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* [[Jomaro Kindred]] - Concept Artist<ref name=wn>BlizzCon 2016 Hearthstone What's Next panel (2016-11-05)</ref> |
* [[Jomaro Kindred]] - Concept Artist<ref name=wn>BlizzCon 2016 Hearthstone What's Next panel (2016-11-05)</ref> |
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* [[Walter Kong]] |
* [[Walter Kong]] |
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| + | * [[Dave Kosak]]<ref name=davekosak>{{tw|https://twitter.com/DaveKosak/status/803683460330102784|2016-11-29|Dave Kosak}}</ref> |
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==Known changes== |
==Known changes== |
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| − | * '''November 2016:''' [[Lorenzo Minaca]] is unofficially announced as a new member of the team.<ref name=lm>{{tw|https://twitter.com/mxma101/status/799339794681561088|2016-11-17|Max Ma}}</ref> |
+ | * '''November 2016:''' [[Lorenzo Minaca]] is unofficially announced as a new member of the team.<ref name=lm>{{tw|https://twitter.com/mxma101/status/799339794681561088|2016-11-17|Max Ma}}</ref> [[Dave Kosak]] joins the team.<ref name=davekosak/> |
* '''Unknown date between January 2016 and November 2016:''' [[Matt Place]] has joined Team 5. |
* '''Unknown date between January 2016 and November 2016:''' [[Matt Place]] has joined Team 5. |
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* '''July 2015:''' [[Peter Whalen]] has joined Team 5. |
* '''July 2015:''' [[Peter Whalen]] has joined Team 5. |
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Revision as of 02:46, 10 December 2016
Team 5 (also known as Blizzard Team 5) are the Blizzard Entertainment development team responsible for Hearthstone. Originally a "small and nimble" team of 15 members, Team 5 was created specifically in order to develop Hearthstone,[1] and is responsible for all ongoing game design.[2]
Members
For most of the game's original development, the team comprised only 15 "hard-core ninjas",[1][3][4][5] but by the game's mid-beta in November 2013 had begun to grow. The next few months saw the recruitment of several additional members,[6] and the team has continued to grow since then.[7] As of June 2015 the team numbered 44 members;[8] by January 2016 this had grown to "about 50 people".[9] As of September 2016 there are "70+" people on the team.[10][11]
Each member of the team as stated in the game's credits is depicted in their own credits card, shown during the credits reel.
Confirmed members
The only public listings of Team 5's members are found in the game's credits, which are updated infrequently and often lack more recent additions to the team. It is not therefore possible to state with certainty the current size of Team 5 or to comprehensively list its members. Below are the latest official listings of Team 5, as stated in June 2015 in the game's credits, as well as some additional confirmed members.
Team 5 in November 2016
- Becca Abel - Technical Artist[12]
- Dean Ayala - Associate Balance Designer
- Jon Bankard
- Jay Baxter
- Brian Birmingham
- Andy Brock - Sound Engineer[13]
- Ben Brode - Game Director Designer[14]
- Bryan Chang - Producer
- Jason Chayes - Production Director
- Elizabeth Cho - Associate Producer
- Cameron Chrisman
- Hamilton Chu - Executive Producer[15]
- Jeremy Cranford
- Rachelle Davis - Software Engineer
- Eric Del Priore
- Eric Dodds
- Mike Donais - Design/Balance
- Dan Emmons - Designer
- Tim Erskine - Tavern Brawl Producer[16]
- Bob Fitch - Engineering Director[17]
- Robin Fredericksen
- Steven Gabriel
- Kyle Harrison - Technical Artist[12]
- Henry Ho
- Beomki Hong
- Jomaro Kindred - Concept Artist[18]
- Walter Kong
- Dave Kosak[19]
- Keith Landes
- Jonas Laster
- Max Ma - Senior User Interface Designer
- Jason MacAllister
- Jerry Mascho
- Ryan "Realz" Masterson - Associate Game Designer
- Max McCall - Designer[20]
- Lorenzo Minaca - User Interface[21]
- JC Park
- Matt Place - Senior Game Designer[22][23]
- Ricardo Robaina
- Derek Sakamoto - Senior UI Designer
- Michael Schweitzer - Senior Client Engineer[24]
- Ben Thompson - Lead Artist
- Peter Whalen - Designer[25]
- He-Rim Woo
- Yong Woo - Senior Game Producer[26]
- Christopher Yim - Mobile Software Engineer
- Seyil Yoon
- John Zwicker - 3D Modeller[27]
Former members
- Ryan Chew - Software Engineer. As of at least March 2016 is now working on Overwatch.
