Warcraft: Orcs and Humans

Developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment, Warcraft: Orcs and Humans were first released in November of 1994, and in a short time period, became a very well selling and well-loved title. The game was released for Windows in 1994, but did not come out for Macintosh until 1996, hurting some sales, but the game was still very successful. Warcraft: Orcs and Humans was a first person real-time simulator, and one of the first real-time simulators to allow for multiplayer gaming. The success of this game, as well as the franchise built on it, led to a boom in real-time simulator old PC games, and this series became the main competitor to the leading game at the time: Command and Conquer. While Warcraft was not the first real-time simulator to offer a multiplayer game mode, it created a modified story for the multiplayer mode which enhanced the overall user experience.

The Gameplay Experience

In Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, players would first choose whether to be humans or the orc race. Humans are the defenders and Orcs are the invaders. Whichever side the player picks, in the single player mode, the player must work through several missions to achieve their sides goal of either repelling the attacking orcs or taking over the human establishment. The goal for each individual mission changes, but it usually involves building some sort of settlement, collecting resources, building an army and then destroying the enemy. Warcraft expanded on the missions of other similar old PC games by adding additional features and options such as conquering opposing fighters, rescuing and fixing destroyed towns, saving allied units from an enemy camp, and ultimately destroying the enemy’s main base. In the multiplayer mode, several advancements were made over other old PC games as well. Warcraft’s multiplayer mode allowed players to connect through modem or wirelessly, and could be played between two players. In this mode, players would seek to defeat each other by using a similar battle strategy as was necessary in the single player mode involving building a base and an army before destroying the enemy.

Critical Reception and Success

When Warcraft was released, it immediately solidified Blizzard as a top developer, as the company was previously struggling for content and funding. Warcraft took care of that as it ranked 19th out of the top 20 CDs in all categories. The game was praised for its solid strategy, simple interface and fantasy theme, while winning PC Gamers Editor’s Choice Award in 1994 and was a finalist for top awards from several different reviewers. As time passed and other games were released, some began to speak out against Warcraft, complaining that the game was overly slow, and that it required too much to start up before getting to the action. Others said that the artificial intelligence was unintelligent and overly predictable, causing the game to lose its luster after several plays. However, most critics agree that these problems really do not change their opinion much about the high quality and enjoyability of the game. Warcraft: Orcs and Humans was the first successful title from Blizzard Entertainment, and the franchise it produced has been one of the most successful of all time, with five core games and a feature film recently released. Warcraft is still enjoyed by gamers worldwide.