Did you hear? So, Bill Petras, a name you might not know but whose work you’ve definitely seen if you’ve spent any time in the world of Blizzard games, is no longer with us. The news just hit like a ton of bricks, out of the blue, courtesy of a LinkedIn post by Harley D. Huggins II. Yeah, LinkedIn of all places. Who even expects to find stuff like that there, right? Anyway, apparently, Bill’s time came way too soon.
This guy was like a Sticklebrick at Blizzard—sticking around for nearly 20 years, which in the gaming industry is kinda like a lifetime, you know? And during those two significant stints, Bill’s artistic fingerprints are all over StarCraft, World of Warcraft, and both Overwatch games. Crazy, right? You could probably say these games wouldn’t look the way they do without his magic touch.
Harley, who was his pal over there, said something that just got to me. “Billy was an amazingly gifted artist,” were the words, I think. Which is so fitting for a guy who basically shaped entire virtual worlds. Art directed, no less. That means he made the big calls on visuals—I picture intense standoffs over color palettes. Maybe I’m wrong, who knows. Anyway — wait, no — forget the chaotic meetings, Harley also mentioned how their bond spanned over 28 years. That must’ve been something, having a buddy to talk to about just anything: life, games, comics, monster movies, and whatnot. Like, tangible nerd moments, right?
Guess the universe just decided it was time for Bill to log out, which doesn’t seem right. Harley and everyone who crossed paths with Bill… they’re all going to feel that absence in different but deeply real ways. And that’s no small thing. Strange how much someone can miss another human who created even stranger and more fantastic worlds. Yeah, it’s a bit of a sucker punch.
