Warcraft II

For ordinary users, this was an enormous convenience.

But for game developers who had spent years rooted in the DOS environment, it was a painful migration.

The DOS system allowed game programs to directly access a computer's low-level hardware, squeezing out every last drop of performance.

Windows 95, however, added an operating-system shell between programs and the hardware, and its early versions were not particularly friendly to games.

Many veteran game companies were still watching from the sidelines, trying to wring a little more remaining value out of the DOS platform.

But Blizzard Entertainment had an exceptionally keen nose for the wind.

Time went back to two months earlier, at Blizzard Entertainment headquarters in Irvine, California.

Allen Adham sat behind his desk, looking at several industry analysis reports laid out before him.

Game sales on the DOS platform were shrinking, and players' attention was beginning to shift toward Windows 95.

Warcraft II: Black Tide, released by Blizzard at the end of the previous year, had achieved tremendous commercial success on the DOS platform.

But if they did not catch the Windows 95 train as soon as possible, the game's life cycle would be greatly discounted.

"The low-level code restructuring is nearly finished." Mike Morhaime handed over a progress schedule. "With Windows 95's DirectDraw interface, the game's high-resolution SVGA graphics run more stably. The memory-addressing restrictions have also been lifted, so we can process more units and special effects on the same screen."

"What about the expansion, Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal?" Allen Adham looked up and asked.

"It'll be pressed and released simultaneously with the Windows 95 version of the base game," Mike Morhaime replied. "Bill Roper's team is doing the final numerical balance tests."

In the testing department's office area, the sound of keyboards clattering was as dense