As someone who has spent countless hours huddled around a CRT monitor, controller in hand and eyes glued to the screen of a game that would change the face of gaming forever, I can confidently say that Warcraft: Orcs and Humans was nothing short of revolutionary. Having grown up on a steady diet of fantasy novels and tabletop RPGs, this game felt like a dream come true – a chance to step into a world of magic, mystery, and epic battles.
On November 15, 1995, Blizzard Entertainment debuted “Warcraft: Orcs and Humans”. Although it wasn’t the first multiplayer real-time strategy game, its groundbreaking innovations became synonymous with the genre. The popularity of “Warcraft: Orcs and Humans” paved the way for a surge of new RTS games, including follow-ups like “Warcraft 2” and “Warcraft 3”.
Beyond just being a significant title for the strategy genre, “Warcraft: Orcs and Humans” had an extensive impact on Blizzard Entertainment as well. Its success significantly secured their future and served as a crucial foundation upon which they constructed their enduring success. In essence, the debut of “Warcraft 1” indelibly altered not merely the fantasy genre, but gaming in its entirety.
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans Started a Blizzard
The History of How Warcraft 1 Came to Be
Initially established as Silicon & Synapse Inc. in 1991, the company later known as Blizzard Entertainment went through a couple of name changes, first to Chaos Studios, Inc. in 1993, and then to its current moniker in 1994. While producing several notable games such as “The Lost Vikings”, “The Death and Return of Superman”, and “Blackthorne” under these different identities, it wasn’t until “Warcraft: Orcs and Humans” that the company found significant success.
During its initial year, the game “Warcraft: Orcs and Humans” was purchased by 100,000 individuals, a figure that tripled in subsequent years – an impressive feat for the time. As reported by Entertainment Weekly, it ranked as the 19th most sought-after CD in 1995, trailing only a few legendary titles such as “Command & Conquer”, “Dark Forces”, and “Doom 2”, along with essential software like the Windows 95 operating system disc and Microsoft Office. This notable success catapulted Blizzard Entertainment into prominence, providing it with the financial stability to produce additional games.
Top 20 CD-Roms from October 1995 According to Entertainment Weekly
| Game | Rank | Game | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Windows 95 | 1 | Microsoft Plus! | 2 |
| Phantasmagoria | 3 | Myst | 4 |
| The Ultimate Doom: Thy Flesh Consumed | 5 | Command & Conquer | 6 |
| Dark Forces | 7 | Microsoft Flight Simulator 5.1 | 8 |
| MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat | 9 | Apache | 10 |
| Star Trek: The Next Generation | 11 | Doom 2 | 12 |
| Microsoft Works | 13 | Quicken Deluxe | 14 |
| Microsoft Encarta | 15 | Corel Gallery 2 | 16 |
| Primal Rage | 17 | Microsoft Office | 18 |
| Warcraft: Orcs and Humans | 19 | Microsoft Office Pro | 20 |
The Blizzard Entertainment-Westwood Studies Rivalry
In contrast to other Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games that came before it, “Warcraft: Orcs and Humans” quickly gained immense popularity, largely thanks to advancements in multiplayer functionalities, mission creation, and game mechanics. This put Blizzard on the map as a formidable contender against Westwood Studios, creators of the widely acclaimed 1992 RTS game “Dune 2”. In an effort to maintain their lead, Westwood released “Command & Conquer” in 1995, with “Warcraft 2” following from Blizzard a few months later. The competition between these two companies sparked the surge of RTS games throughout the 1990s and 2000s, leading to the creation of subsequent Blizzard titles such as “StarCraft” and “Warcraft 3”, as well as multiple “Command & Conquer” sequels.
As Jason Schreier’s book “Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future Of Blizzard Entertainment” suggests, there was an allegation that Blizzard Entertainment copied code from the game “Dune 2” to create “Warcraft: Orcs and Humans”. However, this claim was disputed and eventually dismissed. Later on, Louis Castle, a co-founder of Westwood Studios, humorously remarked that if imitation is the highest form of flattery, then Blizzard was indeed paying them a great compliment.
Back in the day, I was all geared up for something truly epic with “Warcraft: Orcs and Humans,” but little did I know that it was initially destined to be an entirely different beast. The moniker “Warcraft” itself held no profound significance back then; it was just a catchy name borrowed from a character in “Dungeons and Dragons” by Blizzard’s senior art director, Samwise Didier.
The Wildfire That Is the Warcraft Franchise
Warcraft: Orcs and Humans Changed the Fantasy Genre
Over time, Warcraft evolved from a popular Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game into a versatile Intellectual Property (IP), spanning various genres and media formats. Following RTS sequels, Blizzard Entertainment introduced groundbreaking titles such as World of Warcraft, one of the most successful Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), Hearthstone, a globally acclaimed digital card game, and Warcraft Rumble, initially exclusive to mobile devices. Additionally, numerous books, comics, and even a film adaptation like the 2016 Warcraft movie were based on this setting. What started as a strategically engaging RTS game akin to Warhammer, soon grew into one of the most expansive and influential fantasy worlds in history.
The enhanced editions of “Warcraft 1” and “Warcraft 2” can now be purchased individually on Battle.net, or as part of a collection that includes the original games and “Warcraft 3: Reforged” under the name “Warcraft Remastered Battle Chest.
In the original “Warcraft 1”, the Orcish Horde was unquestionably wicked, yet the events that unfolded in this game established the foundation for more contemporary interpretations of Azeroth’s lore. While much of the plot from “Warcraft 1” has been revised in subsequent years, it offered a comprehensive account of how the Orcs invaded Azeroth and initiated their initial conflicts with the human Allied Forces. In contrast to the Tolkien-inspired “evil orc,” “Warcraft 3” deviated by presenting a more nuanced portrayal of the Orcs, becoming one of the most recognized settings to do so. This shift paved the way for future games like “Baldur’s Gate 3” and has left an enduring impact on the modern depiction of Orcs within the “World of Warcraft.
Fun Facts About Warcraft: Orcs and Humans
- The Human kingdom was originally named Azeroth, with its capital city being Stormwind. In WoW, Azeroth is now the name of the planet, while Stormwind is both the city and its kingdom.
- The Human religion was monotheistic, referencing God, Heaven, and Angels, rather than the modern concept of the Holy Light.
- The majority of the Orc campaign, including the sacking of Stormwind, was later canonized in the lore of Warcraft, but elements of the Human campaign, like the assassination of King Llane by Garona and fall of Medivh, were kept as well.
- The Orc campaign player character was later confirmed to be Orgrim Doomhammer, while many of the Human campaign character’s deeds were attributed to Anduin Lothar (though they were different people in the game).
Warcraft: Orcs and Humans may not have single-handedly revolutionized the fantasy genre or real-time strategy (RTS) games, but its groundbreaking contributions paved the way for future developments in this field. From Warcraft 2 to Warcraft 3, including Hearthstone and World of Warcraft, it introduced significant innovations in RTS, card games, and massively multiplayer online (MMO) genres for several decades. Moreover, by laying the foundation for Blizzard Entertainment’s growth into a prominent game studio, it indirectly influenced the development of isometric action role-playing games (ARPG) and first-person shooters (FPS), such as Diablo and Overwatch. In essence, gaming as we know it today would have taken a significantly different form if Warcraft: Orcs and Humans had not been released.
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2024-11-15 13:36