Diablo III sucks?! |
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BY Chris King July 14th, 2008 |
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You know what really grinds my gears? No, it has nothing to do with Gears of War…or Family Guy. It has to do with people telling arguably the greatest videogame developer in the world in so many words that they don’t know what they’re doing. This petition, as discussed by our own Dan Haspert, created by a handful (over 47,000 by last count) of hardcore fans of the Diablo series, is asking for “renewed artistic direction in Diablo III.” While these fans have every right to voice their opinion, I’m sure their audacity has outraged an equal or even greater number of fans of the series.
Maybe these petition signers weren’t watching the same demo video as the rest of us? This game isn’t dark enough?! Come on, the first half of the video took place entirely in a dungeon, one dominated by rich shades of dark brown, blue, and black. The only light portions to be seen arose from lighting effects, character models, and the massive amounts of bloody carnage being splattered on the environment. What were these petitioners hoping for? Should we step back in time and use a drab 16 bit color scheme? Technology has come a long way since Diablo II, those still reminiscing about the graphics from back then need to stop. Just stop, put the mouse and keyboard down. Better yet, you can play the same Diablo III the rest of us will be, just turn the color saturation on your monitor down to 25%, your contrast and darkness up to 80%, and you’ll be fully satisfied.
Outdoor environments in the second half of the video they say? Anyone remember when Diablo II first came out? It featured far more outdoor environments than the original Diablo did as well. Remember how many people had a cow about it? (Yes, I had to mention something about cows in an article about Diablo.) Diablo II went on to silence all of its critics and destroy the scoreboards, sales charts, etc. Rest assured that if Diablo III continues on the same track it is now, it will do the same, and a lot of people will surely be sticking their feet in their collective mouths.
It is an undeniable fact that Blizzard is masterful when it comes to artistic direction in its games, which can be seen in the way the visuals of World of Warcraft’s graphical engine, though technologically dated, have stood the test of time. Blizzard’s uncompromising attention to detail can also be seen in the pre-rendered videos that appear in their games and trailers for their games.
All that is left to say, is that there’s a good reason why some people are cut out to be game developers and some aren’t. Take that a step farther, there are some qualified to work at Blizzard, and then there are some that can only get work at some other developer. From what we have seen so far as per the trailer, Diablo III is shaping up to be a drastic improvement over previous installments in every way (especially in the graphics department). Everyone remain calm, you are in good hands. There’s a good reason Blizzard has never released a bad game. Scratch that, they have never even released a less than utterly awesome game.
Pray that Blizzard ignores their “fans,” at least this once or it may be another 4+ years before we see Diablo III. At the very least, Blizzard should take an online poll of how many would like to see the artistic direction remain as is.
Agree? Don’t agree? Let’s have our own little mini poll right here and now!
[See also: Diablo III gallery]
July 14th, 2008
at 7:06 am
“Better yet, you can play the same Diablo III the rest of us will be, just turn the color saturation on your monitor down to 25%, your contrast and darkness up to 80%, and you’ll be fully satisfied.”…priceless!
People are very hesitant to change and while I feel change is good, I would not want KOTOR 3 (one of my most beloved franchises) to be different from the first 2, in fact I would be pissed if it was! But should the people behind the petition give Blizzard a bit more time to show how dark Diablo III may in fact be they may end up being pleasantly surprised. Will so little info out they should at least do that.
My vote: Ive never played a Diablo game, I was to busy playing Might and Magic. But I can tell you from my exhaustive experience with WoW, for better or worse Diablo III looks VERY similar.
July 14th, 2008
at 10:17 am
Reading through the petition it doesn’t look all that awful. I too would like to see Diablo take the more sober route when it comes to, for instance, shoulder armor and size of warhammers. Not to mention the “feel” of dungeons.
But I think the important thing here is that the game is nowhere near finished, so it’s great that they’re asking for these things, but abit silly that they’re saying “Ah yes, this is how the game will be and we don’t like it!”.
I was never all that bothered that the Diablo franchise “halted”. I play WoW today and I kindof just asumed that this was Blizzards evolution of alot of the ideas that came about in Diablo and other hack ‘n slashers. That they’re continuing it now is a pleasant surprise and I look forward to seeing what they’re going to do with it.
My vote is for more gothic creepyness!
July 14th, 2008
at 12:00 pm
Well I think Blizzard is eager to hear feedback from the community. And the petition is just one form of feedback.
