korrents
Jeff Kaplan

What Jeff Kaplan thinks about design

@jeff-kaplan · 29 positions · On ppll ↗

American game designer and director, for nineteen years at Blizzard as a World of Warcraft quest designer and then game director of Overwatch; now runs the independent studio Kintsugiyama.

Jeff Kaplan did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

Filter design · Newest first
Topic
All 29video games 13design 7coding agents 1creativity 1ideas vs execution 1social media 1team size 1
Sort
NewestOldest

Only Jeff Kaplan on design. See everyone on design

7 dated positions, 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Jeff Kaplan has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. Our readingA creative lead's job is to take the idea they think is wrong and try to make it work, because the best ideas come out of developing someone else's.

    Their wordsAnd it went from this kind of thing that I didn’t believe into to actually, like, a core part of who I am today as a leader, as a game designer, as a game director. And some of the best ideas have come from developing other peoples’ ideas

    ↗Jeff Kaplan: World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Blizzard, and Future of Gaming | Lex Fridman Podcast #493youtube.com 5th of 29 in this recording

  3. Our readingYou design along the path of least resistance: players will take the cheapest route to their goal, so the designer's job is to put the experience they want played on that route.

    Their wordsAnd I’ve heard it outside of Blizzard, other people in the industry, which is you design along the path of least resistance.

    ↗Jeff Kaplan: World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Blizzard, and Future of Gaming | Lex Fridman Podcast #493youtube.com 8th of 29 in this recording

  5. Our readingAsk gamers what kind of player they are and they describe the player they wish they were, so a designer has to watch what people do rather than believe what they say.

    Their wordsWe all, to some degree, lack the self-awareness of how we tick. So we’re all different types of gamers, but if you ask me to describe the type of gamer I am, I might actually be giving more of a picture of the type of gamer I wish I was or the type of gamer I want you to think I am versus the type of gamer I actually am.

    ↗Jeff Kaplan: World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Blizzard, and Future of Gaming | Lex Fridman Podcast #493youtube.com 10th of 29 in this recording

  7. Our readingYou cannot be an exceptional game designer without playing enormously, and a bad game teaches as much as a great one.

    Their wordsAnd the weirdest part about it is you’re not just looking for the greatest hits. You learn just as much from a shitty game that you do from an amazing game.

    ↗Jeff Kaplan: World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Blizzard, and Future of Gaming | Lex Fridman Podcast #493youtube.com 11th of 29 in this recording

  9. Our readingGame design has no textbook, so a designer has to keep their own list of the elements of fun the way a writer keeps the elements of fiction.

    Their wordsAnd there’s no, like, textbook that exists for game design, at least none that has been introduced to me yet. But I think about, like, elements of fun.

    ↗Jeff Kaplan: World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Blizzard, and Future of Gaming | Lex Fridman Podcast #493youtube.com 12th of 29 in this recording

  11. Our readingAnt-farm design — building something to watch what the players will do — is the wrong way to design a multiplayer game.

    Their wordsWhich is, you know, you’re the game designer who’s playing God, and players are the ants in your ant farm, and you want to see what they’re gonna do, which is not the correct way to be a good multiplayer designer.

    ↗Jeff Kaplan: World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Blizzard, and Future of Gaming | Lex Fridman Podcast #493youtube.com 13th of 29 in this recording

  13. Our readingYou do not need a CFO to make World of Warcraft — you need artists, engineers, designers, producers and an audio team.

    Their wordsWorld of Warcraft, when we made it, there was no CFO at Blizzard. You don’t need a CFO to make World of Warcraft. You need artists, engineers, designers, producers, and an audio team.

    ↗Jeff Kaplan: World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Blizzard, and Future of Gaming | Lex Fridman Podcast #493youtube.com 25th of 29 in this recording