World of Warcraft
"World of Warcraft" was first announced by Blizzard at the ECTS trade show in September 2001. Released in 2004, development of the game took roughly 4–5 years, including extensive testing. The 3D graphics in "World of Warcraft" use elements of the proprietary graphics engine originally used in "Warcraft III". The game was designed to be an open environment where players are allowed to do what they please. Quests are optional and were designed to help guide players, allow character development, and to spread characters across different zones to try to avoid what developers called "player collision". The game interface allows players to customize appearance and controls, and to install add-ons and other modifications.
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Many of the characters, locations and concepts introduced in "Warcraft III" and its expansion went on to play major roles in Blizzard's "World of Warcraft", released in 2004. They also appeared in other Blizzard games, such as "Hearthstone". In October 2018, "Comic Book Resources" listed four characters introduced in "Warcraft III" in their list of the Top 25 most iconic characters ever created by Blizzard, including Illidan Stormrage at #1 and Jaina Proudmoore at #3.