Cow level | |
---|---|
Diablo location | |
![]() The player character surrounded by Hell Bovines inside Diablo II's cow level | |
First appearance | Diablo II (2000) |
Created by | Blizzard Entertainment |
Genre | Action role-playing game Hack and slash |
In-universe information | |
Other name(s) | Moo Moo Farm |
Ruler | Cow King |
Race(s) | Hell Bovines |
The secret cow level, or simply the cow level, is a level featured in the action role-playing hack and slash video game series Diablo , developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. It first appears as postgame content in 2000's Diablo II , where it is officially known as the "Moo Moo Farm". Players may access the level after collecting a special combination of items to conjure a portal leading to the level. The player character is confronted upon arrival by a large horde of armed anthropomorphic cows led by a boss character called the "Cow King".
The cow level originated as a hoax about a secret level perpetrated by players of 1997's Diablo , and has been described as one of the most famous and well-known urban legends related to video gaming by publications. The attention surrounding the hoax influenced developers to acknowledge it as an inside joke by seeding Easter egg references in related games during the late 1990s: the Diablo expansion pack Diablo: Hellfire , and 1998's StarCraft . The level's appearance in Diablo II marked the first instance of the hoax being developed into actual in-game content. Fan appeal for the cow level affected later Blizzard titles, which led to similarly themed levels appearing in Diablo III and World of Warcraft , as well as several imitations and recreations in other video games.
The cow level originated as a player rumor about a herd of cattle in the town hub area of Diablo (1997). [1] Clicking on one of the cows numerous times is supposedly capable of summoning a portal to a secret level. Screenshots of the purported level, which were created with Adobe Photoshop to show a red-hued portal and demonic enemies lifted from unused game assets, emerged and circulated online. [2]
The hoax was first acknowledged by the Synergistic Software-developed expansion pack Diablo: Hellfire , as a quest which features a non-player character dressed in a cow suit with cow-themed dialogue. [3] The character was voiced by Jim Edwards, a programmer who worked on Hellfire. [3] According to Edwards, the developers wanted to include a quest that references the hoax in a tongue-in-cheek manner, with the rationale that the inclusion of content that pandered to fan expectations at the time would generate positive feedback and reviews for Hellfire. [3] The quest cannot be accessed through conventional means, as the developers intentionally wrote code which required players to type special keywords into a text file located within the game's directory to access the hidden content. [3]
Though Blizzard included a cheat code in StarCraft (1998) that denied the existence of a cow level, [4] employees were reportedly amused by the hoax, which led to the creation of the cow level in Diablo II as postgame content. [2] [5] To access the level, also known as the "Moo Moo Farm", players must collect two specific magical items and complete the game by slaying its final boss, then travel to the hub area of the game's first act when playing at a difficulty level they have already completed. Combining the aforementioned items using a device known as the Horadric Cube in the area will create a red portal nearby, which grants access to an area populated by a large host of "Hell Bovines", hostile bipedal cattle armed with polearms. [6] The Hell Bovines are led by a boss enemy known as "The Cow King": defeating it will confer special items as quest reward but disables the red portal, which prevents the player from revisiting the area again within that difficulty mode. [7] In retrospect, Diablo III lead designer Jay Wilson liked that the content of Diablo II's cow level came up with a purpose, but felt that it nearly replaced or overshadowed part of the game. He said that its sequel would handle the concept of a secret level with better care. [8]
Blizzard introduced levels with similar themes to the cow level in certain titles released after Diablo II, with Diablo III featuring multiple such levels that often require players to complete a complicated procedure of actions to access. [9] "Whimsyshire", also known as the "Pony Level", does not feature bovine enemies, but continues the surrealistic theme of the original cow level and includes a cameo appearance by the ghost of the Cow King. [4] [7] "Not the Cow Level" was a temporary level released exclusively for PC platforms in May 2015 to celebrate the third anniversary of Diablo III and featured an enemy boss known as the "Cow Queen", who could be encountered after players slay an enemy unit called Herald of the Queen. [10] In March 2016, Blizzard released a bonus level that paid homage to Diablo III artist and environmental designer Kevin Kanai Griffith, who had died in 2014. In "Kanai’s Stomping Grounds", players would battle bovine enemies alongside Chief Elder Kanai, who was modeled after Griffith's "Barbarian" player character. [11]
For the Diablo series' 20th anniversary, Blizzard included versions of the cow level in its other games. World of Warcraft , in 2017, required players to slay a "Treasure Goblin" in order to spawn a portal that grants access to the level. [12] The "Tavern Brawl" mode of digital card game Hearthstone (2014) featured a bonus unlockable encounter with the Cow King via a Secret Level card. [13] In Diablo II: Resurrected (2021), the portal to the cow level can reopen and the level itself is now infinitely playable even after the Cow King is slain. [14]
