Blizzard's Robin Williams tribute spotted in World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor beta
Blizzard began working on a World of Warcraft tribute to Robin Williams almost immediately after his tragic death in August, and little more than a week later, what was assumed to be evidence of its efforts was discovered within the code for the beta release of the Warlords of Draenor expansion. Today, it appears those assumptions were correct, as Robin the Genie has been spotted in the game.
Discovered by Wowhead user Haldhur, the NPC is a blue-skinned Genie found on an island off the Talador coast. He can be summoned by rubbing the Ever-Burning Lamp, which brings him forth with a cry of "Infinite cosmic power!" after which he shrinks away, saying, "Itty bitty living space." Both lines are from the animated film Aladdin , in which Williams voiced the Genie, although according to IMDB the first line is actually "Phenomenal cosmic power."
Located close to that point is a large, broken egg with mechanical controls inside, obviously a tribute to the egg-like spaceship he came to Earth in as the alien Mork from Mork and Mindy . A Mork-like NPC model was also found in the Warlords of Draenor code last month, along with another one believed to reference Mrs. Doubtfire , but they haven't been seen in the game yet. Some stuffed animals and toy tanks were found lying around, however, which could suggest a tribute to the 1992 film Toys .
World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor is currently in beta testing and scheduled for launch on November 13.
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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.