World of Warcraft Beta Journal #8
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Category: News ArchiveHits: 944
The plains of Mulgore are, as I said, breathtaking. If you've ever been to the American Midwest or Yellowstone National Park you may have seen sights that could be analogous. Because it's Blizzard, though, take those images in your mind and make them stretch from horizon to horizon. The plains teem with wildlife, including large flightless birds, wolves, great hunting cats, and of course the Kodo. The Kodo Beasts are huge herbivorous mammals that live on the plains. The Tauren live with and depend upon these great beasts in much the same way as the North American natives did on the bison. There are several quests surrounding the Kodo, and the artists have made a supreme effort to include the beasts within the culture. Kodo heads hang from lodges, their skin and bones are the makings of tents, and killing a Kodo in single combat is a very sacred act within Tauren culture. The analogy to Native American culture is very apt, as the architecture of Tauren villages seems designed to reinforce that thought. Teepee like structures of all shapes and sizes form the buildings of Bloodhoof Village and Thunder Bluff. You might think they'd be somehow hokey or contrived, but they seem very natural in this setting, and wholly appropriate. Mulgore is a land of beauty inhabited by intelligent and spiritual people. The antithesis of the Undead, if there is a truly "good" race in WoW the Tauren are it.
