Chris Metzen can easily be described as a paragon, a
model of excellence. From his humble beginnings as an artist and animator for a
small company which was, at the time, called Chaos Studios, Metzen assumed he’d been hired by a graphic design
studio rather than a video game developer. Despite the misunderstanding, he
carried on anyway, and this position sparked his meteoric rise to become one of
the golden standards of what video game developers should aspire to be: a true
paragon worthy of the title.
In his
own words, his responsibility was “coming up with the worlds our games take
place in” (About Creativity). He undersells, however, the gravity and impact
that his work has on his own games at Blizzard
Entertainment, the company that Chaos
Studios would become, and the impact his work has had on the gaming
industry as a whole. But humility and simplicity have always been Metzen’s
trademarks; he has always believed that the true success of his work and his
company has been a result of the community they serve. This is the reason he
deserves such high accolade for the contributions he has made to the art.
Metzen applied to Chaos
Studios in 1993 with the aforementioned desire to be a graphic designer, as
this was a time when video game development was still struggling to find a
foothold in the world of marketable media outside of specialized locations such
as arcades. His earliest work for the company was working on a game called Justice League Task Force, for which he
provided artwork and character animation. Amusingly, this game has been called
one of the worst games in the company’s history due to animation errors, poor
controls and overall shoddy design. He began a new project for the studio in
1994 and began working on Warcraft: Orcs
and Humans, which would become the predecessor to the Warcraft series. His work consisted of artwork, illustrations and
material for the game’s packaged documentation. In 1995, however, Metzen was
assigned to Warcraft II: Tides of
Darkness, for which he took a greater production role by designing various
scenarios and missions in addition to artwork. This paved the way for his first
fictional universe creation in 1996, when he co-created the setting of Diablo with Bill Roper. This would
become his breakout title, the game that introduced the world to the wonderful
creations that Chris Metzen was capable of producing.
One of the most inspiring things about Chris Metzen
is his philosophy when it comes to approaching the creative process. Metzen
likens artists to “sponges,” and talks of his tendency to take in all sorts of
information and sensory details, digesting it, processing it, enjoying it and
returning it to the world with his own spin (About Creativity). He speaks of a
love for Star Wars and Dragonlance books. He believes the key
to a compelling story is “paring an idea down to its most naked truth” (About
Creativity).
This
philosophy makes him stand out among his peers. It can be far too easy to write
a story one thinks the audience will enjoy, or to try to break a mold and be
original solely for the sake of originality. Or to make something topical or
satirical, taking the easy path to relatability. Metzen believes that there is
a deeper well from which to draw, taking more significant, primal or visceral
themes that resonate with us as a species, and using those to craft his
universes and stories.
He has
taken this philosophy forward, challenging younger and newer creators to do the
same. He inspires everyone he speaks to but carries an air of humility about
him that one would not expect considering his rock-star status in the industry.
His eyes well with tears when he speaks to fans as they regale him with tales
of his work having helped them through life’s challenges. He chokes up during
presentations on stage when he speaks about the impact his experience in the
industry has had on himself and others. He wears the same emotion upon his
sleeve that he channels to create his art; a feature that gives his philosophy
and claims thereof all the more credibility.
In September of 2016, Chris Metzen retired from Blizzard Entertainment. In his wake, the
company erected a marvelous statue of him, described as “…heavily inspired by
the iconic Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse statue. In this statue, Metzen wears an
Alliance hoodie, holds Winston’s hand, and is surrounded by medallions representing
all of the Blizzard franchises.” (Wowhead) At the young age of 42, he parted
ways with a company he’d been a part of since he was 19 years old. Upon
retiring, Metzen claimed in an emotional farewell letter on the Battle.net forums, the online web forum hosted
and maintained by Blizzard Entertainment,
that he would be focusing on “the one thing that matters most to me in all the
world—my family.”
After
everything he’d created, the celebrity he’d obtained, the legacy he’d
established, he walked away from all of it to spend more time with his family.
Many of us have plans of what we’d like to do when we strike oil. Many of us
have dreams of grandeur, the foolproof plan, or a way to the top that no one
else had ever considered. Metzen reached that summit, but decided that once
that goal had been achieved, his family came first. There’s no greater
inspiration than a man who has the wisdom and fortitude to know when enough is
enough and devote his time to things that truly matter to him. In his wake lies
a bounty of rich, immersive and expansive stories, but his future is his own to
stride. There can be no greater example of what success in this industry looks
like.
The fault in this profile is that “paragon” is too
insufficient of a word. There are many words that could comparably be used:
exemplar, standard, or definition. They all fall short, as none fully grasp the
gravity by which Chris Metzen has defined success in the gaming industry. This
is a man who has taken the pain, the joy, the best and the worst that life has
to offer, and channeled those things into memorable, immersive and
unforgettable stories that are enjoyed and beloved by millions of people across
the globe. This is a man who started his career path thinking he was applying
for a graphic design job, unaware that he was not only embarking on a career in
video game development, but he would influence and change the way the
development process operates. This is a man, when faced with the pinnacle of
his success, chose to accept what he’d earned and focus on his family as
opposed to chasing more limelight. “Paragon” is too weak a word to describe the
magnificent example that Chris Metzen has shown to be. But it’s the best word
we have, so it will have to do. While his departure is felt heavily, if there’s
one thing Chris Metzen’s stories have taught us, it’s that there is always hope
for a better future ahead. While one chapter has ended, there is no doubt that
this paragon of modern gaming has more to offer in the future.
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Cited:
