Warcraft universe

The Warcraft universe is a fictional universe in which a series of games and books published by Blizzard Entertainment are set. Players were first introduced to the world of Azeroth in the original Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. This world exists in an ethereal plane called The Twisting Nether. In this universe's history, inter-world travel is rare, but can be achieved using magical portals. Known worlds include Azeroth, Draenor, Argus, K'aresh, and Xoroth.

Concept and creation

The background, plot, and setting, like most Blizzard games, bear notable resemblance to tabletop games such as Warhammer Fantasy Battle by Games Workshop, and Dungeons & Dragons from TSR, Inc (later bought out by Wizards of the Coast in 1997). It's said that Blizzard offered the first Warcraft game to Games Workshop as a game based on the Warhammer universe, but Games Workshop turned them down. The fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien also served as a foundation; many of the races are patterned after Tolkien's, and the Elvish languages used in the game, Thalassian and Darnassian ) are made to sound like Sindarin and Quenya, the Elvish languages used in The Lord of the Rings. However, large portions of the setting are drawn from modern-day sources and references, ranging from Star Trek, Star Wars (Toshley's Station), to the Cthulhu Mythos, to Thundercats, to third-world proxy wars.

Geography
The majority of media in the Warcraft universe takes place upon a planet called Azeroth. This planet has four continents, named Azeroth, Lordaeron, Kalimdor, and Northrend, all of which are separated by a giant ocean called the Great Sea. In the center of the Great Sea is a humongous, everlasting vortex called the Maelstrom, and there are also several small islands aside from the three main continents throughout the sea.

The Eastern Kingdoms, the conjoined eastern continents of Azeroth and Lordaeron, is the primary home of the Alliance faction. The landmass is varied, though mostly traditional fantasy-based, and divided into four kingdoms. From north to south:
*Quel'Thalas, a High Elven (now Blood Elven) kingdom that has lost most of its former glory.
*Lordaeron, a former human kingdom that has been overrun by undead which shares its name with this northern continent of the Eastern Kingdoms.
*Khaz Modan, a Dwarf kingdom.
*Stormwind, the last unspoiled human kingdom.

The continent of Kalimdor is an ancient wilderness; the upper half is a mostly peaceful, magical forest where the Night Elf race dwells (or used to dwell), while the lower half is mostly plains, waste and desert where various primitive and/or nomadic races live. Kalimdor is the primary home of the Horde faction. The kingdoms and upper/lower halves of the continents are further divided into smaller regions which in turn are divided into sub-regions (particular geographic features or sites of interest, such as woods or dungeons).

The third continent, Northrend, is an icy continent in the north of Azeroth, comparable to Scandinavia. Northrend is featured in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion set, and will feature in World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, the second expansion pack to World of Warcraft.

Second in importance to Azeroth is the planet of Draenor. The original homeland of the Orc race and the Ogre race, this world was torn apart when an Orc warlock named Ner'zhul opened too many gateways to other worlds, causing it to crumble and phase into the mysterious dimension called the Twisting Nether. The remnants of the world are now known as Outland, and it features in Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal and Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, and most prominently in World of Warcraft's first expansion World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.

Other planets in the universe include Argus, the original home-world of the Eredar race; K'aresh, the original home-world of the Ethereal race; and Xoroth, the home-world of the Nathrezim and Dreadsteeds. The planet of Azeroth has two moons, named White Lady and Blue Child; and Draenor/Outland, according to the skies seen in the Burning Crusade expansion pack, has dozens of moons (though they might just be other visible planets).

Places beyond the planets include the Great Dark Beyond, Warcraft's equivalent of outer space; the Emerald Dream, a dream-scape resembling what Azeroth would look like if animals or sentient races had never in any way altered it; an Elemental Plane where the elemental lieutenants of the malevolent deities called the Old Gods are banished; and the Dark Below, a hellish, little-referenced underworld the canon of which is debatable.

