If you were paying attention to BlizzCon this weekend you probably heard that Blizzard will introduce two new playable races when they release the expansion World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Attendees had the chance to get their hands on both races. I did too and will be writing in more detail about them soon. While checking out the Worgen I couldn't help but have a bit of fun with the new Alliance race. I named my character Yiff -- a term of affection, excitement and (sometimes) sexuality frequently used by Furries. 

Sure, the Worgen are pretty much werewolves -- a man/beast hybrid imagined long before the first furry donned a bear costume. But just have a look at the concept art for the female Worgen that Blizzard showed us this weekend. Maybe I'm hypersensitive to all things furry, but that pic set off a zillion different alarms with my internal Fur-dar. It was fresh from seeing that sexy lady wolf that I rolled my first Worgen character. The name "Yiff" was the first thing that came to mind. And based on the reaction I got from other players, I'm sure I won't be the last to point out the Worgen/Furry connection.

The Alliance gets a bad enough rap as it is. And I know some huge brown sack is going to try to make this a Horde-is-better thing. But man, if you thought the role-play in Goldshire was weird, just wait until the Cataclysm rips thought the Eastern continent.

There are tons of festivals that cater to the geek, but none is so single-minded as BlizzCon. Sitting in the Anaheim convention center this morning I marveled at the fact that I was sharing a huge room with thousands of people who played the same video game as me. When Chris Metzen, Blizzard's vice president of development took the stage to fill us in on the details of World of Warcraft: Catyclism he didn't need to stop to explain what a raid was. Unlike the press events at E3 there was no mainstream press onhand. And if they were there Metzen wasn't taking the time to talk down to them. Everyone in the room was with the program. Everybody watching on pay-per-view and streaming the event at home were up to speed. 

This, in my mind, makes Blizzard's accomplishment with World of Warcraft the greatest feat of geek domination since Star Wars. And I'd put BlizzCon up against Star Wars Celebration any day. Fork over the dough to go to the Lucasarts sanctioned event and you're not going to get the kind of acess, the kind of scoops and the sheer volume of hands-on time that you do at BlizzCon.

That's the miracle of BlizzCon -- its a convention (really an overgrown LAN party) around three video games. Three video games with, perhaps, the biggest audience in gaming. If you speak World of Warcraft, Starcraft, or Diablo its a wild feeling to find yourself surrounded by thousands of people who share your tongue. And even weirder to realize that you share the same experience with millions (many, many millions) more.

Watch this spot for more BlizzCon thoughts. Then look to the features roller next week for my hands-on-previews of World of Warcraft: Catyclism and Diablo III.