There
are hundreds of influential people in the gaming industry, be they designers,
writers, animators, programmers or executives. The gaming industry spans more
than just video games, as well; many modern video games are influenced by
analog rules, stories and formats that existed long before the modern medium of
electronic gaming. Despite there being so many wonderful, brilliant and
influential paragons of the gaming industry, one stands out to me: Chris
Metzen.
Chris
Metzen was the Senior Vice President of Story and Franchise Development for
Blizzard Entertainment. He joined the company in 1993; a time between when they
were known as Silicon and Synapse and Chaos Studios. Metzen remained with the
company until his retirement in 2016. During the years he worked at Blizzard,
Metzen helped write and develop blockbuster franchises, such as Warcraft,
Starcraft, Diablo and Overwatch. His expertly spun tales and exceptionally
fluid and immersive universes have an unparalleled ability to draw the player
in. But this is not why he stands out to me.
Chris
Metzen does more than just write. His job is not one to sit upon an ivory tower
and dictate the direction of the craft. He interacts with the community. He
records voice lines for his own characters. He speaks with the clarity and
passion of someone that has no deeper love than that of the art he creates. And
he screams “For the Horde” with a fervor that can spark a fire in the most
docile of hearts. The passion he instills into every word he speaks, every
sketch he draws, every bit of lore he writes is an inspiration to me. And most
importantly, he is humble. I have seen the tears in his eyes when he hears of
how his creations have touched and helped people, how his words and stories
have enabled countless people to grow, learn and heal. I am certainly no
exception myself.
Chris
Metzen is a paragon of the gaming industry. A man who, in his youth, found a
platform for his passion. He found a way to share his stories with the world,
and those stories changed the world. He gave parts of himself away, and saw as
those parts became love, community, respect and phenomena. Never once did he
take it for granted. Never once did he allow the lure of celebrity and success
to separate him from the community he loved; a community who loved him in
return. For nearly twenty-three years he never failed to be an exemplar for
what a truly wonderful, passionate and loving person can contribute to the
industry of gaming and the world as a whole.
Chris
Metzen is an example I seek to emulate. He is one of my personal heroes, and I
dream that one day I can achieve even a fraction of the success he has; if only
as a way to be so fortunate as to meet him!
In my dream world, maybe he'll actually see this. I hope this (far too) short essay portrays just how much his work has impacted me. From my time in the military, my deployments, my injuries, my PTSD and my relationships, his stories have helped me get through all of it. I've made wonderful friends through Warcraft, I've had amazing experiences, and I've felt emotions that I'd thought had been too damaged by war and hardship to feel again. He's helped me heal, and I desperately hope that one day I'm able to give to the community even a sliver of the wonder and magic that Chris Metzen has given me.
