“There was definitely a pivot that we did not have the big stages on BlizzCon, with a lot of people sitting in front of us, but to create a show that was also consumable online, we felt like we had a lot of experience,” he said. says BlizzCon executive producer Saralyn Smith, explaining that the company behind the event, Activision’s Blizzard Entertainment, has been broadcasting the events at BlizzCon for years.
The event is free for viewers and attendees, and includes numerous other cosplay and digital storytelling activities. “We localize selected content in up to 12 languages, so we really hope we can reach a very wide reach because we focus entirely on the online audience,” says Smith.
Ultimately, the goal is to capture the key elements of BlizzCon, which Smith says is known as ‘the latest and greatest news about Blizzard’s games’. The memorable event will also highlight an instant makeover for the entire gaming community by giving gamers a platform to share their talents.
“We watched very closely what SAG was doing in various productions in Hollywood,” says Smith about turning the traditional event into a digital celebration. This meant that anyone who came to the Blizzard campus or was sent to a local studio to paste segments for the event had to undergo two COVID-19 tests ahead of time, as well as follow the “strict zoning protocols”. Some segments that were initially planned to be shot on campus were later adapted so that it ‘had no interaction with other people,’ Smith says.
“Community is at the heart of Blizzard games and we like to put players first as a mentality. I hope BlizzCon supports that as well,” she adds. “We’re really thinking about building the show with them, so the community showcase is basically our translation of what’s otherwise on traditional BlizzCon community night, and it’s a time for cosplay contests and also exhibition for people who do not want to. do not compete but really like the craft of cosplay. ‘
Many of the production processes are similar to the production of a personal show, Smith says, explaining that the organizers of the event had the “extra complexity” to figure out where certain segments could be filmed as they did not have access to the Anaheim Conference Center.
Smith and her team also had to get creative on how to program the event without personal attendees. ‘We know we have the Blizzard campus, and we thought we could do some segments in a local studio. These are environments we knew we could control and that we could have fairly strict COVID safety protocols – but it all depends on what happens in Orange County at the time of restrictions. she says.
To produce the event, Blizzard sent broadcast sets to developers’ homes so they could set up remotely. Sometimes it caused minor problems. “We had to film again a few times,” Smith says. “There were lessons there. You have someone who may not be a technical expert to set everything up, or they take a breather and the microphone is not turned on again, and we will lose all the sound, so we had to learn some of it. ‘
Although COVID-19 has forced most employees to work remotely, Smith says the gambling industry has an edge in that area. “I do feel like, because a lot of us are gamers, it might not have been as disruptive as for other people in different industries,” she says. “We’re all pretty technically proficient – we miss the water cooler talks and some of the things face – to – face, but other than that I’m still optimistic, we’ll pick up all our timelines as we lay it out.”
BlizzConline begins with an opening ceremony. Then, on the second day, it presents a Q&A where participants can answer their questions. The website of the event contains additional content, such as the downloadable Zoom wallpapers or cooking recipes inspired by the different World of Warcraft games. ‘You will see a mixture at the show; there’s a bit on campus, a bit on mobile studios, and then quite where we’re just slipping behind the curtain of Blizzard developers, ‘says Smith.
The event coincides with the 30th anniversary of Blizzard on February 8th. “We hope that many of the celebrations will culminate in our show, and we have some functions with original employees from thirty years ago,” she says.
As Smith looks at the next 30 years of the event, she says the intention is to reach more and more people: ‘We have large, global communities, and how can we have more of them to experience BlizzCon in some way? ? So, maybe BlizzConline is a big part of how we still achieve this. ‘