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World of Warcraft got its iconic MMO quest markers thanks to Metal Gear Solid

World of Warcraft's 20th anniversary reveals its iconic quest markers were inspired by Metal Gear Solid's alert system. A former Blizzard animator details the design process and reflects on the game's lasting impact on the MMORPG genre.

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It's a bit hard to imagine that this year was the 20th anniversary of the launch of World of Warcraft, but former creatives who worked on the groundbreaking MMORPG have been looking back and sharing details about the game's development, including how it got its iconic quest markers.

Former Blizzard lead animator Kevin Beardslee recalled some of the ideas they had to get the game into shape, one of which came from Hideo Kojima's stealth action series Metal Gear Solid, inspiring an equally iconic visual guide for players to help them on their journey through Azeroth.

"I think I was playing Metal Gear Solid at the time, and whenever that 'bbbrrnnk!' exclamation point alert would go above their head, I knew: A) I'm terrified and B) I clearly know that the guy hates me," says Beardslee. "I was like, what if we put that above the quest giver's head? You will know that you should probably talk to that guy, but in [WoW rival] EverQuest, you don't even know the magic phrase to say to someone for a quest."

For anyone who's played Metal Gear Solid, the visual and audio effects heard when getting spotted by enemies is an immediate sign that things are about to get bad. However, in World of Warcraft, Blizzard's interpretation of the exclamation point sign for NPCs is inviting, showing players an opportunity for new adventures and rewards in the area. However, Beardslee thinks that, in hindsight, the quest marker "probably should have been a question mark" instead.

At the time, Everquest was the largest MMORPG on the market, but things changed quickly once Blizzard's MMO launched, and a slew of other competing games tried to occupy the same territory. Twenty years after its launch, WoW is still going strong with millions of players worldwide. 

In GamesRadar+'s World of Warcraft: The War Within review, Alex Avard states that the expansion "continues World of Warcraft's comeback trajectory with a war worth fighting for Horde and Alliance alike. While this expansion isn't groundbreaking, it does do a great job of setting the stage for the Worldsoul Saga."

The latest issue of Retro Gamer has much more about the developer retrospective on World of Warcraft. If you want to read more, head over to Magazine Direct to subscribe or buy individual issues.

For more games like World of Warcraft, be sure to check out our roundup of the best MMORPGs.