‘World Of Warcraft’ developers dig into the “cowboy mole people” of Dragonflight 10.1

27 April, 2023

Niffen, World Of Warcraft. Credit: Blizzard Entertainment.

Dragonflight patch 10.1 comes to World Of Warcraft next week (May 2), and ahead of its release, developers from Blizzard Entertainment have sat down with NME to discuss how it worked to make the “cowboy mole people” Niffen feel like a natural addition to Azeroth.

Earlier in the week, Blizzard shared a video detailing everything that fans can expect from patch 10.1.

Besides a new raid and an extra zone, the video showcased the introduction of a new race — the subterranean mole-like Niffen — and the return of a snail racing, which first appeared in the land of Highmountain.

Speaking to NME, game director Ion Hazzikostas and lead quest designer Josh Augustine explored how Blizzard Entertainment worked to ensure the Niffen felt like they had always been living in the world of Azeroth.

Augustine explained that the World Of Warcraft universe can have “everything from silly goblins to serious heart-wrenching stories,” and the discovery of a new area — such as Dragonflight 10.1’s Zaralek Cavern — offered a “great opportunity” to introduce new inhabitants to Azeroth.

“A lot of times, with the Niffen for example, when we go to new places it’s really natural to think ‘who would be down here?’ It’s really natural to come up with a new race and culture, then start digging into…if they’ve been down here, how did they survive? What are their skills? What sort of traditions have they developed? It’s such a fun thought process to dig into.”

“I remember the first time I saw they had cowboy hats,” Augustine recalled. “The first time that came in from [the art team], a million ideas sprang up about how we can use these little cowboy mole people.”

Besides the Niffen’s fancy hats, Augustine shared that Blizzard created a “cave diving” game to help express the race’s culture.

“As you dive into these caves, they function a little like mini escape rooms,” shared Augustine, who explained that players will be able to pair up with a Niffen in a “contained area” to sniff, dig and search for clues that will lead to treasure.

Likewise, not all Niffen are the same — Hazzikostas teased that players will be able to find a monster-hunting Niffen on their travels.

“I love the new cultures we have in here,” the director added. “The Niffen are adorable — they have so many fun activities.”

Elsewhere, Hazzikostas and Augustine also told NME about how Dragonflight patch 10.1 will improve an area of WoW that Blizzard “hasn’t traditionally done as well” with. Check back with NME today (April 27) for more lines from our interview.

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