Races in Warcraft
The main races of the Warcraft universe include a standard variety of fantasy species. In the original Warcraft computer game, there were campaigns for both humans and orcs, and Warcraft II added high elves, dwarves, trolls, ogres, goblins and dragons. Warcraft III added the night elf and tauren races, as well as the undead, the fish-like naga, and many others.

The MMORPG World of Warcraft has ten playable races, divided into two factions, the Alliance and the Horde. The Alliance is comprised of Humans, Night Elves, Gnomes, Dwarves, and the new Draenei. For the Horde the races are Orcs, Trolls, Forsaken Undead, Tauren, and the new Blood Elves. The "new" races were made available with the Burning Crusade Expansion. In addition, there are neutral races like sporelings, goblins, and etherals. Well known and hostile races include the Naga and Murlocs.

Organizations
Within the Warcraft universe allegiances are most likely to be formed between characters of the same race. Most races have warred with one another during their history, so cooperation between races has been difficult. Cooperation has also seem to be only likely at times of great peril, where worldwide destruction was imminent. However, there are some organizations that exist outside racial lines. These organizations are brought upon narrow common goals, such as the preservation of nature or the advancement of mining technology.

Media set in the Warcraft universe
Computer games

* Warcraft: Orcs & Humans (1994)
* Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (1995)
* Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal (1996) - expansion pack to Tides of Darkness
* Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition (1999) - allowed online play of Warcraft II on Battle.net
* Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (2002)
* Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne (2003) - expansion pack to Reign of Chaos
* World of Warcraft - MMORPG (2004)
* World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (2007) - expansion pack to World of Warcraft
* World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (2008) - announced second expansion to World of Warcraft

Other

* Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans - adventure game, canceled

Other media

Tabletop games

* Warcraft: The Board Game - a strateic board game from Fantasy Flight Games, based heavily on Warcraft III
* Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game - role-playing game from Sword & Sorcery
* World of Warcraft: The Board Game - a board game based on World of Warcraft, also by Fantasy Flight Games

Collectible card games

* World of Warcraft Trading Card Game - 2006

Books

* Warcraft: Day of the Dragon
* Warcraft: Lord of the Clans
* Warcraft: Of Blood and Honor
* Warcraft: The Last Guardian
* Warcraft: War of the Ancients Trilogy
* Warcraft: The Sunwell Trilogy
* World of Warcraft: Cycle of Hatred
* World of Warcraft: Rise of the Horde
* World of Warcraft: Tides of Darkness

Film adaptation

In May 2006, production company Legendary Pictures acquired film rights to adapt Warcraft for the big screen with the game's publisher, Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard had originally considered hiring a scribe for the film adaptation before teaming up with Legendary Pictures. The companies plan to create a film that would not follow one specific Warcraft games' storyline, but would still take place in the fantasy universe. According to Blizzard's Chief Operating Officer Paul Sams, the film's budget would be over $100 million.

In June 2007, Legendary Pictures chairman Thomas Tull said that the studio was working closely with Blizzard's designers and writers to adapt World of Warcraft. Tull explained the desire to have a good story for the film adaptation, "I think some of the stuff that makes a game translate well... if there's a lore, if there's a road and story and a world that's been created, and characters that are interesting in a way that's more than just point and shoot." World of Warcrafts lead designer Rob Pardo expressed interest in being able to adapt the intellectual property of World of Warcraft to the appropriate medium of the film. He also added that the designers were collaborating with Legendary Pictures on story and script development.

In August 2007, at BlizzCon, it was unveiled that the film will aim for a projected 2009 release. It was also revealed that the movie will take place from an Alliance perspective and will be geared towards a PG-13 audience, with a storyline set one year before the beginning of the World of Warcraft storyline. As of this time no director or cast are yet associated with its development. Thomas Tull stated that, "It’s not so much a quest movie. It’s more of a war movie."

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