- Brian Schwab - AI and gameplay engineer. Member from 2011 or earlier. Left some time shortly before August 2014.[28]
- Shay Pierce - Involved in prototyping and coding. Member since at least early 2009, appears to have left some time prior to March 2013.
Non-Team 5 developers
Team 5 is assisted in its role as primary designers of the game by various other Blizzard employees. For a full list see Credits (list). A few notable members perform a particularly significant role in the game's development, and are listed below. Some of these employees may be part of Team 5, but without official confirmation.
- Pat Nagle - Designer (Tavern Brawls)
- Jeramiah Johnson - Senior Cinematic Artist
- Chadd Nervig (Celestalon)[29][30]
Former
- Micky Neilson - Listed as Story Lead in the game's original credits. Left Blizzard in March 2016.
- Rob Pardo - Listed as Chief Executive in the game's original credits. Left Blizzard in July 2014.
Creation
The original 15 members of Team 5, being presented at Blizzcon 2013 by Eric Dodds and Ben Brode
- "There were all these new platforms emerging that people were playing on. We loved those platforms as well. We wanted to figure out if we could make a team who could jump in and do those type of games. That was the impetus for starting up this group called Team 5." - Jason Chayes[31]
Team 5 was created in 2008 specifically for the development of Hearthstone,[32] with the intention of taking a different approach to game creation than that previously taken by Blizzard in developing its games, with 50+ person teams and multi-year development cycles.[1] Team 5 was created with the intention of working on a smaller scale but at the same level of quality.[1] The mandate for the team was to keep the team very small, and to "think of ways to develop a game that might be non-traditional within Blizzard's walls".[1] The smaller team required its members to be "old-school" "garage programmers" and able to "wear a lot of different hats", with far less specialization than that typically found in larger teams.[1]
The initial composition of the team included long-time Blizzard veterans and "new blood brought in specifically to help [Blizzard] create a type of game the developer had never done before: a card collecting game."[31]
Team 5 was created in 2008,[32] but for a long time was a very small group of less than 15 members, mostly focusing on prototyping.[33] Full development appears to have started spring 2012.[34] Team 5 was first announced along with Hearthstone itself at PAX East in March 2013, by which time it had grown to 15 members.
Team 5 was initially known as "Team Pegasus".[35]
Notes
- While each team member has a specific focus, the designers "all work together on pretty much everything".[36]
- With regard to iterative design, and ongoing management of the game, Mike Donais explains, "[The] Hearthstone [team] has a philosophy of not having specific rules in general. We just want to be open-minded, see what happens, learn from feedback and our mistakes, and so on. So we’re going to keep deciding as we go, and listening to people."[37]
- Knowledge of Warcraft lore is a prerequisite for many or possibly any position on the team. Advertisements for positions such as associate game designer list "Extensive knowledge of the lore and setting of World of Warcraft" as a requirement alongside card design skills and a passion for games.[38]
- The Hearthstone art team is made up of "generalists", meaning they each have 2 or 3 different things that they do very well.[39] The team members have a strong affinity for Hearthstone's "whimsical/charming" art style, and are proficient at creating assets that feel hand-painted.[40]
- The success of Team 5 as a smaller development team appears to have led Blizzard to seek to emulate this success with the creation of more small teams. A Blizzard job listing for a Lead Producer stated, "With Hearthstone, Blizzard has revived its tradition of creating small and nimble game teams and we are following in those footsteps".[41] The job listing may have been related to Blizzard's then-unannounced team shooter Overwatch.[41]
- By the time an expansion is released, Team 5 are "already working a lot on future expansions",[42] including "not only the next [expansion] but the one after that as well".[42] Lead Designer Ben Brode states that the team always have "3-ish expansions in development",[43] although it is likely this also includes adventures. According to Senior Producer Yong Woo, the developers are always "trying to get ahead of the curve".[42]
Trivia
- Team 5 and other Blizzard employees do not receive a full complement of cards for their personal use, but must purchase packs or otherwise collect their cards like other players.[44] However, employees do receive some of their bonus money in "Blizzard bucks", which can be spent on products such as card packs.[44]
- Some members of the game's design team play exclusively free to play.[45] Others have free to play accounts they play in addition to their main accounts.[45]
- Team 5 communicate and collaborate using a variety of media, including meetings, calls, emails, and even internal wiki documents.[46]
Gallery
Team 5 in November 2015
"Our group pic of the #Hearthstone Dev team might have gone better if we HADN'T launched on mobile."
