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Diablo III


Bren
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Didn't people complain about D2's "open areas" and how Diablo was supposed to happen in a dark dungeon?

I seem to remember something about that.

fosho.

But yeah, even though there were always people complaining about something/anything, if you get on battle.net you would see that there were still like 50 to 100 K people playing on one server. Not as much as the whole WoW situation, but still an impressive number of people.

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Well, those games aren't Diablo, and gamers haven't been waiting 7 years for them. So kinda, but also kinda not.

And 'Symphony of the Night' wasn't Castlevania to a lot of folks. A huge castle, exploratory and RPG elements... it was radically different in look and feel from what came before it. However, most of the complaints ended once people actually played the game and saw everything in action for themselves. Changes in what came with previous iterations don't necessarily mean things are fubar, and that the atmosphere/mood and settings are ruined. As such, perhaps the Diablo fanatics should wait for the finished product, instead of petitioning and throwing a tizzy fit so early in the game's production.

Edit: Clarification.

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Castlevania is actually a good example of how a new direction for a series can split a fanbase. It turns out there are a significant number who do in fact resent the new Metroidvanias and long for a classic-style platformer, with the announcement of the new Wii Castlevania bringing many of them out of the woodwork. Of course I enjoy both styles of gameplay so it's not an issue for me.

However, even so, that doesn't give me much comfort with respect to the new Diablo. This isn't the first time Blizzard has attempted such a transition...I am of course referring to WC3. We've seen first-hand how that transition turned out...while it was an excellent game in terms of story and gameplay, it was still brought down by the awkward models and animations. So you can understand how seeing these very same characteristics in Diablo III does not fill me with hope.

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Castlevania is actually a good example of how a new direction for a series can split a fanbase. It turns out there are a significant number who do in fact resent the new Metroidvanias and long for a classic-style platformer, with the announcement of the new Wii Castlevania bringing many of them out of the woodwork. Of course I enjoy both styles of gameplay so it's not an issue for me.

Oh I know about the fanbase split. I had some friends at the time who were absolutely livid about the gameplay shift. Purists wanted the series to say as it was in I, III, Super IV, Bloodlines and Akumajou Dracula X: Chi no Rondo. Anything else was heresy to them. And while the classic platformer CVs were all great games, the Castleroid games are equally enjoyable to me. Like you, I'm happy with both gameplay styles. However, all that scuttlebutt revealed what I consider a nasty issue with being such a purist... it's just too damn constricting :lol:

However, even so, that doesn't give me much comfort with respect to the new Diablo. This isn't the first time Blizzard has attempted such a transition...I am of course referring to WC3. We've seen first-hand how that transition turned out...while it was an excellent game in terms of story and gameplay, it was still brought down by the awkward models and animations. So you can understand how seeing these very same characteristics in Diablo III does not fill me with hope.

I guess that depends on whether or not you like the new look. From what I've gathered, you aren't very fond of it... at all. And God knows you're not alone in that dislike. There are plenty of folks who want the more "realistic" CG takes on characters and such that was so prevalent in the two previous games. I personally liked the new visual take in WC3, so what's been shown thus far of Diablo III doesn't bother me.

On that subject, I've taken some time to look through the screenshots hosted on Blizzard's site, and I personally don't think the characters are as exaggerated as WC3. The Deckard Cain model on the Blizzard site, and the model close ups in various screenshots, look more toned down and realistic in terms of proportions and whatnot than what was in WC3 or WoW. I personally don't see all the "cartoony" stuff so many are complaining about. Frankly, the models don't look much different than what's seen in games like Soul Calibur, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance or God of War. Maybe it's the CG to polygons transition that's irking people?

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I guess that depends on whether or not you like the new look. From what I've gathered, you aren't very fond of it... at all. And God knows you're not alone in that dislike. There are plenty of folks who want the more "realistic" CG takes on characters and such that was so prevalent in the two previous games. I personally liked the new visual take in WC3, so what's been shown thus far of Diablo III doesn't bother me.

I just read their argument about "color is your friend" or whatever. I'm not exactly sure if they understand what fans are complaining about (or what I hope they are complaining about). It's not about bringing as many colors to the table as possible for "contrast"... (because that's not exactly what contrast is about) And as long as that is what they are going for... I guess I need to bring an issue up.

