Jeff Kaplan on World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Blizzard, and the Journey from Gamer to Legendary Game Designer

This episode features a conversation with Jeff Kaplan, a legendary game designer known for his work on World of Warcraft and Overwatch, and his recent departure from Blizzard to create a new open-world online multiplayer game, The Legend of California. The discussion traces Kaplan's unique journey from an avid gamer, particularly in EverQuest, to a prominent figure in game development. It delves into his early experiences with coin-op arcade games like Pac-Man and Asteroids, home consoles like Atari and Intellivision, and the transformative impact of the NES with Super Mario, highlighting the profound sense of wonder and immersion these early games provided.

The conversation explores the evolution of gaming, from text-based adventures like Zork, which emphasized imagination, to the rich, world-building RPGs like Ultima. Kaplan recounts the groundbreaking shift to online multiplayer with Doom and Quake, emphasizing the magic of connecting with other players across distances. He details the rise of MMORPGs, with Ultima Online pioneering early, sometimes grief-based, player interactions, and EverQuest becoming a pivotal, all-consuming experience that ultimately led him into game design. The episode also pays tribute to influential figures like John Carmack and John Romero of id Software, whose technological breakthroughs in 3D graphics and game engines were foundational for the FPS genre.

A significant portion of the discussion is dedicated to Kaplan's earlier, unsuccessful pursuit of a creative writing career. He shares the emotional toll of receiving over 170 rejection letters, the isolation, and the deep depression that led him to abandon writing entirely, symbolically throwing away all his manuscripts. This period of intense struggle and eventual surrender provides a powerful lesson: the importance of knowing when to give up on a path, despite societal pressures to persevere, to make way for new opportunities. His advice to focus on "what you want to do" rather than "what you want to be" emerges as a key insight for young people navigating career and life choices.

Ultimately, the podcast highlights the profound impact of video games as a medium for storytelling, immersion, and community. Kaplan's personal story underscores the transformative power of passion, the resilience required in creative fields, and the unexpected paths life can take. His transition from a dedicated player, who logged over 6,000 hours in EverQuest, to a celebrated designer illustrates how deep engagement with a medium can lead to a calling, shaping not only individual lives but also the broader landscape of interactive entertainment.

There's three types of fun, fun for the player, fun for the designer, and fun for the computer.

My whole career and my family are thanks to EverQuest, so I think I won the game.

I had believed I would never work any place but Blizzard. I loved it. It was a part of who I was, And I felt I was a part of it, and I literally thought I would retire from the place.

How painful was it to say goodbye? - It broke me.

It's that power of imagination. It's why the book is always better than the movie, you know?

Ultima Online was kind of... It was the earliest grief-based experiment. Really, like, when you're treating the humans like ants in the ant farm. That was kind of Ultima Online.

That's a giant leap of faith. You know, that's a moment of putting yourself out there completely, and there's gotta be some part of that that's ego. There's some part of it that's masochistic.

I literally threw away everything, I mean, in a dumpster. I used to keep copious notes, like journals, my writing journals, everything I ever read, every story idea... and I threw it all in the dumpster.

The universe... Actually, maybe not the universe. A group of editors at literary magazines across the United States was telling me it was time to give up as a writer, like I wasn't cut out for it. And I stopped.

Focus on what you wanna do, not what you wanna be.

When you go home, how do you spend your time? Like, what makes you happy? What brings you fulfillment? And through those paths, you're gonna find out what you're gonna become, not what you wanna be. It's, 'What do you wanna do?'

It wasn't all healthy. When all was said and done, when I finally had quit EverQuest three days later, you could type in the command /played to see how much played time you had. I had, I think it was like 272 played days in three years.