A team meeting in the new 'tea room', January 2015
Team 5 in November 2014
The team gather round to watch Yong Woo play
Team 5 and friends in April 2014
The original 15 members of Team 5, plus a few extra guests
Team 5's original announcement at PAX East 2013
Team 5 in 2011: "Once upon a time Team 5 was 10 dudes and a QA homie."[47]
An embryonic Team 5 on a trip in early 2009[48]
![Team 5 in 2011: "Once upon a time Team 5 was 10 dudes and a QA homie."[47]](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/hearthstone_gamepedia/images/6/63/Team_5_-_2011.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140606204115)
![An embryonic Team 5 on a trip in early 2009[48]](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/hearthstone_gamepedia/images/e/ef/Team_5_early_2009.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20141003232922)
Videos
- The Angry Chicken #100: “May the Chicken be with You” (2015-09-01) - Team 5 tribute reel. (2015-09-01)
- UI position recruitment video (Ben Brode, Derek Sakamoto, Max Ma) (2016-06-10)
Known changes
- November 2016: Lorenzo Minaca is unofficially announced as a new member of the team.[21] Dave Kosak joins the team.[19]
- Unknown date between January 2016 and November 2016: Matt Place has joined Team 5.
- July 2015: Peter Whalen has joined Team 5.
- Unknown date between June 2015 and April 2016: Dan Emmons has joined Team 5.
- Unknown date between June 2015 and March 2016: Ryan Chew is now working on Overwatch.
- Patch 2.7.0.9166 (2015-06-15): Several additional members are now listed in the game's credits. Some of these are known to have joined the team previously, while others were previously unknown: Beomki Hong, Brian Birmingham, Cameron Chrisman, Christopher Yim, Dean Ayala, Elizabeth Cho, Eric Del Priore, Henry Ho, He-Rim Woo, JC Park, Jeremy Cranford, Jerry Mascho, Jomaro Kindred, Jon Bankard, Jonas Laster, Keith Landes, Max Ma, Max McCall, Robin Fredericksen, Ryan Chew, Seyil Yoon, Tim Erskine, Walter Kong and Ryan Masterson. Hamilton Chu is now listed as a member of Team 5, previously listed separately as an Executive Producer (section now removed).
- Unknown date, between May and December 2014: He-Rim Woo has joined the team.
- (2014-08-27): Ryan "Realz" Masterson has announced he is joining Team 5 as an Associate Game Designer.[49]
- (2014-06-??): Max Ma has joined the team as Senior User Interface Designer.
- (2014-06-16): August Dean Ayala has joined Team 5.
- (2014-06-10): Jomaro Kindred has joined Team 5.
- (2014-05-07): Max McCall has been announced as the newest member of the team.
- Patch 1.0.0.4944 (Open beta, 2014-03-11): Becca Abel, Bryan Chang, Mike Donais, Jason MacAllister, Ricardo Robaina and Christopher Yim are now also listed as part of Team 5.
See also
- Category:Blizzard employees - a list of major Blizzard employees involved in producing Hearthstone
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Building the Fire (Official video) (2013-03-22)
- ↑ Ben Brode on Twitter. (2014-06-06).
