twins… while they were spot-on amongst themselves (resulting in an extremely chilling and heartbreakingly well-done scene near the ending), they seemed a lot more vicious in regards to their interactions with others. Wanshi apparently developed a real cruel streak in this game, and, ironically, Tirona was actually a whole lot nicer and not actually a suspect of that trial, despite being put on the stand as a witness.

I was also a bit disappointed that there weren’t more of those clever fight scenes we had from Act 1, where there was puzzle solving going on mid-fight—there were only two of them, one being so forgettable that I pretty much only remembered it existed just this second, and only the last one was really clever. There was at least one, maybe two other points where it would have been really cool/creative if Joey could have solved things with dance in a battling format… but her use of her dancing shoes was only plot important at two points in the game—and that first point wasn’t even her doing actual dancing, but, rather, as a buildup for the bee minigame. And then she never even got to use her “bee dance” skills again. At least Xefros finally got to use his bat—but, again, it was only once where it was actually a useful tool. He did get to use psionics more, though.

And there was a plot point with Skylla that was pretty much completely dropped? I mean… they did bring it up as something that was still unsolved right at the end, but… well, hopefully this just means that they’ll actually solve it for real in Act 3, because otherwise there was a perfectly good opportunity for a solution that Joey had in hand, but which didn’t get utilized. The issue is that Skylla’s lusus is apparently sick. One would think that this means that, assuming you carried over from part 1 (and I would assume even if you didn’t because it looks like a lot of the problems would be game-breakingly unsolvable if you didn’t have certain items you would have picked up through a playthrough of part 1. I guess that’s something to test for next time), this would require you to use the bestiary and vet kit, right? Wrong: I tried that and nothing happened. Apparently, the solution is that you promise Skylla you’ll look for medicine further down, and use that as a reason that Marsti should move away from the door so that you can pass by. But there’s never actually an option for you to look for the medication.

…Now that I think about it, though, this would be the prime opportunity for some inadvertent (or intentional, as the case may be) foreshadowing from Act 1. Two opportunities, even, with one being far more obvious than the other. One could be that Joey makes some commentary about knowing exactly what to do, having seen a similar problem in her own “lusus”—her pet dog back home. The other could be that Ladyy isn’t actually sick, but is instead pregnant and having little lusus puppies—which would be a callback to that Puppy Surprise doll from Act 1 where Joey hid her keys.

Still. I don’t like the fact that it never got solved in this part. Also that Vikare didn’t really get to do much (despite how annoying and confusing I myself find him) and that we didn’t get to see Fozzer again on the train even though we got to see several others on the train who we first saw at the station.

I’m also wondering what’s going to happen in part 4? Obviously part 3 is going to be either the party or further attempts to reach the party (and the suddenness of what happened with the ending does lend some more seriousness to the whole “you only have eleven days before everything gets destroyed thing), but… I’d assumed going in that two parts would be dedicated to Joey’s story, and two to Dammek’s, but apparently that’s not the case? If Joey really does get four parts to herself… then what the heck is Dammek’s story going to entail? I mean… those monsters, obviously, and whoever Jude’s “friends” are, but… I don’t know. I feel like it’s going to be hard to top this.

As far as lore goes… apparently the maturation trials are not the same thing as the exile, since Zebruh mentions already having gone through his, yet he is still on Alternia for what is implied to be… at least two sweeps, I think it was? I think he said he went through them at seven, and Chahut is approaching 9 or ten and mentions being only a perigee away from leaving. So that’s interesting. I guess the maturation trials are the equivalent of a career aptitude test or something?

It does make me wonder what happens with the Jades, though. Unless there are more mothergrubs on other planets, what do they even do when they’re off world, since apparently they are specifically tested when they are a lot younger to see who actually is assigned to the caverns vs. just living outside with everyone else. I guess maybe they just get jobs that are slightly more prestigious than olives, but still under teals? That would at least make sense for the ones who weren’t assigned to work in the caverns. Though it does make me wonder about Kanaya a little bit—had there been no game involved, would she still be considered “special” like the jades from Hiveswap given what her lusus was, except that because of said lusus she had to live outside of the caverns? It was, after all, implied that virgin mother grubs and their matriorbs were extremely rare.

Also, considering how full this train was, and the caste segregation going on, I’m wondering why the train from Sollux’s route in Pesterquest was so empty, and how he could apparently just get on any car he wanted. I mean—sure, he ended up in a car that only had an olive on it, but considering they were literally the only other passenger besides reader, that may have just been a coincidence. It can’t have been that there were separate waiting platforms for the different castes, either, since everyone was mingling together in Hiveswap before separating by car. Is it just that everyone was going to the party, but the train otherwise doesn’t get much use, or something like that? Or did it have more to do with whatever the ramifications were for Trizza’s defeat? …Or possibly the fact that the attack on the train at the end just made people still extremely wary about travelling by rail even sweeps after the fact?

There’s probably some more lore I can touch on, but… honestly, the trial section left me so upset that I can’t really put much of that together right now. I think I was going to say something about how the Jades would also be a good source of keeping culture alive between heiresses, since apparently they’re actually charged with doing so… but it’s hard to tell how much of that culture is just jade culture specifically vs. the rest of Alternia. Or even how much of it was actually serious, rather than a thinly veiled reason to let everyone indulge in things like tabloids, celebrity magazines, and rainbow drinker books.

Oh, yeah, and I’m pretty sure that Diemen at one point implied that his hot dog was actually made out of someone specific, though I’m not sure at this point whether that someone was his lusus, or if it was a troll. Either way, if that’s true, then it definitely explains why he is so protective of that specific hot dog.

