14 DAY TRIAL // World of Warcraft's fifth expansion, Warlords of Draenor, is underway, scheduled to come out sometime during late 2014 and to have players return to a past version of Draenor.
The popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game's next expansion was designed with the desire to evoke nostalgia while also answering a lot of previous questions, creative director Alex Afrasiabi revealed to Polygon.
"We already had Outland, and we feel like when you're building something that already exists, you have to service that thing. So that was the base for us - Outland was an initial source of inspiration," he stated.
He continued that the development team was driven by the desire to introduce completely new environments to World of Warcraft players, such as the Frostfire Ridge, an area in which a volcanic zone clashes with a frozen tundra.
Players will have the chance to see many of Draenor's regions the way they were before they were destroyed and the planet became known as Outland, as seen in some recent videos showing a lush Shadowmoon Valley.
"Before the world was shattered, Nagrand had variable height. It had a marshland. It had a highland and a scrubland. These are the things we'll be showing the player, and hopefully servicing the nostalgia while showing them a new look," Afrasiabi noted.
"The environments really play up to what this world is about. So what we're saying is Draenor is savage. It's beautiful, but it's also kind of scary. You see these giants lumbering across the land, and you have to take a step back," the creative director warned.
He ended by saying that the environments will shape the player's experience, telling stories about their inhabitants and offering a sense of discovery while allowing players to venture into never-before-seen regions of the rugged alien world that serves as home to the proud orc race.