- ↑ Game Industry.biz - Blizzard building "more experimental" titles with Hearthstone (2013-03-25)
- ↑ Polygon.com - Blizzard's Rob Pardo on Hearthstone, a 'stepping stone' to more experimental games (2013-03-24)
- ↑ Edge-online - Hearthstone: Heroes Of Warcraft - Blizzard tips its hand on its first free-to-play game (2013-05-24)
- ↑ Ben Brode (2013-11-12). Twitter / bbrode.
- ↑ Banter with the Blues - February 13 (Zeriyah). (2015-02-13).
- ↑ Credits (list)
- ↑ Official forums - Designer Insights with Ben Brode: Content Updates. (2016-01-13).
- ↑ Ben Brode on reddit. (2016-09-05).
- ↑ Ben Brode on Twitter. (2016-09-07).
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 John Zwicker on reddit. (2015-07-19).
- ↑ Making of an Adventure: Hearthstone's 'One Night in Karazhan'. (2016-09-20).
- ↑ Ben Brode on Twitter. (2016-12-06).
- ↑ Gamescom - Hearthstone Exclusive Content Livestream. (2015-08-07).
- ↑ Yong Woo on Twitter. (2016-08-03).
- ↑ Bob Fitch's Twitter profile. Retrieved on 2016-03-25. - Hearthstone Engineering Director. Blizzard since 1992. Love AI, compilers, hockey, poker, D&D, KSP, and generally playing any kind of game.
- ↑ BlizzCon 2016 Hearthstone What's Next panel (2016-11-05)
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Dave Kosak on Twitter. (2016-11-29).
- ↑ Max McCall's Twitter profile. Retrieved on 2015-07-20. "Designer for Blizzard."
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Max Ma on Twitter. (2016-11-17).
- ↑ Inside the Mean Streets of Gadgetzan at BlizzCon!. (2016-11-04).
- ↑ Hearthhead BlizzCon 2016 liveblog. (2016-11-05).
- ↑ Yong Woo on Twitter. (2015-08-15).
- ↑ Yong Woo on Twitter. (2015-11-08).
- ↑ Hearthstone Fireside Chat Goblins vs Gnomes (BlizzCon 2014). (2014-11-07).
- ↑ 2014-12-06. (Ben Thompson Hearthstone: Goblins vs. Gnomes Interview (BlizzCon 2014)).
- ↑ GAMASUTRA - Video: Building the AI for Hearthstone. (2014-08-25).
- ↑ Ben Brode on Twitter. (2015-11-17).
- ↑ Credits (list)#Additional Development
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 Polygon.com - THE THREE LIVES OF BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT. (2014-10-03).
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 Ben Brode on Twitter. (2014-10-03).
- ↑ Ben Brode on Twitter. (2014-06-08).
- ↑ Mark Serrels, Kotaku.com (2014-05-04). Pens, Paper And Envelopes: The Making Of Hearthstone.
- ↑ How Blizzard's Warcraft Brought Hearthstone to Life - GDC 2015. (2015-03-04).
- ↑ Mike Donais on reddit. (2015-12).
- ↑ IGN - BLIZZARD ON THE STATE OF HEARTHSTONE. (2016-06-10).
- ↑ Associate Game Designer job listing. Retrieved on 2016-06-06.
- ↑ Ben Thompson on Twitter. (2016-04-02).
- ↑ Ben Thompson on Twitter. (2016-04-02).
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 Robert Purchese (Eurogamer) (2014-04-09). Is Overwatch Blizzard's new small-team game?.
- ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 Yong Woo, live on stream. (2014-12-13).
- ↑ Ben Brode on Twitter. (2016-09-7).
- ↑ 44.0 44.1 Yong Woo, live on stream. (2014-12-13).
- ↑ 45.0 45.1 Yong Woo on Twitter. (2015-08-20).
- ↑ Yong Woo on Twitter. (2016-02-18).
- ↑ Ben Brode on Twitter. (2014-03-05).
- ↑ Ben Brode on Twitter. (2014-10-03).
- ↑ Ryan Masterson on Twitter. (2014-08-27).