EDIT: I remembered what the other bit of lore I wanted to discuss was. Well. I mean, it might not be considered “lore” as such, but... it’s interesting that of the two major rebellions we know of, both were headed by bronzebloods--that being the Summoner and Dammek. At least, I assume Dammek is the one heading the current rebellion. I wonder it it’s just a coincidence, or if there is something in bronzeblood nature that makes them more likely to lean towards these sorts of reactions? We know Dammek’s breed of lusus apparently favors strong leaders, and given the blood color would only be seeking out other bronzes (except perhaps when they hit the “my charge just died/got culled” stage and go looking for someone else to adopt, given what is happening with Joey), but presumably the Summoner had the same lusus type as Tavros. I dunno, it’s just interesting to think about.

Anyways... Overall I did really like the game! I loved the tone, despite how depressing it got at times, and Xefros’ and Joey’s developing relationship is amazing. I look forward to part 3. Hopefully it won’t take as long to come out.

#homestuck #hiveswap #spoilers #massive spoilers

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wikimakemoney · 4 years

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5 tips to accelerate your company’s AI implementation

30-second summary:

The potential of artificial intelligence is almost boundless. AI solutions are starting to be introduced by organizations across many industries and fields.

A strong starting point for any AI implementation is to get buy-in from company decision-makers. If key stakeholders understand AI’s potential, they’ll properly resource any transition.

AI is particularly useful in the field of data analytics. If you are going to join the ‘Big Data’ era, you need robust data governance.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to AI implementation. You need to explore and test the different tools and solutions available to you.

Don’t neglect the human side of your business in seeking AI-driven answers to your problems. Make sure you train staff effectively in all automation or AI tools you introduce.

It’s not insider information to know the unmatched potential of company-wide AI implementation. Even with all the advancement in recent years, it still feels like we’re only beginning to see what artificial intelligence can do.

There are countless examples of enterprises across dozens of sectors using AI for diverse tasks and processes. Algorithms help firms to predict customer behavior and buying patterns, optimize supply chains, personalize experiences, understand your workforce, and even help you find Waldo.

For some companies, though, implementing and accelerating full-scale implementation is a daunting prospect. Many have concerns over vendors, integration ability, cost, and privacy and regulatory issues. Is the juice even worth the squeeze given these challenges?

So, if you’re thinking of further adopting AI into your processes, or you have begun the transition and are finding it frustrating or tedious, here are five ways to reach your goals quicker.

Source: McKinsey & Company

1) Secure executive sponsorship

Like SaaS examples before it, AI is ushering in a new way to do things compared to on-premise software. But with the change, comes challenge. Having C-suite buy-in is crucial for success.

The more informed and engaged the higher-ups are in the uses of AI, the better the chances of enterprise-wide adoption. “Strong executive leadership goes hand-in-hand with stronger AI adoption.

Respondents from firms that have successfully deployed an AI technology at scale tended to rate C-suite support nearly twice as high as those from companies that had not adopted AI technology,” according to this McKinsey Global Institute study.

If there’s no business leader positioned to take the lead of your AI transition, you’re already off to a bad start. Make sure that those in executive positions are tasked with different facets of an AI integration program.

Each step also must be staffed appropriately to drive the process, without being afraid to change the management over the course of a campaign to be successful.

Schedule a weekly teleconference with the key stakeholders to ensure roles are constantly refined, and everyone’s kept in the loop in terms of the adoption status.

It’s also worth stressing that you – as the head of this campaign – need to be able to dictate resources, investment, and overall strategy across the organization. This includes actively engaging those around you for support with AI strategy, human and IT assets, and cultural adoption.

It would help if you made cultural adoption a priority by holding organizational leaders accountable as they execute the revisions needed to continue the transformation. C-suite must remove barriers and obstacles, both technical and cultural, to increase your chances of success.

Once C-suite is aligned with your goals, you need to determine how you wish to manage and control the budget. That’s especially true if your current landscape is made up of competing internal analytics or AI efforts.

Lastly, don’t forget to celebrate and communicate progress to your organization. This helps bolster the commitment from executives as well as gain support for the transformation.

Source: McKinsey & Company

2) Define data management and governance

Smarter and more accessible ‘self-service’ and team collaboration software brings with it an increase in data, data sources, and more end-user expectation.

As a result, the demand for proper data governance becomes essential. Without it, the data sits without a purpose in a data lake or warehouse. Look at it this way, more data without restriction can give businesses more freedom.

However, at an enterprise level, it can mean missed steps, inefficient outputs, and oversights. Faster analytics may become a problem before it feels like a solution.

It’s critical to address this with support from executives. This means defined resources to manage and enhance data collection, efficiency, and usage across all vital functions.

The data governance team must, additionally, set out and oversee data policies, standards, definitions, and manage data quality.

Remember, not all data is equal. Define what needs executive control, and which data can be made publicly available for use.

Given today’s availability of more user-friendly analytics and visualization tools, how much ‘self-service’ can be allowed to create better predictive models or different ways of creating new business processes? Who can define these datasets and use cases?

These are vital aspects to consider, as there’s a balance that needs to be struck between being rigid and protective and being flexible. This, again, highlights the importance of a useful data governance model.

Too much control can mean slow processes, lack of response, red-tape, the need for things like email verification, and overt use of business-led IT solutions.

Too much flexibility can mean different versions of the truth, leading to no real ownership or responsibility, conflict, and a reduction in productivity.

Source: KPMG

As you make decisions about AI, a data governance process allows you to implement and manage said decisions. Including who can access what, how much access, and what that access entails.

