Jay Wilson is Game Director of an Unannounced Blizzard Game
Posted 22 January 2013 by FluxIn his farewell post Jay Wilson said that he was moving to another project inside of Blizzard. Most of us assumed he’d be working on Titan (or something else more secret), but also assumed he’d be a team lead or developer of some sort, but that he would *not* be a Game Director again. I thought that Jay wouldn’t want the constant publicity and PR headaches, and that Blizzard wouldn’t want him to be the public face of another game after the decidedly rocky first year of Diablo 3.
Well, according to the newly-updated description on his Twitter account, we were wrong.
Game Director @ Blizzard on an unannounced game. I like games, especially Blizzard ones, and anything that has the word ‘Warhammer’ on it.
That description formerly said “Game Director for Diablo 3…” so the only thing that’s changed is the “unannounced game” part. Given how many of you guys seem to feel that Jay is personally responsible for anything and everything that you find unfulfilling in Diablo 3, I almost hate to ask…. but what do you think of this news?
I’m surprised that Jay wanted to be a Game Director again, given all the headaches and responsibility that entails. As Elly and me talked about on the podcast, it seemed like Jay just wanted to get back to working on a game and doing design and development stuff, and to be out of the public eye, to not have to constantly jet off to do Asian press tours, and to not be the person blamed for everything. Clearly he’s got more appetite for suffering than any of us imagined.
Grieving in 3… 2…. 1….
Talking about Jay is beating a fat, bloated big-necked inept dead horse at this point.
Blah blah blah boycott blah blah blah vote with wallet blah blah blah opinions.
I think… Blizzard have their heads so far up their own asses.
…I can usually come up with something. But I’m at a loss for words. Just…wow.
I somehow get the feeling that the Twitter “title” is a big “F you, losers” to all of those discontent with his D3 work and content that he left D3. There are usually years of rumors until we eventually find out Blizzard is working on a title. Now we find out from none other than the game director himself, in a casual Twitter subtitle.
The man has a humongous ego, I’ll give him that.
Holy ****, I did not expect this. I thought he’d go in a less public position than friggin’ game director. This is unexpected.
However, if, IF, this game turns that Jay Wilson is game director of turns out to be Warcraft IV that’s probably going to be the biggest ****storm in gaming in a while. I don’t think that he will be lead of Titan since that has been in development since forever so I would think that they already have a game director.
Anyways, there are two Blizzard games which have been fruitlessly anticipated for so long that they have turned into legends spoken of amongst fans, Diablo 3, which was announced 6 years after LoD and ended up being what it ended up being, and Warcraft IV. To have Jay Wilson who had already, for many, “ruined Diablo”, and place him on the head of development of the only title that is as expected and hoped for as Diablo 3 was, would be an absolute PR disaster for Blizzard. If that’s the case, I don’t know what are they thinking, regardless of whether you think he has ruined D3 or not, he does not have good PR with the fans and, by extension, he does not give Blizzard good PR.
He could still work on the game but to put him in the place of game director, probably the most exposed position in the team, the “public face” of the game, is terrible move for Blizzard no matter what game this ends up being, W4 or not. However, the PR ****storm will be that much worse if it is Warcraft 4 than, say, Titan or Blizzard All-Stars.
Except CoH was awesome, so…
And… obvious move is obvious.
Jay gets a promotion.
That’s how I thought of this situation from the start.
“Clearly he’s got more appetite for suffering than any of us imagined.” So that is why he is fat. Well Scooby now that the mystery is solved its chow time.
PLease don’t be on Titan. I was interested in hearing about it..
That’s most likely Jeff “Tigole” Kaplan, don’t despair.
He was the lead developer in Company of Heroes and Dawn of War. It’d make sense for him to take over Warcraft 4.