In April 2023, Blizzard publicly denied the existence of the cow level prior to the June launch of Diablo IV . [15] Six months later, a player revealed that they had killed 666 cows in the game and was subsequently awarded one of several relics that could unlock a location called the "Forlorn Hovel", which supposedly housed a secret portal leading to the cow level. [16] [17] [18]
The cow level is cited as an influential factor for the Diablo series, with multiple sources drawing attention to its notoriety and origins as one of the most notable hoaxes or in-jokes in video game history. References to the cow level or its associated elements have appeared in every Blizzard game since the late 1990s. [4] [19] [20] Developers involved with the Diablo series would maintain, in a mock serious manner, that there is no cow level when directly questioned about the subject. [14] [21] [22] Will Fulton compared the prevalence of “There is no cow level” within the video game community to “the cake is a lie”. [23] Gamingbolt described the notoriety surrounding the cow level to be "so big and self sustaining that it became a self realizing meme". [24]
The cow level continues to receive positive reception from critics and the video game community, and appears in multiple "top" lists of easter eggs, bonus levels or side quests by publications such as Complex , IGN , and GamesRadar+ . [25] [26] [27] [6] In a discussion about the phenomenon of gigantism in Holstein Friesian cattle, James Gorman of The New York Times drew an analogy to the secret cow level, which he considered to be highly memorable due to the "weird and disturbing" nature of the player character being surrounded by giant bipedal Friesian cattle. [28] Vice considered the cow level to be one of Blizzard's most outstanding moments throughout its game development history. [7]
The cow level has been subject to Easter egg references or imitations in other games. The PC port of Final Fantasy VII includes a reference which can be encountered by the player if the correct decision is picked during an in-game sequence. [29] The level is referenced in the 2016 video game Watch Dogs 2 by a character to describe the difficulty level and stakes of an infiltration attempt. [30] The cow level has been imitated as a form of tribute in games such as Goat Simulator , [31] Marvel Heroes , [32] and Minecraft Dungeons . [33]
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, the company was founded in February 1991 as Silicon & Synapse, Inc. by three graduates of the University of California, Los Angeles: Michael Morhaime, Frank Pearce and Allen Adham. The company originally concentrated on the creation of game ports for other studios' games before beginning development of their own software in 1993, with games like Rock n' Roll Racing and The Lost Vikings. In 1993, the company became Chaos Studios, Inc., and then Blizzard Entertainment soon after being acquired by distributor Davidson & Associates early in the following year. Shortly after, Blizzard released Warcraft: Orcs & Humans.
Diablo II is an action role-playing hack-and-slash video game developed by Blizzard North and published by Blizzard Entertainment in 2000 for Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS, and OS X. The game, with its dark fantasy and horror themes, was conceptualized and designed by David Brevik and Erich Schaefer, who, with Max Schaefer, acted as project leads on the game. The producers were Matthew Householder and Bill Roper. The game was developed over a three-year period, with a crunch time of a year and a half.
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos is a high fantasy real-time strategy computer video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment released in July 2002. It is the second sequel to Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, after Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, the third game set in the Warcraft fictional universe, and the first to be rendered in three dimensions. An expansion pack, The Frozen Throne, was released in July 2003. Warcraft III is set several years after the events of Warcraft II, and tells the story of the Burning Legion's attempt to conquer the fictional world of Azeroth with the help of an army of the Undead, led by fallen paladin Arthas Menethil. It chronicles the combined efforts of the Human Alliance, Orcish Horde, and Night Elves to stop them before they can corrupt the World Tree.
Blizzard North was an American video game development studio based in San Mateo, California. The studio was the Bay Area division of Blizzard Entertainment, known for its Diablo series. The company was originally based in Redwood City, California, before moving a short distance away to San Mateo, with Blizzard proper being based in Irvine, southern California.
Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans is a cancelled graphic adventure game developed by Blizzard Entertainment and Animation Magic from 1996 until 1998. Set in the Warcraft universe after the events of Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, it followed the orc character Thrall in his quest to reunite his race, then living on reservations and in slavery following its defeat by the human Alliance. Assuming the role of Thrall, the player would have used a point-and-click interface to explore the world, solve puzzles and interact with characters from the wider Warcraft series.
BlizzCon is an annual gaming convention held by Blizzard Entertainment to promote its major franchises including Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and Overwatch.