3) Take a consider and test approach as opposed to success or failure

All AI adoptions are unique and present their own sets of challenges. And so, you need to begin all AI introductions with a ‘test and refine’ method as opposed to a ‘success or failure’ approach.

Conventionally, analytical methods infer a defined relationship between variables. Trialing a one-sided hypothesis will either validate or reject it, but won’t uncover the hidden connection between the variables; the why.

Creating hypotheticals for each step, and then using these learnings and experiences through the next ones is critical. It means refining and curating your AI deployment until it feels like a workable solution that delivers meaningful results is a much easier process.

And, while this approach will inevitably extend deployment deadlines, it also allows you to fine-tune the outcome to incorporate real-life lessons learned.

If you’re integrating AI into computerised customer service like automated chatbots, it’s vital no matter where the customer goes there’s an answer waiting for them. It can’t work up until a certain point, it needs absolutes. Ultimate solutions will then align with the employee and end-user needs.

Source: PWC

4) Spend time on change management and training

Deploying an AI API to ingest a new dataset is straightforward. However, altering the management and training for analysts who’ll be using these processes going forward is a challenge.

Most forms of AI create automated decisions – “yes” or “no.” However, it is often the case that the integration of ML algorithms can allow for more subtle responses as well. These responses may be used in conjunction with existing processes to deliver the best results.

For example, if an AI decision scores say, a loan application on a 1-10 scale of suitability, scores from 7-10 may yield an automatic yes.

However, anything lower will still require human input to grant or deny the application. If you’re integrating AI to analyze voice commands in a call center over VoIP communications, how can it distinguish commands deeper than just “option 1 or option 2”?

Just as you would spend time training employees on how to use a specific process, the same is true for AI-based outcomes.

Human employees may need to spend a few weeks analyzing the results coming back from the AI algorithms. That would give them a frame of reference in terms of how to interpret the scores best.

If you’re using an AI vendor, they can guide in terms of how to understand results and how employees can get the most out of the new system. Otherwise, learning how to create an online learning platform could be a worthwhile investment to get team members up to speed.

AI isn’t ‘magic.’ It’s just a way to understand patterns and behaviors to deliver more accurate results and make predictions. AI only works when it has a defined problem to solve and the right metrics to succeed. If you haven’t clearly defined the issue you’ve bought AI in to solve, you won’t get the right solution.

Source: Harvard Business Review

5) Consolidate and assimilate automation

As you ramp up enterprise-wide AI adoption, what these processes look like in the future will change with the introduction of a multitude of types of automation. From complete manual processes all the way to the adoption of RPA, and even more advanced AI protocols.

It’s best to just (and I know it’s a big just) re-invent business processes from the ground up with AI in mind. You can then apply the best tool for the job at any given step.

Merely inserting RPA or AI into established processes may mean you miss out on all of its potential. You also need to consider the handoffs that need to happen as you further integrate.

This includes human-machine or machine-machine learning. By streamlining the handoffs and making them more seamless and reliable, you can further enhance your future processes to be cost-effective, competitive, and agile.

Source: Harvard Business Review

AI implementation can be sped up. However, it’s not necessarily about being smarter; it’s about making the right choices. Having executive buy-in combined with a defined data governance team is vital.

As is becoming fixated with data quality, dedicating enough time to change management, and having a test without defined expectations approach.

If you’re finding your AI project taking up too much time, be patient. Like any kind of digital transformation, just as you’re approaching the finish line, you’ll likely encounter another hurdle. Overcome it, though, and the possibilities are boundless.

John Allen is the director of global SEO at RingCentral, a global UCaaS, VoIP and video conferencing solutions provider. He has over 14 years of experience and an extensive background in building and optimizing digital marketing programs. He has written for websites such as Hubspot and BambooHR.

The post 5 tips to accelerate your company’s AI implementation appeared first on ClickZ.

source http://wikimakemoney.com/2020/06/30/5-tips-to-accelerate-your-companys-ai-implementation/

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jeffrmayhugh · 4 years

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The Data Is In: EVERYONE IS BUYING BITCOIN. Proof! Evidence! Data!

