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David Craddock and Two Blizzard North Co-Founders Answer Your Questions (Video)

In this video, we talk with author David Craddock about his investigation into the early days of game studio Blizzard for his new book, Stay Awhile and Listen. He's joined by Dave Brevik and Max Schaefer, two of the co-founders of Blizzard North. They talk about some of the ways in which making video games was different back in the early '90s -- and the ways it's similar to making games today. They also discuss the importance of having lively debates, and how one of those arguments led to Diablo being a real-time action game, instead of being turn-based. (This is the first half of an extended interview -- part 2 will be available on Monday.

40 comments

  1. My question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I hate video. Can we have a transcript?

    1. Re:My question by i+kan+reed · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, sorry. This is new Slashdot, where content is spread across 2 videos for more ad impressions, and to make it easier to interlace ads with normal content.

      If you want in depth text with discussion of text news, go back to the 1990s.

    2. Re:My question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Came for the transcript. Leaving disappointed.

    3. Re:My question by Richy_T · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      Stay for the misinformed banter and the awkward shoe-horning of AGW or Obamacare issues.

    4. Re:My question by egr · · Score: 5, Informative

      +1 for transcript. Hate videos as well.

    5. Re:My question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Came for people bitching that they can't read this in lynx. Leaving satisfied.

    6. Re:My question by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 2

      You ancien regime reactionaries need to be dragged kicking and screaming into the modern era. You're lucky we don't require you to log in by Facebook to view the content. Don't have a Facebook account, you say? You're suspicious by default.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    7. Re:My question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you high? They don't even bother to fix all those misleading titles & summaries and/or cross-checki the articles they're post on the front page, and you expect them to make a transcript?

    8. Re:My question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It does speed up your browsing. Video? Close page. Find the next thing instead.

      God i love flashblock and noscript. Best plugins ever.

    9. Re:My question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's ridiculous to suggest that either of the two major parties would make any choices affecting this issue. WAKE UP and vote for a third party, people.

    10. Re:My question by intermodal · · Score: 1

      No, that would be too easy. My solution is even easier: It's a video, therefore, I no longer care.

      --
      In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
    11. Re:My question by Frojack123 · · Score: 2

      Two Blizzard stories on same page.

      When did Blizzard become a Dice Holdings company?

      --
      F. Robert Jack
    12. Re:My question by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

      PR departments can pay cash monies to help disseminate positive stories to boost the reputation of companies. I can't present evidence that happened, but it's certainly not out of character for slashdot these days.

    13. Re:My question by Frojack123 · · Score: 1

      Both stories are hyping the same book, so the linkage may be to the author rather than to Blizzard.

      --
      F. Robert Jack
    14. Re:My question by Roblimo · · Score: 3, Informative

      The transcript will be up Monday. Our transcript person didn't have it ready today. Grrr.....

    15. Re:My question by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      Seconded (thirded? Ninethid?). Videos are fine for animations that show how something works, or demonstrating something cool, like that Q8k guy that flew his rocket to the edge of space, but I'm visually oriented, not aurally oriented. I don't want talking heads, I'm literate. Give me the written word or STFU.

    16. Re:My question by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      Cool, thanks. As to the transcript guy, MeTV has obviously been using computer voice recognition for their captions from the way the captions are mangled. Use the computer for the transcripts and have the transcript guy just edit that, it should be a lot faster and easier. When voice recognition gets better your transcript guy will have to do something else...

    17. Re:My question by dantotheman · · Score: 1

      Give me the written word and STFU.

      ftfy.

      Haven't you seen the new "and is better than or" commercials yet....

    18. Re:My question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just note, more than 6 hours after this has been posted and only 30 (now 31) posts. This didn't score any real points with your readers. Was it because of a lack of transcript? Could be.

    19. Re:My question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If we hold vigorous discussions without reading articles, what good is a transcript?

      Seriously though, why no transcript?

    20. Re:My question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This.

      Simply because the video is horrible. Horrible quality, horrible presentation (the webcams only use up like half of the surface), and the audio isn't even synchronized with the video (which only requires a 10 second fix in any video editing program).

      I have no problems with video, but if you do go that way, please do it correctly. This one is plain horrible.

    21. Re:My question by qwak23 · · Score: 2

      Resisting urge to make joke about workers reading Slashdot on the job on Slashdot.

    22. Re:My question by __aaacoe2998 · · Score: 1

      Terrible quality skype style interview just comes across as extremely lazy and ineffective. Give us a transcript. Love Blizzard, hate lazy and cheap interviews. *how the hell do I add line breaks?!?*

    23. Re: My question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Came for the video.. where is it for mobiles?

    24. Re:My question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well I came for video.. where is it and the transcript? On the desktop site only. Poor form /. We have to suffer through all the mobile ads now. Give us all the content.

  2. Two for one discount? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What do two book reviews in the same /. day cost?

    1. Re:Two for one discount? by bob_super · · Score: 1

      Zero.
      They're paid for by the author's agent.
      Does the slashdot effect work on bookstores?

  3. Waiting on the transcript link... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Yup, browsing at work during my break, but we use a non-noise environment. (headphones not allowed.)
    Waiting on teh transcript...
    What's the first thing I see (because I can;t hear it.) is an ad for someone...
    Waiting on the transcript...
    On any youtube video, if an ad shows up, I close it.
    Waiting on the transcript...
    I don;t watch a lot of video online.
    Waiting for the transcript...

  4. David Craddock by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Please tell me I'm not the only person who misread his last name as Crockett...

  5. fucking video ads by flogger · · Score: 1

    I have ad disabled... Why am I seeing an ad at the start of this video? Just post a damn transcript.

    --
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    "First things first -- but not necessarily in that order"
    -- The Doctor, "Doctor
  6. Video? Transcript? Article? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is Slashdot! We don't need no steekín video, transcript or article!

  7. Dear slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Do you not understand your user base? We are reading this FROM WORK. Reading we can get away with, watching and listening to a video not so much.
    Also, you seem to be doing your best to dispel the myth that "slashvertisment" is a joke... not cool.

  8. A Video? NO! No video on slashdot. by clovis · · Score: 1
  9. No Time for the Damn Video by BaldingByMicrosoft · · Score: 3, Informative

    Please produce transcripts. Thanks.

  10. I watched the first 30 seconds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I didn't see anything about Blizzard.
    It's just three guys in brown suits pretending to be from IBM. I had my sound turned off, so all I could do was wonder which one of them would give the best blowjob.

  11. Stay a while and listen... by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

    Is David Craddock also known as Deckard Cain?

  12. What do you think... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... of diablo 3's horrible item system?

  13. Flash player by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can we have a download link for the video? I have no interest in installing Adobe Flash.

  14. AD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Okay.. My ad was for IBM and it was so boring and long I don't care about Blizzard North's interview any more.