Blizzard explains presence of plants in World of Warcraft's Northrend

[Spitfire]

It seems that players have become rather confused about the presence of greenery in Wrath of the Lich King, the upcoming expansion for Blizzard's World of Warcraft.

Since Northrend is supposed to be a frozen desolate wasteland, it just seems weird that creatures such as Shovel Tusks are running around in areas with grass and trees.

Community Manager Bornakk explained that Northrend is a Tundra. This means that it is possible for various plants to grow in the region. In addition, the developers also wanted to make sure that the zone has different environments for players to experience:

As you know from our previous continents, the zones provide a wide variety of environments to experience and we plan to continue this in Northrend. I have no doubt that you will see snow in some areas, but that doesn't mean every zone is covered in it.

The implications of this are pretty big. This means that Northrend could potentially provide players with a richer experience than if they simply added nothing but ice and jagged rocks. However, it would be nice if the plants were kept to a minimum since players seem to really want to see a frozen wasteland ravaged by the Lich King.