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Hey, welcome back, everybody, to altcoin Daily. My name is Aaron. This video today, some of the best news that we have seen in a while. In fact, the first one, two, three, four stories alone are all about proof, evidence. We are seeing both whales and regular people buying Bitcoin in mass. And we have the data, we have the proof, we have the evidence to back this up. That’s what we’re going to focus on in the first five minutes. Also, stay tuned for some other pretty good news. We’re going to talk about everything today. There’s a heavy news day and we’ll get into it. So make sure everybody take two seconds like the video, support the channel because what I’m about to show you might blow your mind. These first four stories, multiple bitcoin exchanges have seen a massive surge in new users this month, actually both new users and buying in general. So in brief, five exchanges reported an uptick in new users crack and saw an 83 percent increase in users packs full doubled its signup rate. Many top bitcoin exchanges have seen this influx of new users since the pandemic lockdown started five exchanges, so a notable increase in both sign ups and trading volume, with some citing a doubling or in some cases a tripling of their usual rate of new signups. These exchanges are cracking open packs bitfinex packs full and Luhnow crack in recorded an 83 percent rise in signups and a further 300 percent increase in intermediate verifications. Similarly, peer to peer crypto exchanges like Paxil saw a 100 percent increase in new signups since the start of March. Bitcoin exchange Luhnow, too, has seen a 50 percent uptick in active users over the last four weeks, according to Marcus, the CEO of Luhnow. He told Decrypt while the current pandemic has created a lot of uncertainty across most, if not all industries. It’s reassuring to see that there remains confidence in cryptocurrencies. While many traders are on wavered as more and more people start to work from home, Bitcoin exchange of bitfinex saw a notable uptick in new users as well. They said Our data shows that within the second half of March, which is when strict lockdown policies have been imposed in many countries. We’ve seen a 30 percent increase in new accounts. This is exactly what you would want to see if cryptocurrency is the future. The exchanges are bleeding bitcoin according to market intelligence from Glass NOAD. The amount of bitcoin being withdrawn from exchanges is steadily increasing, according to our labels. Bitcoin exchange balances are the lowest they’ve been in eight months. Glass know’d tweeted out they do good work. Now let’s check in on the most popular retail exchange. Coinbase is also reporting record Bitcoin buying. The data is represented very nicely here in this screenshot. This is research. According to Coinbase, in the 48 hours during and immediately following the drop, coinbase saw record breaking numbers compared to the last 12 month averages. Coinbase saw a 5 x increase in cash and crypto deposits totaling 1.3 billion a 2x increase in new user sign ups, a 3x increase in trading users, a 6 x increase in total traded volume. But beyond just a rash, two things are clear. Customers of our retail brokerage were buyers during the drop and bitcoin was the clear favorite. Our customers typically by 60 percent more than they sell, but during the crash this jumped to sixty seven, taking advantage of market troughs and representing strong demand for crypto assets even during extreme volatility. This is just data, guys, you cannot argue with data, and the data is great for all bitcoin holders. There is a demand. People are buying. To go further. Somebody bought 1000 bitcoin on crack in exchange just an hour ago. So that’s six and a half million in Bitcoin. On one purchase and you can see the huge green candle right here. Clearly, Aweil don’t know who it is, but this is a 1000 bitcoin order that went through on crack. And so Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are the future and we are seeing that awareness and interest continues to increase by nans is set to acquire coin market cap. The deal could be worth as much as 400 million. So we’re pretty close to April Fool’s Day. Who knows if this is true or not. But the details are this by NANCE is in the final stage of talks to acquire a coin market cap. The crypto exchange is looking to pay as much as $400 million for the deal. Coin market cap is one of the most popular crypto data aggregators drawing 207 million visitors in the last six months. Finance, on the other hand, drew one hundred thirteen million visitors in the last six months. Coin market caps traffic is 80 percent more than by an ounce. And people familiar with the matter told the block that coin market caps ability to drive significant amounts of traffic is one of the major reasons for the acquisition. So does coin market cap own anything proprietary? I don’t think so. But coin market cap is the name brand. So it looks like finance is looking to acquire more traffic. In other news, be cash and be cash. V. They’re having as are going to force miners to move away from them because those two blockchains are not popular and unprofitable and they’re miners are going to go to bitcoin. That’s the story. I mean you can read the details yourself, but I just want you to know what’s going to happen. Be cash and BSB will trend towards zero. That’s my opinion and that’s what it’s looking like is going to happen based on people actually working with them and using them. These next two stories are really good for institutions and big players coming in. The space suit I’m talking about civil wallet now offers one million FDIC like insurance for cryptocurrency. So you know that normal banks have your money insured. Quarter million. Well, apparently there’s new wallets, civil wallet. It’s a multisig non-custodial wallet. That’s important. That’s good. Now says it has a one million dollar guarantee from coin cover. So their quote, they say this is the first time that both technical and non-technical users can feel safe about their holdings. Until now, people had to keep their coins in cold storage, but now they don’t have to worry about it as their holdings are insured up to one million, just like a bank account with the FDA. I see. So for me personally, I’m still keeping my coins on cold storage because, you know, I like that about the space. But many people aren’t going to do that. Many people prefer the safety of a bank, but still want to be able to hold cryptocurrency. Well, now we’re seeing more and more things like this come to light. This is good for the whole entire industry. And they have the multisig solutions I mentioned. So, you know, you don’t have to worry about, you know, your inheritance or your beneficiaries. Inheritance, civil wallet. Users must still abide by stringent new your customer requirements by supplying their government issued ID and subjecting and subjecting their visage to facial recognition software. OK. Users will be able to connect to their bank accounts and buy crypto without leaving the wallet as wallets containing higher amounts of cryptocurrency continue to grow in numbers and insurance policy could not have come at a better time. So this is very good for the industry to go along with that. Another separate story. Epiphanny launches institutional platform to connect exchange liquidity, so an institutional platform has just been launched. And if you check out these details, you will see, wow, this is a really good thing for the industry. Institutions will now be able to trade on every single crypto market simultaneously thanks to Global I-X. This is an API platform launched on March Thirty first by a San Francisco based firm, Epiphanny. The startup hired former executives of Google X Crack and an Alpha Point to promote the service. Global X works by integrating all the world’s exchanges into one platform available to institutional traders. The firm opens business accounts with as many exchanges as possible across the entire world, while presenting a unified interface for its clients. As Swami explained, the immediate reason for this is simple. It allows institutional traders to make large orders while well without depressing price at one specific exchange. So it provides global liquidity by distributing the orders across global markets. The traders tap into global crypto liquidity instead of just one crypto exchange. The core proposition of global X is increasing the bandwidth available for institutional trading desks, as Furman highlighted. Trading on multiple exchanges is complex. If you look at before, in order to execute these global strategies, an institutional investor would have to set up accounts on multiple exchanges globally in order to execute rapidly. They would need separate sets of API is two different exchanges on the front end, its equivalent of calling 17 different brokers to execute one trade and not through one interface. Global Acts also provides a function that few institutional trading desks can have on their own access to all local fiat to crypto markets. So you can see that this is just another on ramp for big institutional players and alone. Maybe this won’t be a big deal, but together with everything else we’ve seen building out in the past couple of years, this is exactly what I would think I would be seeing if cryptocurrency is the future. That’s it for me today, everybody. If you got value in this video, give it a like a lot of interesting stories today. Comment on one of the stories below. Whether it’s about big cash, whether it’s about bitcoin core, whether it’s about these institutional players or whether it’s about, you know, the data that shows that people are buying. Let’s have a discussion down below. I will be answering you.

source https://www.cryptosharks.net/everyone-buying-bitcoin-proof/ source https://cryptosharks1.tumblr.com/post/614141972485160960

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heatherrdavis1 · 4 years

Text

The Data Is In: EVERYONE IS BUYING BITCOIN. Proof! Evidence! Data!

