Chris Metzen is the vice president of creative development at Blizzard Entertainment.[1]
Metzen began his career as an artist and eventually art director, and his style characterized the earlier WarCraft, StarCraft and Diablo series.[citation needed] Eventually his position in creative development has given him the reins over lore and storylines created for the games of the Blizzard franchise, the foundations of which were laid by previous designers.[citation needed] Metzen also supervises the lore created for the pen & paper rpg, mangas, and novels. He has voiced numerous characters in the Warcraft and StarCraft games.[citation needed]
In World of Warcraft, his responsibility extends into coordinating with artists to create environments that give players a sense of continuity and cohesiveness.[citation needed]
Every quest that is proposed during the game's development, no matter how small, must first be validated by Metzen, as well.[citation needed]
Metzen has used the alias "Thundergod" in multiple online venues, and also self-styles himself as "The Bourbon Cowboy". He is believed to be the voice of Nefarian,[2] also he is the voice of Thrall in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, The Frozen Throne and World of Warcraft[3][4], the voice of Rexxar in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne[3][5], Ragnaros[6], a number of unspecified bosses[7], and King Varian Wrynn and Algalon the Observer in World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King.
In Starcraft, he voiced the Terran Marine, Terran Battlecruiser and the original Ghost[8].
Metzen's favorite hero in Warcraft lore is Malfurion Stormrage.[9]
Other Works
- Alliance & Horde Compendium, co-author
- The Warcraft novel "Of Blood and Honor"
- Manual of Monsters, co-author
- He was also part of "Creative and Rules Design Assistance and Additional Material" staff for the entire Warcraft and World of Warcraft RPG series. As well as Interior Artist for several of the books.
See also
Personal touches
- The Feast of Winter Veil features a quest to rescue Metzen the Reindeer from kidnappers. Doing so rewards players with the ability to transform their mount into a similar-looking reindeer.
- Additionally, there is an officer of the Argent Dawn (and later Crusade) called Commander Metz who bears a strong resemblance to Metzen's avatar on Sons of the Storm.
- In an Interveiw for the Warcraft movie he revealed that "His heart lies with the Horde"
External links
- Interviews
Warcraft stuff starts about 7 min into part 1.
Reference list
- ^ World of Warcraft Community Site Quote: Chris Metzen, who is our vice president of creative development.
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/09/technology/10warcraftqa.web.html?pagewanted=4&_r=5
- ^ a b http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1068321/ Retrieved on 2009-04-14.
- ^ BlizzCon '08 - Day 1 Friday Oct 10 Quote: ...although Chris Metzen still retains his role as Thrall... Retrieved on 2009-04-14.
- ^ Talking To Himself Quote: Chris Metzen, best known as a story-writer, also voice acts two characters in Warcraft III. These characters, Thrall and Rexxar, happen to get a lot of dialogue in the expansion pack orc campaign. Retrieved on 2009-04-14.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYU3W2vRSKs&feature=related
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYU3W2vRSKs&feature=related
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYU3W2vRSKs&feature=related
- ^ Chris Metzen & Micky Neilson Pocket Star Books Lore Q&A Video Interview Chris Metzen: ...I mean Malfurion's always been, personally, my favorite Warcraft hero... Retrieved on 2009-04-14.