The pandaren are a fictional race of anthropomorphic pandas in Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft franchise. They were created by Blizzard artist Samwise Didier, initially as a recurring motif in his personal artwork, before being incorporated into the Warcraft setting. Pandaren imagery first appeared in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, while the first pandaren character Chen Stormstout was introduced in its expansion, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. The pandaren later became a central element of World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, in which they became playable for the first time. Unlike the game's previously playable races, pandaren characters initially belong to neither of its two opposing factions, the Alliance and the Horde, subsequently choose to join either faction. The visual and cultural design of the pandaren became increasingly associated with Chinese culture as the concept developed, replacing some Japanese-inspired elements present in earlier artwork. Their prominent role in Mists of Pandaria received a divided response, including comparisons with the Kung Fu Panda film series and criticism of the race's comic presentation and use of Asian stereotypes. Academic writers have subsequently discussed the pandaren in studies of cultural translation, glocalization, racial representation and Orientalism in video games.
Concept and development The pandaren originated in the personal artwork of Blizzard artist Samwise Didier, who frequently drew pandas as part of his artwork. Didier said that the idea began with a panda-themed picture he drew for Christmas following the birth of his daughter, and described the concept as a personal creation that unexpectedly developed into part of the wider Warcraft setting. Blizzard subsequently incorporated pandaren imagery into promotional jokes, in particular April Fools' Day material. Pandaren imagery was incorporated into Warcraft III, including details on the weapons used by the night elf character Illidan Stormrage, while the brewmaster Chen Stormstout appeared in the bonus Horde campaign of The Frozen Throne. Didier said that most of the early artwork depicted Chen, whom he conceived as an unusually adventurous, beer-drinking pandaren rather than as representative of the species as a whole. When Blizzard later expanded the concept for World of Warcraft, the development team therefore had to determine how a larger pandaren society would differ from Chen's established characterization. Blizzard considered making the pandaren playable for several years. World of Warcraft production director J. Allen Brack said in 2011 that the developers had discussed them for almost every expansion and had considered using them even before the original game's release. According to Brack, their positive reception in Warcraft III kept the idea under consideration, and Blizzard returned to it while completing development of Cataclysm. Didier similarly described the realization of a fully developed pandaren society as one of the remaining ideas he had particularly wanted to see incorporated into Warcraft. For Mists of Pandaria, Blizzard made pandaren the first playable World of Warcraft race available to both the Alliance and Horde. Players begin without a faction and choose between them after completing the race's introductory storyline. Brack said that Blizzard had earlier considered a similar neutral-faction system for goblins during the development of Cataclysm, but abandoned it; the developers returned to the concept because they were interested in having players adventure together before eventually being required to choose opposing sides. Chinese culture became the principal influence on the race and its surroundings during development of Mists of Pandaria. Designer Dave Kosak said that Blizzard drew from Chinese landscapes, architecture, philosophy, music and martial arts, with the development team regularly watching kung fu films and incorporating Chinese folk instruments into the soundtrack. Several artists working on the expansion were of Chinese heritage. Kosak also cited Taoist philosophy as an influence on the pandaren's characterization, contrasting their emphasis on peace and interests outside warfare with the continuing conflict between the Alliance and Horde. Brack said that the panda's strong association with China made Chinese influence unavoidable, while describing Warcraft more generally as a setting assembled from multiple cultural and fantasy traditions. He said Blizzard also consulted staff at its Chinese office about the expansion's direction.
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