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Via https://www.cryptosharks.net/everyone-buying-bitcoin-proof/

source https://cryptosharks.weebly.com/blog/the-data-is-in-everyone-is-buying-bitcoin-proof-evidence-data

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scottmapess · 4 years

Text

The Data Is In: EVERYONE IS BUYING BITCOIN. Proof! Evidence! Data!

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

source https://www.cryptosharks.net/everyone-buying-bitcoin-proof/ source https://cryptosharks1.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-data-is-in-everyone-is-buying.html

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cryptosharks1 · 4 years

Text

The Data Is In: EVERYONE IS BUYING BITCOIN. Proof! Evidence! Data!

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

source https://www.cryptosharks.net/everyone-buying-bitcoin-proof/

0 notes

jenniferasberryus · 4 years

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25 Years of Warcraft and 15 Years of WoW: An IGN Retrospective

When I think of the games and franchises that define Blizzard Entertainment as a development studio, the name that stands tallest amongst a formidable line-up of giants is Warcraft - Blizzard’s high-fantasy universe full of memorable characters and moments, epic battles, and lore that spans thousands of years.

In many ways the story of Warcraft is also the story of Blizzard, and the evolution of the accessible, fun, and cinematic approach it brings to many of its creations. It’s a story that takes us from a small studio looking to create something new and original to a larger and more experienced team delving into a broader online world. In the 25 years since Warcraft first hit retail shelves as a new strategy game, and in the 15 years since World of Warcraft created a community of millions, this franchise has evolved and grown, as has its popularity.

To celebrate the anniversary of Warcraft, the games and its history, I sat down with several key Blizzard devs to discuss Warcraft's journey.

Warcraft: Orcs & Humans (1994)

“I was actually at 3DO at the time, a company I helped found, and I had gone to Electronics Boutique to look at some new games that I could play,” John Hight, Executive Producer on World of Warcraft recalls. “And I see this game called Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. I picked it up and was completely enthralled, I played through the campaign and tried to convince anybody that would listen to me to go out and buy it. Partly so we could play together. It caused me to shift my career direction. After 3DO I went to work for Westwood Studios where eventually I worked on Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2. Warcraft was my first introduction to real-time strategy, and I loved it.”

By 1994 Blizzard Entertainment had already developed a few titles: licensed products like The Death and Return of Superman for the 16-bit Super Nintendo in addition to original efforts like The Lost Vikings. Under the guise of Silicon & Synapse, the studio was made up of a small team of passionate developers that, when not working on a project, could be found discussing what games they were playing at length.

The Lost Vikings, a strategy platformer of sorts where players were put in charge of a colourful group of Nordic warriors who had to work together to reach a goal, began as a riff on the popular hit Lemmings. Warcraft, which would go on to define almost a decade of real-time strategy excellence for Blizzard, began in a similarly unexpected way.

[caption id="attachment_2276499" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Lost and clearly loving it.[/caption]

“At the time it wasn't actually going to be Warcraft: Orcs & Humans the strategy game,” Technical Director at Blizzard Bob Fitch tells me. “We were playing games like Monkey Island, and point-and-clicks were really fun, so the next thing was going to be a graphic adventure game.” And that adventure game was set to star the Lost Vikings.

As a Blizzard veteran, Bob has been working on the underlying tech that has driven many of the company’s most iconic releases for decades. This flirtation with the graphic adventure genre wouldn’t last though, thanks mostly to the release of Westwood Studios’ Dune II – a game that many cite as the original real-time strategy or RTS game. Slowly but surely the team became fixated on this new way to experience interactive strategy, so the decision was made to rework the engine and to create something in this space.

“We were thinking that the obvious answer was to take the Vikings, shrink them down to be really small, and then have the player direct them where they wanted them to go," Bob recalls, noting that the initial tests were simple scenarios that were very different to the puzzles found in The Lost Vikings. Looking to Dune II, the addition of opponents, the ability to attack, and PvP entered the picture. But when it came down to creating abilities or different types of Vikings, the team hit a wall.

“We realised that just telling our Vikings where to go and attack wasn't as much fun as playing Dune II,” Bob continues, confirming that coming up with Viking powers was a struggle. “The next thing you know, artists were drawing pictures of orcs and goblins and elves and saying that if we weren’t coming up with interesting ideas for what Vikings could do, this might be the answer.”[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=%22D%26D%20and%20Tolkien%20were%20all%20very%20traditional%20medieval-styled%20characters%20and%20places.%20We%20pushed%20our%20fantasy%20world%20into%20the%20realm%20of%20superhero%20comics%2C%20blockbuster%20movies%2C%20and%20heavy%20metal%20music.%22%20-%20Samwise%20Didier"]

“We all grew up playing Dungeons & Dragons, and reading Tolkien, so we all knew what an elf looked like, or what a paladin was,” Senior Art Director for Blizzard Entertainment, Samwise Didier, recalls. “Artistically, we really wanted to make our creations stand out. D&D and Tolkien were all very traditional medieval-styled characters and places. We pushed our fantasy world into the realm of superhero comics, blockbuster movies, and heavy metal music. Everything we created was ramped up. Anything ‘Level 1’ needed to look like it was ‘Level 5’. We didn’t go to ‘11’, we went to ‘111’!”