The gameplay footage that was shown at WWI definitely shows an influence of the WoW art direction. And I suppose that not all Diablo fans want that. Some monsters of Diablo 2 had a lovecraftian feel to them, and I didn’t see anything similar in the gameplay demo.
Also, I thought Diablo 2 was a very well crafted game that looked horrible. And I don’t mean the art style, I mean the horribly low resolution.
July 14th, 2008
at 4:17 pm
Doubting fans will surely see. Blizzard rules. Simple as that. I agree with Ace. Looking forward to it.
July 14th, 2008
at 5:15 pm
I think it is a natural progression. Fans that wanted more Diablo II got the expansion pack. Diablo III isn’t going to abandon its roots, but it looks like it is going to be a sequel well worth the wait.
July 14th, 2008
at 6:05 pm
I like how Diablo 3 is shaping out. They should keep it the way it is, the little nitpicky things that the petition signers complain about don’t matter. Your article pretty much summed up the issue. I don’t think Blizzard will pay attention as petitions, no matter how large, never seem to work. Ever.
July 14th, 2008
at 6:38 pm
People need to calm down about it, and by calm down, I mean shut up. They know that they’re going to buy the game when it comes out regardless of how dark it is. They’d probably even buy it if there was a boss fight against Rainbow Brite. Hell, I know I would. I trust Blizzard, and I can’t wait.
August 1st, 2008
at 7:44 am
Strange that so many people that are not fans or players of the Diablo series, by their own admission, feel like they’re qualified to comment on how it’s ‘not that big of a deal’.
World of Warcraft is the bane of a real gamer’s existence. WoW is directed at a younger crowd that is less interested in gameplay and more interested in things that look cool. Diablo 1 and 2 were gameplay-focused, gothic, dark, and not at all kiddie. ‘Lovecraftian’ is the perfect word for it. The obvious trend from Blizzard lately, if you’ve followed Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 at all, is to ‘WoWinize’ everything new they create. It’s the curse of success. They know WoW-type stuff worked once, so they start from there now rather than the incredible success they had with Starcraft and Diablo 2 in their respective genres. Blizzard fans have had a similar uproar over Starcraft 2’s major WoWinization blunders. Google the ‘Soul Hunter’ unit, something almost straight from WoW that actually leveled up (Starcraft does not have levels but the Soul Hunter did), and you’ll find petitions and outcries against that and many other SC2 WoWinized things. The Soul Hunter was removed, thank god, but the goofy WoW-ish look for SC2 is taking longer to get changed.
If you played Starcraft, it also had a look VERY different from WoW. It was dingy, hardcore, space type stuff. Goofy cartoonish elements did not fit at all.
The people signing that D3 != WoW petition are complaining about more than the art. They are afraid WoW will ruin D3 like it almost did SC2. The gameplay video shows ridiculous neon fire, disregard of physics, and anime-looking fighting that is completely unlike D1 and D2. If Blizzard can WoWinize the basics in such a horribly obviously wrong fashion, what are they going to do to the gameplay?
That’s what the fear is about. That’s why it’s not ‘no big deal’. Gamers have been waiting 6 and 10 years for D3 and SC2, and if WoWinized versions of these games are released, it will basically destroy Blizzard’s respect in the community. That’s sad, considering Blizzard is one of very few companies that actually produce quality games.
Also, for those that say ‘just wait and see’ - no. Now’s the time to get things changed, before it’s too late. It would be amazing if the petition was unnecessary because Blizzard is already aware of the problem. Don’t tell us it won’t work, though, because it’s worked before for Starcraft 2. Blizzard listens.
August 1st, 2008
at 8:56 pm
@Gar
Appreciate the input, but I must comment on one thing. Let me start by saying, I’m definitely a fan of the Diablo series and Blizzard’s games in general.
Saying WoW is the bane of a real gamer’s existence is a bit closed-minded. Anyone who has given the game a fair shake, and by that meaning…leveled a character at least above level 20 and tried different content (such as instances/battlegrounds) can not honestly say that it isn’t an extremely polished game that offers something for almost any gamer, hardcore or casual. Old or young. It’s insane success speaks to its quality. Also, not everyone who plays it is addicted. I find that it’s gameplay as a whole is the envy of just about every other single MMO ever made. The only MMO I feel that has ever compared in overal experience was Ultima Online, which itself was actually superior in some ways.
