WoW Figure Prints Interview and Tour Review - PAGE 1

With 11 million players and the recent Wrath of the Lich King expansion, World of Warcraft has become such a pervasive element of gaming culture and "What`s your server" is a solid icebreaker at parties. About a year ago Figure Prints arrived - a website that takes the virtual characters of WoW and painstakingly recreates them with 3D printing technology. Ed Fries, the former games guy at Microsoft, is the man behind the project. We had a few words with him about WoW, Blizzcon, the future of 3D printing and more. We also had a unique opportunity to go behind the scenes and find out what goes on at the top secret Figure Prints production site where all the figures are made. Read on for our chat with Ed, a video tour and an exclusive look inside Figure Prints - maybe you'll even recognize your character!

Adrian: World of Warcraft is a smash hit and the new Wrath of the Lich King expansion has flown off shelves. You started Figure Prints with just four 3D printers but now you have more machines, and more skilled staff operating them and cranking out figs. The latest lottery drew nearly 25% of the waiting applicants, and production is up to over 1,200 figures in a month. How is FigurePrints doing in the midst of the game's huge success and how long do you expect it take for the growing supply to catch up to demand?

Ed Fries: From the very beginning we’ve had more demand than we can handle. The challenge for us has been how do we increase our production while also improving the quality of our product. As we approach our one year anniversary but we are now producing almost 2,000 figures per month. Soon we will be in a position to meet the monthly demand here in North America then we will be able to expand to support the players in Europe.

Adrian: At BlizzCon you gave away a King Magni figure on a griffon mount and mentioned that creating mounts/pets is something that can be done. Do you have plans to let people add mounts/pets to their Figure Prints, perhaps for an extra cost or with an even more limited-access lottery?

Ed: We would like to support mounts and hunter pets. The main concern to this point has been that these larger figures would mean that we could produce less figures overall. As we get caught up on demand it will be possible for us to start to offer these and other cool types of statues.

Adrian: How many Death Knights have been created so far? Were there any difficulties in making them?

Ed: We’ve had over 50 Death Knight orders so far. The only challenges with them has been getting those blue eyes to print right!

Adrian: You've done special wedding requests in the past with figures dressed in tuxedos, dresses and the like. Have you ever done wedding requests for alternative lifestyle couples?

Ed: At this point we’ve done more than a dozen special sets of figures for weddings. Our first two requests came in the day we launched the company. I know of at least one wedding set we did where both characters were female. I have no idea whether that was true of the actual bride and groom...

Adrian: WoW Minis, a strategy game of collectible miniatures, was just released and is a way for gamers to get their hands on WoW figures with a bit more ease than FigurePrints. What do you think of it and do you think this will affect FigurePrints?

Ed: The WoW Minis are cool. I bought a set while I was at BlizzCon and I wish them the best of luck with that product. It doesn’t replace what we offer though. With FigurePrints you can create a statue that is exactly your character with your gear in a pose and on a base of your choosing. Each figure we produce is one of a kind, just like your character.

Adrian: With approximately 5,000 figures made, what's the skew towards Horde/Alliance?

Ed: I believe the ratio is right about 50/50. At BlizzCon we gave away figureprinted necklaces, one for each faction. We printed an equal number of each and allowed people to exchange if they got the wrong one. By the end of the show we completely ran out of Horde necklaces but still had Alliance necklaces to give away, so that says something, at least for BlizzCon attendees.

Adrian: As with anything else that gets shipped halfway across the world, stuff breaks. Your company policy is to replace broken, or even simply underwhelming, figures. But, having to wait another month for a figure to be delivered can be frustrating. Is there anything you can recommend for people to help keep a figure from breaking? Or, with upcoming 3D printing technology able to produce stronger items, do you see yourself upgrading the durability of FigurePrints products?

Ed: We are constantly experimenting on ways to reduce breakage during shipping. The best figures have three points of contact with the base, for example two feet and the cloak. Likewise characters wearing a robe almost never break. If a figure breaks during shipping we tend to modify it before printing it again so that it will be stronger the second time around.

Adrian: EA's Spore figures were a big piece of the inspiration for what became FigurePrints and there has been noise about them providing a similar service for the millions of oddities in that game. Are you involved with them on that project?

Ed: EA has had their own effort in this area that predates FigurePrints. They recently started providing figure from “Rock Band”. The rumor is they will launch Spore printing any day now but it hasn’t happened yet as far as I know.

*UPDATE* EA officially announced their Spore Sculpture service on Thursday December 18, 2008! *UPDATE*

Adrian: You've mentioned being in touch with other game companies about producing more figures. Can you name names?

Ed: We have been approached by quite a few other game companies, but, of course, nothing is even close to the size of World of Warcraft, nor does anything else have the kind of player involvement and attachment to their character as WoW. Before we support other games it makes sense for us to try to reach all the WoW players in the world.

Adrian: Do you see a future where video games will come bundled with the software, like Google's Sketch-Up, to export character models to 3D printers like the ones you're using?

Ed: I see a future where lots of people will own their own 3D printers, just as most have their own home color printers now. These are really amazing machines and their cost will come down and the quality will improve just like other types of technology.

Adrian: Thanks for answering my questions Ed!

Hit the next page for an exclusive video from inside the Figure Prints facility, why they won't be there much longer, how they make them and what's coming up next for Figure Prints.