It was a defining moment for the studio. Although it had already created an original property with The Lost Vikings, the Warcraft universe would soon become something much more. Once the decision was made to tackle fantasy elements the project quickly evolved, with new mechanics and features added over time. Even the chess-like nature of the RTS genre would take literal form. “We had actual chess pieces, that was the black pieces and the white pieces,” Bob explains. “It was the Orcs & Humans. On one side you got the footman, on the other side you had the grunts, and they were kind of equal, and each side had its pieces in a particular slot.”

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=warcraft-orcs-humans-screenshots&captions=true"]

Warcraft: Orcs & Humans released in 1994 to both critical and commercial success. Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness followed shortly after in 1995 and saw the series, franchise, and real-time strategy really deliver on its potential.

Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (1995)

“I was working on MechWarrior 2 at Activision and a colleague started playing Warcraft II,” Tim Morten, former Production Director on StarCraft II recalls. “I looked over his shoulder and it seemed like fun. There was a feature back then where with one disc you could have your friends play multiplayer with you. So, I got to join him in a multiplayer match and he immediately marched into my base and built towers. Of course, at this point I'm figuring out the tech tree. I hadn’t played an RTS so I had no idea how to counter that strategy and he couldn't stop laughing at how my base was getting taken apart by these towers. That was my inspiration to learn how to get better at playing RTS games.”

“I think in a lot of ways we didn't really feel like we were finished,” Bob Fitch tells me. The still relatively small team at Blizzard was ready to keep going the moment development wrapped on the original Warcraft. “We were finished in that it was the game we had set out to make, but there were things that got cut. Things like Naval battles. That and we just wanted to keep working on it. We had learned a lot about how to make an RTS, how they play, how to balance them, how to make artificial intelligence for them – and we knew we could do an even better job the second time around.”[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=%22We%20had%20learned%20a%20lot%20about%20how%20to%20make%20an%20RTS%2C%20how%20they%20play%2C%20how%20to%20balance%20them%2C%20how%20to%20make%20artificial%20intelligence%20for%20them%20%E2%80%93%20and%20we%20knew%20we%20could%20do%20an%20even%20better%20job%20the%20second%20time%20around.%E2%80%9D%20-%20Bob%20Fitch"]

“Orcs & Humans was our first step into Azeroth,” Samwise adds. “And we basically just stuck to orcs and humans, with a little flavour added through water elementals and demons. With Warcraft II, we added elves and dwarves, as well as trolls, ogres and dragons. We were building our fantasy world with the standard tropes but were making our own versions of them – the Blizzard versions that we all know and love.”

“We realised that it would be more interesting if the sides were more diverse,” Bob continues. “And so, you can see that in Warcraft II, which had so much more variety in the way that each side played and what all the units were. And that evolution was then reflected in StarCraft where there's three unique races.”

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=warcraft-ii-tides-of-darkness-screenshots&captions=true"]

In creating Warcraft II, the team at Blizzard also worked to evolve the tools that it had, with the goal being to create something so powerful that players would have the option to create anything they wanted. In Orcs & Humans, many of the maps and campaign missions were laid out using text files. This evolved into a proper editor for the completion of Warcraft II and later, its expansion, The Dark Portal.

“The campaigns went through evolutions where originally they were simplistic,” Bob explains. “Over time they grew to have more story and sub-quests, as we got better. And then that segues into another evolution, which was the editor. We began building the editors to have more and more functionality until our goal with Warcraft II and eventually StarCraft II was to create engines and editors so powerful that end users could create whatever they wanted.”

Jumping forward to the release of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos in 2004, this goal was met when user-created versions of genres we now know of as Tower Defence and MOBAs began to appear for the first time – all within the Warcraft universe. For the team at Blizzard it was a gradual evolution of the tools it had been honing internally finally making their way out into the world. And in a way getting to see the end results felt like mission complete.

In expanding the scope of Warcraft II, however, the characters and lore of the universe began to form alongside the art and strategy gameplay. Compelling characters began to emerge, and events took on more cinematic qualities. This storytelling would eventually take the series and franchise in new and exciting directions.

[caption id="attachment_2276501" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Warcraft II saw the series really finding its feet.[/caption]

Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (2003)

“When I started at Blizzard, it was 1996,” Chris Sigaty, former Executive Producer and Senior Vice President at Blizzard recalls. “I was in college at USC at the time, and I knew a friend who knew somebody at Blizzard, and they invited me to come in and help test Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal. I absolutely loved Tides of Darkness and strategy gaming. And immediately there was this feeling of having found my people. I was a total Dungeons & Dragons nerd, science fiction and fantasy reader growing up and I never imagined there was a career in it. But once I arrived, I knew this was exactly what I wanted to do.”

Before Blizzard would return to Warcraft though there was - as the team lovingly puts it – many distractions along the way. From the dark action-RPG Diablo series to the science fiction space opera StarCraft. The latter took the RTS genre to its strategic limit by introducing three varied, asymmetrical, and involved races that engaged in grand battles involving large armies. It was StarCraft’s popularity and success in this space, bolstered by the earliest examples of competitive esports, that would inform the development of Warcraft III. That and the renewed focus on character and story.

“Warcraft III was where everything came together,” Samwise tells me. “The story, art, movies, hell - even the art in the manual, really pushed our game to 111. We came up with the franchise’s biggest characters in Warcraft III: Jaina, Illidan, Thrall and Arthas, and dozens more. Almost every character in World of Warcraft was based and modelled after something we created in Warcraft III and when World of Warcraft came out, it only got better.”

