‘A phenomenon’: how World of Warcraft smashed out of geekdom and conquered gaming

The ultimate multi-player has survived frat boy' slurs, a ropey film, one mega lawsuit, legions of change-averse puritans - and Mr T in a Night Elf Mohawk. As it hits 20, join us on a trip to the green hills of Stranglehorn

In 2004, Holly Longdale was a game designer on EverQuest, then the champion of a new genre of video game that allowed for multiplayer role-playing on a huge scale. In these online fantasy worlds, players could quest together rather than alone, adding a fascinating new social - and competitive - dimension to the static, offline role-playing that Holly's generation had grown up with. But whenever she could, Longdale would sneak in a few hours playing EverQuest's main competitor instead. That game was World of Warcraft (WoW).

There were so many moments in WoW I was envious of," she says, and completely lost in. I remember running through Ashenvale as a Night Elf Hunter and the music and the ambience - there was a mood you couldn't deny. Then I saw another player running in the opposite direction, a Druid who buffed me on their way by. That was when I knew I was going to be in this for the long-haul." Twenty years later, Longdale is now WoW's VP and executive producer at its developer, Blizzard, as well as one of millions who embraced the game as part of their lives.