This comment on WoW Insider got me thinking about Warcraft lore:
IMHO, the only way to do any more expansions is to make up lore (even moreso than they already do)
Yeah, and what’s the problem with that?
One of the most common complaints I read on forums, blog comments, etc, is that Blizzard is constantly “ruining their lore.” It ranges from “He’s not supposed to stand here!” to “Blizzard has no respect for lore and has ruined the Warcraft world beyond repair.” I seem to see more of the latter than the former. Maybe (hopefully) it’s just the “vocal minority.”
Here’s a hint for all of you out there who feel that Blizzard has destroyed their own lore: IT IS THEIR OWN LORE THEY CAN DO WHATEVER THEY WANT TO IT!
Who created the Warcraft universe and mythology? Blizzard, or a bunch of fanboys? Warcraft is Blizzard’s creation, it’s their baby. It’s absurd to say Blizzard ruined the Warcraft mythology when they introduced the spaceship-like Exodar and alien-like Draenei. It fits because Blizzard says it fits. The loremasters at Blizzard have every right to create new stories and make changes to existing Warcraft history. They were the ones who created it in the first place. If they feel that it is necessary to retcon something or add something new, so be it. If they want to expand on existing history, more power to them.
Blizzard has every right to add new content, new areas, new races, new mythology, new anything to the Warcraft universe. The commentor who got me thinking believes that the only way to make new expansions is for Blizzard to “make up lore” and he infers that this is a bad thing. Let me get one thing straight here, if Blizzard wants to say that there’s a new portal to somewhere, or whatever they come up with, Blizzard can say that. The Warcraft universe doesn’t end with what is in WoW right now (or what was in WC3, for that matter). If Blizzard wants to “make something up” they have every right to do so. A series’ “lore” can change and evolve.
The world of Warcraft is huge, there is plenty of room for new stories and new adventures. But some people think that nothing should ever change, characters should stay how they’ve always been, no new story arcs are possible. Those people are wrong.
Basically, Blizzard can “make up” whatever they want and it is perfectly fine. Fiction can change and evolve to suit new needs. If Blizzard “makes up” something, that is what they are supposed to do. How else do you think all the current lore came to be? Warcraft’s lore didn’t just magically appear out of nowhere, it took people “making up” stories to flesh out the mythology that we have now. You need to realize that fictional universes are “made up” and that this is not a bad thing.
EDIT: I took out a few paragraphs that I realized took away from my main message.
The Barracks 