[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=%22We%20came%20up%20with%20the%20franchise%E2%80%99s%20biggest%20characters%20in%20Warcraft%20III%3A%20Jaina%2C%20Illidan%2C%20Thrall%20and%20Arthas%2C%20and%20dozens%20more.%22%20-%20Samwise%20Didier"]

“It was originally a hero-controlled game,” Chris says, talking about the earliest moments developing Warcraft III. “You could only control your hero, and the units you had around it were selected only if you had vision of them. It was a very different game. It wasn't working out, but it gave this differentiator for Warcraft III that we wanted, which was something that played very differently than the units-swarming you got from StarCraft. Hero-centric, level up, have items, consume them, go into different buildings and then focus on a few smaller armies. We called it RPS (Role Playing Strategy).”

This new direction saw an explosion of lore and gameplay come together, from the introduction of 16 or so playable races, to the simplification of base building to incorporate more story and role-playing character progression. Warcraft III would ultimately see this vision move back towards more traditional RTS mechanics, with the playable races cut down to eight and then four, but its focus on hero abilities and a central character remained.

“It was a complete revamp at that point,” Chris confirms. “We basically went back to the drawing board, but the element of having this hero character was something the team was very fond of. That hero-centric play felt like the big innovation for us.”

“We were still working on StarCraft at that time,” Rob McNaughton, Lead Artist on StarCraft II recalls. “We really sat down and thought about how we are going to evolve the RTS. We wanted to take it to the next level. First, we made the decision to go with 3D graphics, which meant that Warcraft III became one of our most technically challenging games to make during those years. But we also quickly realised that it was going to be more than just a continuation of the RTSs we’ve made. With the heroes and levelling, the game could become more accessible to a lot more people. So, from our point of view internally, the Warcraft franchise went a little softer where StarCraft went hard esports.”

“By Warcraft III, we added dozens more races and places to Azeroth,” Samwise adds, “including some of our most recognisable races in the game; the night elves, tauren, and murlocs. Working with 3D models and environments at this time allowed us to really push the look of the game and add to the immersion with in-game cutscenes. All the while, our pre-rendered cinematics were improving with each game and by World of Warcraft, both gameplay art and cinematic art hit a whole new level.”

[ignvideo url="https://au.ign.com/videos/2018/11/02/warcraft-3-reforged-cinematic-trailer-blizzcon-2018"]

Warcraft 3 returns!

World of Warcraft (2004)

“I was working at BioWare in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on a game called Jade Empire,” Kevin Martins, Lead Designer on World of Warcraft recalls. “With World of Warcraft we had heard the buzz about it. We played a demo at E3, but as we only played about 20 minutes of it, we didn't think much of the game. I’m an orc and I kill scorpions. I hope there's more to it. Oh boy, was there more to it! When it was released it quickly took over the team at BioWare, where it single-handedly delayed Jade Empire because we were all playing it. I had my troll and female mage, my first characters and they're still around to this day.”

Taken at face value, World of Warcraft presented a new direction not only for the franchise but Blizzard as a whole. But much like the origins of Warcraft, which was born from playing and loving a new type of game with the release of Dune II, World of Warcraft’s inception followed a similar trajectory.[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=%22When%20it%20was%20released%20it%20quickly%20took%20over%20the%20team%20at%20BioWare%2C%20where%20it%20single-handedly%20delayed%20Jade%20Empire%20because%20we%20were%20all%20playing%20it.%22%20-%20Kevin%20Martins"]

“The team was playing EverQuest and Ultima Online and loving them,” Chris recalls. “So, immediately we began asking - what if. What if we brought our slant to it? There was another game in development at the time and it was not an MMO in any way. And we didn't want to do that anymore. The big moment came when Allen Adham walked in and said, ‘I know we've been doing this thing, but we all really want to go and do this thing.’ And everybody was like, ‘Let's do it.’ And that new thing became World of Warcraft.”

Having thousands of people log into a single server, with the goal being to create a seamless world without the zone-loading seen in EverQuest, was there from the beginning. This alone proved to be a huge technical challenge and undertaking for the team. “It's hard to wrap your head around it,” Chris continues. “We started building this engine that needs to do all these things, and it was new territory. Blizzard had been through this many times where we’ll ask, ‘What do we know about that?’, and then realise we don't know anything about it.”

The sheer scope of World of Warcraft’s, well, world was larger than anything Blizzard had developed to date, and it required both new technology and a different approach to design. But it wasn’t long before the first prototype build was put together and the team could see the Warcraft universe face-to-face for the first time.

“I remember being completely impressed by seeing the world at scale,” Chris tells me. “With the Warcraft RTS games, even though they showed some size differences between units, it's not truly a scale. It does whatever it needs to do for the gameplay, so an ogre might be bigger than a footman as far as the number of pixels on the screen is concerned, but it wasn’t an accurate scale.”[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=%22When%20you%20look%20at%20how%20big%20that%20initial%20world%20was%20and%20how%20ambitious%20it%20was%2C%20comparing%20it%20to%20all%20the%20MMORPGs%20that%20were%20released%20before%20that%20-%20I%20don't%20think%20any%20of%20them%20came%20out%20with%20a%20world%20that%20huge.%22%20-%20John%20Hight"]

“When you see a treant in Warcraft III walking around, it's big compared to your footman,” Chris continues. “But it's not like when you walk around in World of Warcraft, look up, and see a treant. That was one of those moments where it was like holy crap that’s a treant! That's how we knew we were on the right track, because it's such an epic feeling. We knew Warcraft players were going to like this too.”

