“There was certainly a pivotal point where we don’t have the big BlizzCon stages with a lot of people sitting in front of us, but creating a program that could also be consumed online is something that we feel we had a lot of experience with,” says the executive producer at BlizzCon Saralyn Smith, explaining that the company behind the event, Activision’s Blizzard Entertainment, has been broadcasting the events that have been going on at BlizzCon for years.
The event is free for spectators and participants, and will include cosplay segments and digital storytelling, among numerous other activities. “We are localizing selected content in up to 12 languages, so we really hope to be able to have a very wide reach as we are focusing entirely on the online audience,” said Smith.
Ultimately, the goal is to capture the most important elements of BlizzCon, which Smith explains is known for including “the latest and greatest news about Blizzard games”. The reimagined event will also have an emphasis on “creating a moment” for the entire gaming community, giving players a platform to share their talents.
“We were watching very carefully what SAG was doing in Hollywood for different productions,” said Smith of turning the traditional convention into a digital celebration. This meant that anyone who came to the Blizzard campus or was sent to a local studio to record segments for the event would have to pass two COVID-19 tests in advance, as well as follow “strict zoning protocols”. Some segments that were initially planned to be filmed on campus were later adapted so that they “did not involve interactions with other humans,” says Smith.
“The community is at the heart of Blizzard games and we really like to put players first as a mindset and I hope BlizzCon supports that too,” she adds. “We really thought about building the show with them and so the community showcase is basically our translation of what traditional BlizzCon is the night of the community, and this is a time for cosplay contests and also exhibitions, for people who don’t want to compete but I really love the art of cosplay. “
Many of the production processes are similar to producing an in-person show, says Smith, explaining that the event organizers had the “added complexity” of needing to find out where certain segments could be filmed, since they had no access to the Convention Center. Anaheim.
Smith and his team also had to be creative about how to schedule the event without personally attending. “We know we have the Blizzard campus and we thought we could do some segments at a local studio – these are environments that we knew we could control and had very strict COVID security protocols – but it all depended on what was happening in Orange County at the time. of restrictions, “she says.
To produce the event, Blizzard sent broadcast kits to the developers’ homes so that they could configure remotely. This sometimes created small problems. “We had to remake it a few times,” says Smith. “There were classes there. You have someone who might not be a technical expert in setting everything up, or they take a break and the microphone doesn’t turn on and we would lose all the audio, so we had to learn a little bit of that.”
Although COVID-19 forced most employees to work remotely, Smith says the gaming industry has an advantage in this environment. “I feel that because many of us are gamers, it may not have been as disturbing as it has been for other people in different sectors,” she says. “We all have a lot of technology experience – we’re missing out on the water cooler conversation and some of the things face to face, but other than that, I’m still optimistic that we’re meeting all of our deadlines as we expose them.”
BlizzConline will begin with an opening ceremony. Then, on the second day, there will be a Q&A where participants can ask questions. The event’s website will feature additional content, such as downloadable zoom backgrounds or cooking recipes inspired by the various World of Warcraft games. “You will see a mix on the show; there’s a little bit on campus, a little bit on mobile studios, and then a little bit where we’re just walking in and looking behind the curtain of Blizzard developers, ”said Smith.
The event coincides with Blizzard’s 30th anniversary on February 8. “We hope that many of the celebrations will culminate in our show and we have some resources with original employees from 30 years ago,” she says.
As Smith looks back over the next 30 years of the event, she says the intention is to continue to reach more people: “We have large, truly global communities, and how could we have more of them experiencing BlizzCon in any way? So maybe BlizzConline is a much of how we continue to achieve that. “