Alex Afrasiabi
Alex Afrasiabi (alias Furor, or Valnoth on the forums) is the former Senior Creative Director for World of Warcraft at Blizzard Entertainment.[1] He was originally hired to the team as an Associate Quest Designer[2] on March 14, 2004.[3] After 14 years, he left Blizzard in June 2020.[4]
History
 Valnoth | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Lead World Designer |
Alex was once leader of a famous Everquest guild named Fires of Heaven (now a World of Warcraft guild). He was hired at Blizzard as a Quest Designer for World of Warcraft and rose through the ranks over the years and became Senior Creative Director. He is notable for having created many signature quests such as the Thunderfury questchain,[5] Bingles' Missing Supplies, Mor'ladim, or the tribute mechanics in Dire Maul. He also oversaw the creation of the Death Knight starting area in Wrath of the Lich King.
After the release of Wrath of the Lich King, Afrasiabi was transferred to the Project Titan team. Titan was ultimately canceled and Afrasiabi rejoined the World of Warcraft team until he left Blizzard in June 2020.
In a blatant example of Defendant's refusal to deal with a harasser because of his seniority/position, Alex Afrasiabi, the former Senior Creative Director of World of Warcraft at Blizzard Entertainment, was permitted to engage in blatant sexual harassment with little to no repercussions. During a company event (an annual convention called BlizzCon) Afrasiabi would hit on female employees, telling him he wanted to marry them, attempting to kiss them, and putting his arms around them. This was in plain view of other male employees, including supervisors, who had to intervene and pull. him off female employees. Afrasiabi was so known to engage in harassment of females that his suite was nicknamed the "Cosby Suite" after alleged rapist Bill Cosby. Afrasiabi would also call females derogatory names at company events. Afrasiabi's conduct was known to Blizzard Entertainment's executives, who took no effective remedial measures. J. Allen Brack, President of Blizzard Entertainment, allegedly had multiple conversations with Afrasiabi about his drinking and that he had been "too friendly" towards female employees at company events but gave Afrasiabi a slap on the wrist (ie verbal counseling) in response to these incidents. Subsequently, Afrasiabi continued to make unwanted advances towards female employees, including grabbing a female employee's hand and inviting her to his hotel room and groping another women.
Credits
- World of Warcraft (2004) - Quest Designer
- World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (2007) - Lead Quest Designer
- World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (2008) - Lead World Designer
- World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor (2014) - Creative Director
- World of Warcraft: Legion (2016) - Creative Director
Notes and trivia
- Afrasiabi is Iranian-American.
- There are many references to Afrasiabi, and his characters Furor Planedefiler and Kariel in Warcraft, usually referencing "Foror". "Tigule" is a reference to Jeffrey Kaplan, whose alias is Tigole. Afrasiabi and Kaplan were both members of high-end EverQuest guilds, explaining the many references to "Tigule and Foror".
- Pathstalker Kariel, Skeletal Remains of Kariel Winthalus (
[Libram of Rapidity]), 
[Alex's Ring of Audacity], 
[Peep's Whistle], Foror's Compendium of Dragon Slaying, Foror's Eyepatch, Foror's Crate of Endless Resist Gear Storage, 
[Foror's Wipe Neutralizer], Tigule and Foror's Strawberry Ice Cream, Autographed Picture of Foror & Tigule, Fras Siabi's Advertisement, Field Marshal Afrasiabi, Fras Siabi (The Great Fras Siabi, Siabi's Premium Tobacco), Lord Afrasastrasz, Fras Siabi's Postbox Key, Fras Siabi's Smoked Cologne, Fras Siabi's Cigar Cutter, [Fras Siabi's Barely Bigger Beer], Brain Freeze
- Pathstalker Kariel, Skeletal Remains of Kariel Winthalus (
- The first quest Afrasiabi designed in World of Warcraft was [15] Bingles' Missing Supplies.[2][3]
- Afrasiabi remembers "freaking" about having to create some of the early quests in Elwynn Forest. He felt like he had to create something amazing and decided to name the quest giver "something awesome", resulting in Falkhaan Isenstrider.[2]
References
- ^ Blizzard on Social Media. Blizzard Entertainment. Retrieved on 2014-05-20.
- ^ a b c World of Warcraft 2019-08-21. WoW® Classic with Creators. YouTube. Retrieved on 2019-08-21.
- ^ a b World of Warcraft 2019-09-23. WoW® Classic with Creators Episode 5: Alex Afrasiabi. YouTube. Retrieved on 2019-09-23.
- ^ Alex Afrasiabi on LinkedIn
- ^ Did somebody say Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker?
External links
- Twitter (account deleted)
- Alex Afrasiabi on IMDB
