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North to Hellgate London

90 min • 1 november 2024

TCW Podcast Episode 221 - North to Hellgate London

In a pseudo part three of our look at Condor and Blizzard North, we explore the troubles the company faced after a year and a half of crunch. David, Max, and Eric were all burned out along with the rest of the staff. David was going through a divorce and had trouble putting his heart into figuring out what the next game would be. Due to lack of leadership and a proper chain of command, many employees felt frustrated switching games over and over. At the same time, the expansion, Lord of Destruction, was completed after a year of development with no crunch. Through a combination of bad corporate structure, not empowering middle management, factionalism, and troubles with Blizzard's corporate owners being bought and sold amid their own scandals, David, Eric, Max, and Bill Roper from Blizzard South went on to form Flagship Studios and work on Hellgate: London. Unfortunately, the game was not well received due to expectations exceeding the financial and technical hurdles that needed to be overcome. There is a lot more to this story, so prepare yourself as we leave one hell for another!

Thor - Game Studio Gambles: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NLb9-DPspgA

Thor - Email Mike: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1ilUpXkGxbo

Karateka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKqk9kosCs4

Dale Carnegie - How to Win Friends and Influence People: https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034

Flagship Studios: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagship_Studios

Fate Longplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGH577lznLk&list=PL112CEBA37FF962EE

Mythos Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fEsOrRvZ58

Hellgate London E3 2005 Cinematic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xG9puQZJ1c

Hellgate London E3 Bill Roper Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh1EQhHQPbQ

US/China WOW Model Differences: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtI2GcUPEFQ

Hellgate London Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiKbGoiIHqo

New episodes are on the 1st and 15th of every month!