Every good artist knows you can have a good palette with LOTS of colors, but what's more important is if a palette has a FOCUS, a feel that you are going for. Diablo II had lots of colors, many different environments, a huge palette... But it also had focus, and I think it utilized its colors well.

I don't mind all of those screenshots, and yeah it is too early to tell at this point, but some of those screens I see tell me that I don't like their focus (or lack thereof)...

Yeah okay, any person familiar with Color Theory knows that green and purple are compliments... Whoopti doo Blizzard! I don't want neon green lighting contrasted by purple in dungeons. Orange and yellow go nicely with BLUE...oh my! But what about the natural contrast between black and white? Shadow and Light? I don't want a million colors that amount to a neutral tone mudfest outdoors either. Focus on the lights and shadows please, you can have AMAZING looks without using all of the colors of the rainbow from your bag of skittles. It's just about choosing the right ones.

Diablo is about Heaven and Hell, angels and demons, with bones and death and destruction and blood... That's where the focus is... That's what they should be trying to depict as accurately and artistically as possible. They have the right to do whatever they want, however I'd like to hope their main objective is to please the fans that have waited years for the next game, and honor the previous two titles. Anyway I'm not really complaining, I'm just bringing up an issue that should be pretty much a given when art direction for any game is factored in.

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I just read their argument about "color is your friend" or whatever. I'm not exactly sure if they understand what fans are complaining about (or what I hope they are complaining about).

Unfortunately, the edited screen shots show exactly what the folks behind the petition are wanting... more earth tones, a less vibrant "rainbowy" color scheme, and cranked up contrast. At least some of them really are arguing that the game is using too many colors that differ from the past Diablo games, and that those colors are ruining the atmosphere/game. Those folks have indeed gotten all riled up over the more colorful surroundings and lighting (on top of wanting more sharply contrasted light/dark levels).

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People will complain about anything. Blizzard definitely looks to be on the right track with Diablo 3, in spite of the vocal minority who are afraid of colors other than brown.

Ya.

I mean, this is Diablo III we're talking about. They're not going to screw it up, especially being Blizzard, the company that releases nothing but solid gold.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Here's a pretty good interview about the art direction. Jay Wilson makes a good comment on how the game direction doesn't start out all apocalyptic, but it works it's way there. It's pretty much what I was guessing the game was going to be like. Which is why I told some people "Just wait until the game actually gets to hell". I mean, people didn't really expect the whole game to look like the first 2 areas we've seen, did they?

The preliminary art we've seen so far, Wilson said, is from early on in the game. "We want to generate the feeling of everything getting worse... it's part of our narrative. It makes the more gloomy part of the game a place where the stakes get higher."

"If you start out at the apocalypse, and then move to more apocalypse, it's not going to have much of an impression on players."

http://kotaku.com/5031732/art-apocalypse-blizzards-wilson-talks-diablo-iii-design-decisions

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Here's a pretty good interview about the art direction. Jay Wilson makes a good comment on how the game direction doesn't start out all apocalyptic, but it works it's way there. It's pretty much what I was guessing the game was going to be like. Which is why I told some people "Just wait until the game actually gets to hell". I mean, people didn't really expect the whole game to look like the first 2 areas we've seen, did they?

http://kotaku.com/5031732/art-apocalypse-blizzards-wilson-talks-diablo-iii-design-decisions

Apparently they did. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been an on-line petition, image edits, and countless pages of fanboyesque hissy fits.

And see guys? I really do know what I'm talking about sometimes :-P

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I think they made a really good case for the art since in the original two games, the enemies tended to blend in and it was just a wash of dull colors. I'd rather have the flashy colors where I can differentiate enemies than just the entire screen squirming with grays and browns of enemies.

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Another interview with Jay Wilson. He is shown the altered screenshots that the people made to show how they think the game should look.

The key thing to remember here is that this has been Photoshopped. This isn’t created by the engine. Though it looks really cool, it’s almost impossible to do in a 3D engine because you can’t have lighting that smart and run on systems that are reasonable. If we could do that, we probably would in a few of the dungeons.

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/08/04/diablo-iii-designer-turns-tables/

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