“Instead of viewing multiple characters from above, we had our first experience of looking up to see a sky and seeing just how terrifying some of our creatures and characters could be,” Samwise adds.

Although early builds would provide this new perspective, there were still many challenges facing the team. One was taking the art style seen in Warcraft III and translating that to a more traditional over the shoulder look. “Keeping the Warcraft style; we struggled with that for a while,” Samwise admits. “For some reason, with this new point of view, the art team had a tendency to go more realistic with the characters and environments. Our weapons and armour were more proportionate to normal-style weapons, and our colours were becoming dull and muted. Maybe it was the view we were working in.”

[caption id="attachment_2283094" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Battle Chests... now that takes me back.[/caption]

“At that time, most first-person style games were trying to be more realistic,” Samwise continues. “That is definitely not want we wanted. We wanted the immersion to feel realistic, but not kill the Warcraft art style that we all loved. We needed to get that superhero vibe back. We just applied our normal philosophy for creating art and tweaked it a bit to fit this new camera view. By pushing the proportions back to normal Warcraft levels, our characters became more dynamic and more heroic. We pushed the weapons and armour to be even bigger and bulkier, and juiced up our palette to keep our colours rich and vibrant. After that, we had the feel of Warcraft back in our art.”

“The game for me and I think for a lot of players, is that the world is the star first,” John Hight says. “There's always something new and an interesting place to explore. When you look at how big that initial world was and how ambitious it was, comparing it to all the MMORPGs that were released before that - I don't think any of them came out with a world that huge. And then each expansion added to the world with interesting storytelling and characters like Jaina or Sylvanas or Thrall. Characters that we’ve followed through many different stories over the years.”

“The moment to me that really stands out came on launch night,” Kaeo Milker, Production Director on Heroes of the Storm tells me. “We do launch events and we did one for WoW at Fry's Electronics, which is this big warehouse electronics store. We'd done them before and usually a couple of hundred people show up, they're all excited and they buy the game and we sign autographs and we all celebrate together. But that night when we arrived there was a line of people wrapped around and around this huge building multiple times. And then it went out into the parking lot and around the block. There were thousands of people there and it was the first moment where we realised that this was different. It felt like the beginning of everything, beyond all of our wildest expectations.”

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/08/09/25-changes-to-world-of-warcraft-since-it-launched-in-2004"]

A look back...

Warcraft: Legacy (2019)

It’s hard to overstate how the success of World of Warcraft not only impacted the industry but Blizzard as a studio. From a small team that created Warcraft: Orcs & Humans the studio would grow to measure in the hundreds, especially as work commenced on expansions for World of Warcraft. But behind this exponential rise in popularity and awareness, Warcraft has always remained the result of developers given the freedom to create. “We know what we like,” Bob summarises. “Sometimes that's all it really takes, knowing what you like and a commitment to do it.”

“Warcraft came from passionate players creating the games they wanted to play,” Chris Sigaty confirms. “And it turns out that the people out there playing the games are basically brethren, people that feel the same way, and there's this awesome camaraderie that comes out of that. You can feel that togetherness.”

“Friendships that people could make before ever meeting in real life, that's always been a part of what the internet is,” Kevin Martins adds. “The power of relationship building was particularly strong in World of Warcraft and it’s a legacy that resonates to this day.”[poilib element="quoteBox" parameters="excerpt=%E2%80%9CThe%20power%20of%20relationship%20building%20was%20particularly%20strong%20in%20World%20of%20Warcraft%20and%20it%E2%80%99s%20a%20legacy%20that%20resonates%20to%20this%20day.%E2%80%9D%20-%20Kevin%20Martin"]

“We love seeing people create costumes and artwork based on Warcraft,” Samwise says. “I remember explaining to the artists when they joined the team what the ‘Warcraft’ art style was. At the time, it was really different, and sometimes polarising for people. Now, everyone walks into Blizzard knowing what the style is. I have hired people as artists specifically from seeing their fan art.”

“You know, we do want World of Warcraft to live for another 15 years or 50 years or even a hundred years,” John Hight tells me. “And in order to do that, it has to remain relevant to the community out there. We're also developing for the next two, four, six, eight years. We plan many expansions ahead. What’s exciting is that people coming to work on the game or play Warcraft for the first time probably have no idea about the games that had influenced the designers of the originals.”

With the release of World of Warcraft: Classic, which recreated the launch period of the game to great success, and the upcoming release of the remastered Warcraft III: Reforged, this is a sentiment that rings especially true for Blizzard. Both projects have artists, designers, and engineers who grew up playing Warcraft – either in its original real-time strategy form or the phenomenon that is the massively-multiplayer World of Warcraft.

“When I think about how those things influenced each other, it wasn't this path that we set out on, knowing we're going to get to this place,” Chris concludes. “But World of Warcraft became the giant exclamation point for Warcraft in that it created communities of people. It broke down barriers with people simply having a great time adventuring together. That for me, I want to share that with more people, and I look forward to 25 more years where we can broaden that feeling and bring that sense of togetherness to an even larger group.”

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Kosta Andreadis is an Australian freelancer who also wrote IGN's Diablo retrospective and StarCraft retrospective, as well as a look at the early days of Blizzard with its co-founder Allen Adham. Follow him on Twitter.

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/25-years-of-warcraft-and-15-years-of-world-of-warcraft-an-ign-retrospective via IFTTT from The Fax Fox https://thefaxfox.blogspot.com/2020/01/25-years-of-warcraft-and-15-years-of.html

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michaeljtraylor · 6 years

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