Rewind – Warcraft: Orcs and Humans

Though not Blizzard’s first release, this is definitely the game that started it all.  Released back in 1994, the game was on of the first RTS games ever made and helped propel the genre to immense popularity.  It is interesting to note that the original idea was that the game would be a licensed Warhammer title.  Nowadays the Warcraft name is dominant in its sphere and most people probably have no first hand experience with anything in the Warhammer universe.

Thankfully, that didn’t work out and Warcraft was born.  Playing through the game again now, the extremely rudimentary systems and controls take some getting used to.  Especially how the game only lets you select 4 units at a time.  However, I remember playing the game shortly after it was released, and it was mind-bogglingly awesome.  The tactics, strategy, and narrative were all so captivating.

From a narrative standpoint, it is amazing to see how far things have come.  There are some names of places which have continued on in Warcraft lore and you will find some references to individuals from this time period.  That’s about all that has lived on.  The explanation for where the Orcs came from and why the conflict is happening has been substantially filled in and re-written over the years.

The notion of the two distinct, playable races has also expanded greatly over the years.  There has always been this need to try to make the different races distinct, but still grossly comparable.  This internal debate has continued to rage on in Blizzard’s current RTS titles and even among the different playable races in World of Warcraft.

Speaking of World of Warcraft, I was a bit surprised watching the introduction cinematic to Warcraft: Orcs and Humans.  Aside from the very old, almost lego-looking, animations, a narrator sets the stage for the current conflict.  The narrator’s final uttering  before sending you to the main menu is “Welcome to the world of Warcraft.”

So, like pretty much every other game Blizzard has made, Warcraft: Orcs and Humans was not the first to do a lot of things, but it was the first to do a lot of things well.  As such it proved to be a smash hit leading the franchise to future heights none thought possible.