Jeff Kaplan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jeff Kaplan
|
|
---|---|
![]() |
|
Born | New Jersey, U.S.
|
November 4, 1972
Education | University of Southern California (BA) New York University (MA) |
Occupation | Video game designer |
Employer | Blizzard Entertainment (2002–2021) |
Title | Vice President of Blizzard Entertainment (formerly) |
Jeffrey Kaplan is a famous American video game designer. He used to be a top leader at Blizzard Entertainment, a company that makes popular video games. He helped create parts of World of Warcraft and was the main director for Overwatch. He left Blizzard in 2021.
Contents
Early Life and Interests
Jeffrey Kaplan was born in New Jersey, USA, on November 4, 1972. He grew up in La Cañada Flintridge, California. As a kid, Jeff loved playing video games, especially old adventure games.
He didn't think he could work in games because he wasn't a programmer. He first studied film, then changed to creative writing. He earned degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University.
After college, he tried to get his stories published. For years, he got many rejections, sometimes over 170 in one year! By 2000, he decided to stop writing professionally. Instead, he spent his time playing games and trying out level editors. These tools let you create your own maps for games like Duke Nukem 3D and Half-Life.
Starting a Game Career
From Player to Designer
Jeff Kaplan was a big fan of the online game EverQuest. He played under the name "Tigole Bitties" and joined a gaming group called "Legacy of Steel". He became well-known for his skills and his comments about the game.
He also talked about the maps he made using game editors. This caught the eye of his group's leader, Rob Pardo. Rob was a lead designer at Blizzard Entertainment at the time.
In 2001, Rob invited Jeff to visit Blizzard's office. There, Jeff saw an early version of World of Warcraft (WoW). He didn't realize how important Blizzard was at first.
Joining Blizzard Entertainment
After World of Warcraft was announced, Rob Pardo suggested Jeff apply for a quest designer job. Jeff realized the job description fit him perfectly. His earlier visits to Blizzard had actually been informal interviews!
Jeff applied and was hired by Blizzard in May 2002. His first job was helping test Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. After that game was released, he joined the WoW team.
He became one of the first two quest designers for WoW. He worked closely with the game's creative director, Chris Metzen. Jeff focused on the parts of WoW where players fight against the game itself. This included designing quests and the look of dungeons and raids. He helped connect the creative ideas with the artists and programmers. Later, Jeff became a game director for WoW.
New Projects and Success
The Titan Project
In 2009, Jeff announced he was leaving WoW to work on a new, secret online game. This game was later called Titan. Jeff wanted to create another huge success like WoW.
Titan was meant to be a first-person shooter game with different character classes. But its development was long and difficult. Jeff described the gameplay as "very cluttered and confused." Blizzard officially canceled Titan in 2014.
Creating Overwatch
Before Titan was officially canceled, its development stopped in early 2013. Most of the Titan team moved to other projects. Only about 40 people, including Jeff Kaplan and Chris Metzen, remained.
Blizzard's leaders told them to come up with a new game idea quickly. If they couldn't, they would also be moved to other teams. Jeff and Chris led this small team. They took some ideas from Titan and created a team-based shooter. This game became Overwatch.
Blizzard approved the project, and Jeff Kaplan became Overwatch's lead director. Overwatch became incredibly successful for Blizzard. It made over $1 billion in its first year and attracted more than 35 million players worldwide.
Jeff became the public face for Overwatch. He often posted on the game's online forums. He also made videos that shared insights about Overwatch's development and future updates.
Awards and Departure
In 2017, Jeff Kaplan received the Vanguard Award at the Fun & Serious Game Festival in Spain.
On April 20, 2021, Blizzard announced that Jeff Kaplan was leaving the company after 19 years. Aaron Keller took over his role as the lead for Overwatch. There was a plan to include a tribute to Jeff in Overwatch 2. It was a storefront called "Jephs Corner Pizza" in the New York City map. However, this reference was later removed because Blizzard started a new rule against putting real people's names in their games.
Games Jeff Kaplan Worked On
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos | Designer | |
2004 | World of Warcraft | Designer, game director | |
2007 | World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade | Designer | |
2008 | World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King | Designer | |
2013 | Titan | Designer | Cancelled |
2016 | Overwatch | Lead designer, game director | Left Blizzard in 2021 |