Christopher Vincent Metzen is an American game designer, artist, voice actor, and author known for his work creating the fictional universes and scripts for Blizzard Entertainment's three major award-winning media franchises: Warcraft, Diablo and StarCraft. Metzen was hired by Blizzard Entertainment as an animator and an artist, his first work for the company was with the video game Justice League Task Force.
Matt Uelmen is an American video game music composer and sound designer. He is best known for his work in Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo series, which was recognized with the inaugural Excellence in Audio award by the IGDA in 2001. He also worked as a sound designer for the real-time strategy game StarCraft, and worked on World of Warcraft's expansion The Burning Crusade in 2007. From 2009 until the studio's closure in 2017, Matt Uelmen worked as a member of the Runic Games team, as a composer and sound designer for the Torchlight games.
Diablo is an action role-playing dungeon crawler video game series developed by Blizzard North and continued by Blizzard Entertainment after the North studio shut down in 2005. The series is made up of four core games: Diablo, Diablo II, Diablo III, and Diablo IV. Expansions include the third-party published Hellfire, which follows the first game; Lord of Destruction, published by Blizzard and released after the second game; and Reaper of Souls, which follows the third game. Additional content is provided through story elements explored in other types of media forms.
Battle.net is an Internet-based online game, social networking service, digital distribution, and digital rights management platform developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The service was launched on December 31, 1996, followed a few days later with the release of Blizzard's action-role-playing video game Diablo on January 3, 1997. Battle.net was officially renamed to "Blizzard Battle.net" in August 2017, with the change being reverted in January 2021.
Hellfire, often called Diablo: Hellfire, is an expansion pack for the video game Diablo, developed by Synergistic Software, a Sierra division, and published by Sierra On-Line in 1997. Despite the objections of Blizzard Entertainment, the Hellfire expansion was produced, permitted by Davidson & Associates, their parent company at the time. Blizzard North, who was developing the sequel Diablo II, thus imposed numerous restrictions upon Synergistic Software's development of Hellfire.
Diablo is an action role-playing video game developed by Blizzard North and released by Blizzard Entertainment in January 1997, and is the first installment in the video game series of the same name.
Diablo III is a 2012 hack-and-slash action role-playing game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment as the third installment in the Diablo franchise. It was released for Microsoft Windows and OS X in May 2012, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in September 2013, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in August 2014, and Nintendo Switch in November 2018. Set 20 years after the events of Diablo II, players control one of seven character classes – Barbarian, Crusader, Demon Hunter, Monk, Necromancer, Witch Doctor, or Wizard – and are tasked with defeating Diablo.
Russell Brower is an American music composer and three-time Emmy Award-winning sound designer who has created sounds for Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs and Batman: The Animated Series, and video game music for games including Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising, World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Diablo III and Arena of Valor. He was previously the Director of Audio/Video for Blizzard Entertainment, the sound designer/editor at Warner Bros. Animation and DiC Entertainment, the Audio Director at NovaLogic, and the Principal Media Designer and Music Director at Walt Disney Imagineering.
Heroes of the Storm is a crossover multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. Announced at BlizzCon 2010, it was released on June 2, 2015 for macOS and Windows. The game features various characters from Blizzard's franchises as playable heroes, as well as different battlegrounds based on Warcraft, Diablo, StarCraft, and Overwatch universes.
World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor is the fifth expansion set to the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft, following Mists of Pandaria. It was announced on November 8, 2013 at BlizzCon 2013. The expansion was released on November 13, 2014.
Warcraft III: Reforged is a remastered edition of the 2002 real-time strategy video game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion The Frozen Throne. Released on January 28, 2020, it adds revamped graphics, new campaign gameplay settings as well as modern online Battle.net features. The game received mixed reviews from critics and an overwhelmingly negative reception from players due to its changes from the original, the lack of many announced features, and technical issues.
Deckard Cain is a fictional character who appears in the Diablo video game franchise by Blizzard Entertainment. Within the series, Cain is a prominent non player character who acts as an advisor and guide to the player character of the first three games, and represents the wise old man archetype who provides most of the in-game lore. Cain is the last surviving descendant of the original members of the Horadrim, an ancient order of magicians charged with trapping the series' primary antagonists within enchanted crystals and guarding them thereafter. Cain has appeared in series related media, and appears as a playable hero in the crossover multiplayer online battle arena video game Heroes of the Storm. The character is originally named after the winning entry of a fan contest organized by Blizzard and PC Gamer, and is voiced by Michael Gough for all media.
Diablo II: Resurrected is an action role-playing video game co-developed by Blizzard Entertainment and Blizzard Albany and published by Blizzard Entertainment. It is a remaster of Diablo II (2000) and its expansion Lord of Destruction (2001). The game was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and Series S on September 23, 2021.