Gary Platner



Gary Platner is Lead Environment Artist and Principal Exterior Level Designer for World of Warcraft at Blizzard Entertainment.

Quotes

 * "I'm in charge of the trees, the rocks, the grass, the sky and the water. I like to say we put the world in World of Warcraft''."
 * "I direct a team of artists who help create the world . . . of Warcraft. We shape the land; texture it; place the trees, rocks, and buildings; and design the “sets” where our quest team will later place the “actors.”"
 * "The exterior level designer's job is to take everything that Team 2 builds—from designers to the artists, everything—and your job is to put it together and make it make sense. Build a game with all of those assets. We're like the last step, so we're building... the game, basically. But we're taking everybody's work and making a game out of it."
 * "Let me be clear. Shouting ‘For the Horde!’ may appear to those who don’t understand to be random or even inappropriate. It is not. This phrase represents a bond of brothers and sisters who have experienced the crucible of combat and victory together. It is appropriate at any time or any occasion. You don’t even have to be playing Horde to use it. It is perfectly acceptable and honorable for even Alliance players to use this phrase. It has, in fact, transcended the bounds of faction and has come to represent a sacred link between players. Do not mock the use of ‘For the Horde!’ as a rallying cry."

Notes and trivia

 * Platner contributed to the Spires of Arak Artcraft blog, where he discussed the artistic design and development of the Spires of Arak zone.
 * Platner has worked at Blizzard and on World of Warcraft since May 1999. His favorite expansion to work on was Mists of Pandaria because of its beautiful, stylized environments and because everyone on the level design team had good chemistry while working on it.
 * Platner has played Horde since the start of WoW, stating "The Horde feel like home to me".
 * Platner is part of Team Horde on Azeroth Choppers, along with Sam Didier and Jason Hutchins.
 * From the Azeroth Choppers promotional material:
 * "Gary Platner is a lead environment artist and former stand-up comic (he even got paid once!) who’s been training Krav Maga for about four years. He loves training, sparring, and getting kicked in the head by his fellow students."


 * The comedian Perry Gatner and the cat Gary Catner are likely references to him.

Videos

 * (2010-11-10)