The Beginning

Art direction has been the apex of Diablo-fan debate and it is only suitable that I address one of the continuing concerns of Diablo 3. This issue has been beaten to a pulp, dissected, re-dissected, buried, and resurrected amongst Blizzard and gaming communities across the internet, and I hope that this assessment is not a continuation of riding this stagnant and overused gravy-train. However, those who wish to take a walk down memory lane of the past year and half of development with the game may find this article both nostalgic and informative.

The Past

To begin, Blizzard is world-renowned for its massively multiplayer game, World of Warcraft. With such a world-renowned title under its belt, along with the ever-lasting franchises of Starcraft and Diablo, it is only to be assumed that some facets of the MMO would bleed into the alternate franchises we know and love. Such a statement would seem common sense, for it is only rational to capitalize on those facets which are most valued amongst the gaming community. It has been argued that such a change is desirable, though it is debated in equal ferocity that such a departure from both style and canon strips the originality and unique qualities inherent to the franchise.

Art is one such aspect which seems to have eked its way into Diablo, which has been previously faithful to a more photo-realistic, gothic setting. Many Diablo players may recall the forbidding cathedrals riddled with baths of blood littered with human bodies, such as the cathedral and Catacombs where Andariel resides. Game footage and demos at Blizzcon ’08 and Blizzcon ’09 along with the footage that accompanied the initial announcement depicted a much more colorful and vibrant Sanctuary.

We must remind ourselves that, based on Diablo lore, the world of Sanctuary has had close to 10 years to re-acclimate to a world without the invading threat of Hell. Regardless, hardcore fans were predisposed to chastise and petition against this new art direction which didn’t live up to the dark past its predecessors represented. Indeed, many were outspoken enough to spread avatar and signature images of “before and after” compositions that spread like wildfire through the Diablo fanbase sites. Here are a few you may remember:

On a similar, ironic note, Matt Uelman and other late Blizzard North employees decided to join Runic Games and create the Fate-alike game Torchlight (combining the unique features of Fate with the skill-tree style that Diablo is known for – not to mention class ideas). I only shudder to think if that was what Blizzard presented as the new face of the Diablo franchise. I have no doubt in my mind that a riot would break out if they saw this with a Diablo heading. (And some were even bold enough to say this game is more Diablo than Diablo 3 is…)

Naturally, Blizzard had their unique way of looking at the problem. While they attempted to calm the hardcore fan’s outrage, they had their own sense of humor which they added to the fray. The most famous is probably the Diablo 3 shirt which Jay Wilson wore at an interview after the internet outbreak. The image (seen below, left) shows some cheek at the accusations of a bright and WoW-influenced tone that fans accused Blizzard of taking. Bashiok, Diablo 3 community manager, also added a few image links of his own (middle and left). Though I must say, that IS a sinister Stay-Puffed marshmallow man.

Needless to say, though, Blizzard took these fan-assessments to heart, and that we should rest assured that the game will progress into deeper, darker places where the heart of Diablo truly lies. I say this metaphorically, of course.

The Present

The Diablo community has only had its chance to take part in a short segment of Act 1 and Act 2. With personal game-play experience at Blizzcon ’09, I could tell that there was a fairly noticeable difference between Act 2 renditions and Act 1 renditions. While Blizzard has been quoted to have made the demo “over the top” in presentation, the heart of Diablo is beginning to shine through the massive waves of enemies and gratuitous amounts of blood all around.

Need I say more?

The Scrutiny

Blizzard is renowned for its ability to deliver. Speculation only gets us so far, and we can be sure that we won’t be seeing prospective release dates for at least a year. Sure, Diablo and Diablo 2 were sprite depictions of a gothic-style hell with plenty of gruesome imagery in just about every dungeon. The problem, I think, is that people become blinded by what they see in their head versus what is actually in the game.

If you take a look at what Diablo 2 is actually like, the only dark thing in the game, really, is the environment. The monsters and demons take on a variety of brilliant colors set against the dark, drawl background. From an artist’s standpoint, this creates contrast – a needed contrast to ensure that the player isn’t just seeing varying shades of mud. What does that add up to? A really boring and dull game. In my personal opinion, Diablo 2’s environment is unrealistic. Sure, it’s dark, it adds “atmosphere” as well as it can for a sprite based game, but it lacks what technology can do in the 21^st century and the color palette that brings a story to life. A smooth color palette allows for subtle transitions in artistic motif and and overarching themes for any given act or particular segment of the game.

Here's an "Act 2" comparison. (Irony that Diablo 3 reflects a similar desert theme as Diablo 2?)

I’m sure this is starting to sound like a broken record based on assessments of Diablo 3 art direction across the web, but my advice would be to not give up hope for the fabled image that Diablo has created in many of your minds. And between you and me, I know you’re going to get the game in the end anyways – art won’t stop you.

The Future

Well, who’s really one to predict the future of Diablo 3? Blizzard’s infernal mantra “it’ll be released when it’s done” is an ellipsis with infinite possibilities. The art direction seems set, though, and based on personal gameplay experience, Diablo 3 is certainly living up to what *the majority* has always hoped it would be. As development continues, Blizzard has been twittering about recent developments, and it only pays more credence to the endless directions the Diablo 3 team may take. I mean seriously, no skill trees!? But I won’t get ahead of myself; the classes and characters of Diablo 3 are up next in the Die-Hard Diablo Fan’s Scrutiny blog mini-series.

