Ever wondered how can you get into the game developing business? Well, modder Ryan Winzen has shown us one way of doing it. His custom map project has received a lot of attention both from Blizzard and other parties.
The story begins when a video of World of StarCraft, a StarCraft 2 mod developed by Ryan Winzen, was pulled off of YouTube by request from Activision Blizzard. The modder was then approached by a representative of the company to discuss the current state and the future of his work.
- "We talked for a while and apparently some people from Blizzard were concerned I was developing the game somehow outside of SC2" explains Winzen. "Anyways I explained the details of the project to him and made it clear this mod was to be developed within SC2."
- "I'm trying to work with him to get the name StarCraft Universe (currently in holding by Mille25) or StarCraft Chronicles. I am fully respectful of Blizzard's Intellectual property, and they DO in fact own a copyright on 'World of StarCraft' and have EVERY RIGHT to do what they did."
Despite the tension around this project, which is, luckily, still in operation, a fortunate event appeared for Ryan Winzen. Apparently, his mod caught the impression of League of Legends developer Riot Games. As it turns out, Winzen was approached by Tom Cadwell, Design Director of Riot Games and former Blizzard employee, who offered him a chance to work at his company.
Fortunately, a video of World of StarCraft can be found on YouTube once again and hereby you have the chance to see it.