Andreas Thorstensson

I like to build things. Founder, CEO & Creative Director at @PlayGOALS. Co-Founder of @SKGaming and former Counter-Strike world champion.

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

@Riot_SWAG Congrats!

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

@rostislaav_ Yes that’s coming. And ability to ready up with your team again.

[GOALS @PlayGOALS]

We just released Patch 2.00.05!

We're bringing faster sprint dribbling, higher acceleration and smoother traps, plus a big 5v5 update: seamless kick-ins with no teleports or cutscenes, the Mercy Rule in Ranked, and the offside line on the radar, as you requested!

Check it out and let us know what you think!

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

@SebAaltonen @godraytio @jjiangweilan @T_Motes That’s what I appreciate the most about your posts. It’s tech first, and AI is just one of many tools. Plus zero slop. Keep it up.

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

@Turbuleence @EASPORTSFCPro I thought you knew this already.

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

@dustinlakin Love to see this!

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

@AggrendWoW @Swifvente ”The main character of World of Warcraft is the world”

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

@m0xt_ @MilkRoadStocks Great analysis.

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

@Ja2LiL @PlayGOALS We have a semi-manual shooting system being tested right now.

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

I think this is a great post, but I also want to challenge this quote, even though I understand the reasoning behind it:

“If you’re making a game for everyone, then you’re making it for no one.”

The complete opposite, from Allen Adham himself:
https://t.co/6JNVsmAcp5

[Cornfed Nebraska Boy @Marmstrongwow]

I'm seeing a lot of discourse about who WoW Forever is being made for and while I cannot speak for anyone else on the team I can speak for myself. I am making WoW forever for the classic gamer and for the millions of people who have had their accounts lapse over the years because they were not satisfied with changes that were made to the game. Whether those changes were to the art style, the story, social aspects, game design, or changes to their favorite class.

I did not spend the last year of my life relearning and mastering how to do things like we did it 20+ years ago for retail players. I could have taken it easy and just kept doing things like I had done for the past 8 years on retail...because I was much more familiar with it and it actually takes a lot less time to do (height maps on textures do a ton of heavy lifting). Because the reality is that the majority of retail players wouldn't care and would probably actually prefer it. But I felt I had a duty to uphold an artistic vision and integrity that millions of people expect from us. But not just for our players, but for my co-workers past and present who worked on it over 20 years ago. If I could not create something that resembled their work then I failed not only them...but myself.

Please do not take this as me throwing any shade at retail players or the retail team because I am one myself...but I wanted to make Forever as authentic of a Vanilla experience as possible. This involves making decisions wildly different than retail. It means holding the line against changes that create a domino affect down the road. It means keeping friction and inconveniences in the game. It means finding friends and forming groups with strangers and being social!! Because WoWs social aspects have always been the pillar of the game and over the years it has slowly been chiseled away at with changes that allow you play alone.

Since the day I started working on the Riverglades I have lived by three sayings.

"Convenience is the death of the journey."

"If you're making a game for everyone then you're making it for no one."

"Every change we make incurs a debt to the authenticity of the game and sooner or later that debt will be paid."

These are my core beliefs and I had a specific group of people I was targeting with my work. These beliefs cannot be shaken and I will try to hold the line against anything that goes against them and will continue to pester the team about things that feel out of place.

That being said, my hope is that Forever will pull in as many people as possible, whether you are a retail gamer, a classic gamer, someone who hasn't played in years, or even a new player. I hope you can all remember what made this game so special in the first place and that starts with understanding why we are so passionate about keeping it authentic.

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

@AutismCapital This happened during the Classic beta as well. It is not really something new, it just shows how brilliant the vanilla WoW game design is.

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

@AutismCapital This happened in 2004, in 2015 (with private servers) and in 2019 (Classic). It’s brilliant game design. It seems like they also improved netcode between Classic and Forever.

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

@SebAaltonen Gives me such Q3 vibes, looks great.

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

@aa6b37502e22419 Yes, that’s coming.

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

What do you want us to improve or change in GOALS 5v5?

Gameplay? Rules? Roles? Matchmaking? Progression? Social? Ranked? Something else?

Let me know.

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

@JimmyMack0320 @OrnellasPro @PlayGOALS Agreed! This is coming.

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

@RobboG21 @PlayGOALS Yes, I agree with that.

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

@DRod1310 @PlayGOALS We playtested a lot using both versions and just thought that it played better.

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

@DRod1310 @PlayGOALS Yes, all set pieces need to be reworked. And with offside, you mean moving back the offside line to the centre?

[Andreas Thorstensson @andreas]

@BRJLive All changes are posted in the Discord. But you are right, we should add it on the web site as well.