Project Lore

Blizzard Entertainment gets their audience. This is one of the main reasons that their titles – all of them – are so incredibly popular. From clicking on mobs in their RTSs for the funny one-liners, exploding critters, or the Cow Level in Diablo II, the developer has created or honored pop culture for years. Their latest release, Wrath of the Lich King is no different.

All those level 80s out there who grinded their way up via quests have surely come across a few different pop references as rewards, NPCs, events, titles or achievements. You have Predator, Zelda, and even a somewhat subtle nod to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I could go on and on, especially when if we count achievements, as there are a ton of references hidden in those goals.

The thing is, we have known Blizzard to be a witty bunch of nerds for a few years now. What I have enjoyed the most so far is the fascination the quest developers had with making us pick up crap. Most of us probably came across a poo-based quest back in The Burning Crusade, but in the first two territories in Wrath, I came across a pair of them.  My initial experience with the substance was for Iggy “Tailspin” Cogtoggle (another pop reference). Just an FYI.  Wolves howl when they drop the kids off at the pool, not at the moon. Second time was more “fun,” as the goal was to literally scare the shit out of Darkclaw Bats using firecrackers.  Pyrotechnics and cowpies, awesome.

I would like to believe that there is a reference in that quest too, as I learned the definition of Guano from one of the greatest movies of all time. That is probably a stretch, but please, do not call me a looooooooooooooooooo-seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer. I had to.

To top things off, whoever designed these quests is sitting at their desk snickering to themselves, "I am totally getting millions of people to play with animal droppings."

Unlike some of my ProjectLore cohorts, I have not dinged 80 yet. So let me know if I get to play with brown clay later on!

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