If gameplay vs looks is up to debate between WoW and the Diablo series I can tell you from extensive first-hand experience that WoW wins hands down for depth. Diablo is a point and click affair, it’s success came almost entirely due to its simple design, in that one could play through the entire game with only a mouse. Sure, better players used the limited hotkeys for things like potions and secondary abilities, but if you’ve ever fought another player in both games it’s easy to appreciate the tactical depth that WoW offers over Diablo-style gameplay.
The original statement in question regarding WoW is one I would expect from someone who hasn’t played the game and given it an aforementioned, fair evaluation, or someone who was addicted to the game for the wrong reasons until one day they decided they hated it for putting a deathgrip on their personal life.
Diablo I and II’s drab and repetitive artwork, while nice for a while, were one of the reasons why I could not bring myself to finish either of them. I’d say I got about 75% of the way through D2 though. Despite the fact that the gameplay was very fun, the color palette just intensified the mundane, drab, and repititive aspects of the game to the point that it made my eyes bleed. Perhaps if I had been playing through the content with a friend online it would have made it more bearable.
Regardless, Blizzard has spoken on this topic, for the better I’d say of the other several million fans who would agree.
http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2008/08/01/blizzard-rejects-petition-keeps-diablo-iii-colorful/
August 5th, 2008
at 1:29 am
@ Chris
I don’t mean any offense, but if you’re truly a Diablo fan, you would have gone further than 75% of the game. You speak of giving games like WoW a fair shake, but it’s ironic that you haven’t finished the second installment of the franchise in question.
Gar has made a very good point about Blizzard putting WoW in its games in development. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that WoW is the bane of a real gamer’s existence, but I would like to add that putting elements of another game in Diablo would result in a different game altogether, and that’s what the petitioners are afraid of.
Granted, it’s Blizzard making Diablo III and that they always come up with awesome games. Like I said in a similar thread, Diablo III is going to to be great. I’m sure it would be commercially successful, it would get a lot of raving reviews, and it’s going to stay on my hard drive for a long time.
However, in my mind, it’s not a Diablo game. And I won’t be alone in that sentiment. From the looks of things, Diablo III is going to look more WoW than vintage Diablo. Ergo, it’s not really a Diablo game.
The rest of my comments are found here:
http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2008/08/01/blizzard-rejects-petition-keeps-diablo-iii-colorful/
August 15th, 2008
at 5:35 pm
To the OP “Chris King”: If you like the cartoony graphics that WoW, your opinion on Diablo III doesn’t count.
September 15th, 2008
at 10:57 pm
As a veteran gamer my input is maybe alittle abstract for some of you younger guys, here goes.
Please shutup, =)
From diablo 1 and on i have been in love with what this games core intent was, which is to to FIND good items, get geared, and own your friends (Some even just like finding stuff! Go figure =D)… It does not get any simpler than this. Wow and Diablo are very much alike, period. To compare these two are like comparing a chevy camaro, and a corvette… Both made by the same company and both very intense in their own perspectives.
Simply put, has blizzard ever let any of you REAL fans down? The answer is No. Never. The flawlessness of what “Blizz” believed the consumer wanted, has always been achieved.
BLIZZARD MADE DIABLO… THEY KNOW WHAT WHAT DIRECTION THE GAME IS GOING.
Well enough said about obvious things, Diablo 3 will be just Like 1 and 2, only with things we all wished were implemented back in the day. ~ Of course i know where this is coming from, it’s because Hell gate london came out and even myself was like, alright cool i gotta try this out~!
Ah crap, /wrist
It needs work, wait… no the core gameplay is just HORRIBLE. /sigh
DIABLO has the CORE gameplay already….
THAT is why i know it will be fucking awesome!!!
AM I RIGHT? Yes!
September 15th, 2008
at 11:05 pm
I dig Wow.
I dig Diablo.
I even dig Dark Age of Camelot
I dig Starcraft, Warcraft, and laura craft, umm heh <– ;) (Laura croft, tombraider you tool)
I dig, D3 and i havent even played it yet.
I love
October 21st, 2008
at 10:40 am
there’s always a 1st time for everything… there’s always a first time… the same with the big wall st. corporations that now are cleaning companies…
I just hope D3 not become the streetfighter the movie for the videogames…
October 21st, 2008
at 11:10 am
Hope just the blizzard team don’t rape diablo as spielberg did with indiana jones…xd