Yes, yours truly is and has been a Diablo fan since the word go. From being able to recite the runes of Diablo 2 as easily as the alphabet, to being able to name 90% of uniques before they’re identified – that’s the level of nerd I have achieved within the Diablo universe. I’ve gone through every game-breaking patch with my head held high, delved through the deepest game files, and frequented many Diablo fansites. I kept myself informed on even the tiniest changes that may have been seen in the game when Diablo 2 was in its prime.

That being said, I’ve been anticipating Diablo III for nearly a decade. Yup, count ‘em - almost 10 years. Now that a large quantity of Diablo 3 information has hit public ears, I feel that scrutiny and opinions are now founded on a much more of a concrete base than those that were shouted incessantly into the internet upon Diablo 3’s initial announcement. “It looks like World of Warcraft!”, “OMG no more tetris inventory?”, “Why are the colors so bright?”, “Wow, did you get all your direction from World of Warcraft?” Such banter you’re familiar with, I’m sure – and it is my intention to steer clear of such “observations” and provide a nice analysis of how I feel the game is forming.

Over the next month I will be blogging on the various aspects of the game, it’s evolution, and how it compares to Diablo 2. Stay tuned!

While at Blizzcon I, too, was goo goo over the Diablo 3 gameplay demo and naturally ended up being the game I played most while at the convention. Not only that, but there was a chance for players to come across a hidden artifact that would award the finder with a signed piece of Diablo 3 concept art. If that isn't enough motivation to play the game as much as possible, I don't know what is.

Though I didn't end up finding the artifact, even though I did speed runs to explore as much as possible as fast as possible, I did get a lot of experience in this second act. Over the times I played the game, I tried out the Wizard and Monk. As I was playing with a party of 4, I had a good amount of team support as we ravaged the desert. One thing I found interesting was that we came across two different types of dungeons. One being a regular dungeon like those we all are familiar with, and the second being a timed dungeon. These timed dungeons start counting down upon entering. In this particular dungeon, the dungeon was about to collapse and you had to get the treasure inside before the counter reached zero.

This is one of the things that was extremely frustrating. The demo only allowed you to play for 15 minutes. Yeah. Sucks. So we have this big act to explore, dungeons to explore, and quests to complete - all of which must be completed within 15 minutes (of course if that's what your goal was when you played the demo). Each subsequent time that I played the game, I gave myself different goals. First was to explore the first dungeon, then to explore the timed dungeon, and then to speed to everywhere I can, opening any chest that I could find.

And I personally must admit - it's REALLY difficult to get through the vast amount of mobs unscathed. If your goal is to evade monsters on a speed run, it isn't easy.

But anyways, I also wanted to go over a little bit about the skill trees. Not going to lie - they were lackluster for this demo. I know they were trying to showcase some new abilities. But seriously? Why cut off the other half of your abilities just because you want to showcase something new? The monk only had 5 abilities, and the other heroes had similar amounts. (Though I must admit - way of one hundred fists and exploding palm were extremely cool) The Wizard had a new trick which I found rather entertaining. The best way to describe it is shooting a small black hole which explodes upon impact.

But I digress. Diablo 3 seems to be shaping up beautifully and the developers are stopping at nothing to make the game spectacular. One of the coolest things I experienced while traversing the tundra was the formation of a tornado that ripped up the dunes. The multitude of visual affects and realistic environment was amazing.

For those of you who do not know The Guild, you should know them. Earlier this month, one of their videos was posted on gamer-source.  The particular youtube clip was a music video entitled "Do you want to date my avatar?" sung and performed by Felicia Day and co. The video in question has reached the number 1 most viewed music video on iTunes in a matter of days. This hilarious and all-to-true interpretation of internet romance sparked my interest in this internet series. Ironically, upon looking at the schedule for Day 1 of Blizzcon, I noticed that they were all attending, complete with their own booth.

The Guild's crew were all at Blizzcon, releasing a sneak peak of their 3rd season along with hosting a laugh-out-loud discussion panel and open Q and A. Hopefully some of you who weren't able to attend aught it on their live feed or else on Direct TV live.

I highly recommend you all to check out The Guild! I certainly enjoyed meeting them, and certainly enjoyed how truly enjoyable their series really is.

So I'm blogging right now, recalling the very beginning of Blizzcon. For me, this was a 2 and a half hour experience in line. A line? For a convention? I thought that was interesting too. Oh, and not to mention... this was in the blazing sun.

Well, after walking over a mile's worth of distance in the line, going through a path of over 9 zig-zags, 4 loop-the-loops and a queue for a queue (while we QQ'd, get it?) we then reach the point where the line just.... starts moving. And we're thinking, wow they must have just let people in like they should have from the very beginning.

Turns out that the guards where my part of the line started didn't get the memo that they had just opened the doors to the center for everybody (no line required) and I wasted a good hour + of my life due to poor planning. At least we got to see a lot of cosplaying guys and gals in line. (Pictures later)

Though this one downfall of this truly epic experience occurred, I was in time to see the REAL announcements. The Monk class. The Cataclysm expansion, and of course, I got to see many great, informative, funny, hilarious, scary, and touching answers from various panels.

I look forward to blogging more about my experience with you guys later!