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Diablo 2 Team Comments on Diablo 3

The team producing Diablo III is almost entirely new, with none of the senior members of the Diablo II team involved. What does the D2 team think of the new game, and the direction Blizzard's taking the franchise? Diii.net has a brief quote from Diablo creator Max Schaefer, and a longer interview with Ben Boos, a senior artist on Diablo 2 and its expansion pack. Ben gives his opinion on how the look of the game has changed since the early version he worked on at Blizzard North, the "too colorful" controversy, and more:

Ben Boos: As for the tone: A comparison of D1 to D2 comes to mind. I remember plowing ahead and making those green pastures and meadows in D2, and thinking after the fact? ?oops! The original Diablo was so dark and moody; did I screw up the atmosphere?? Then I went and made the bright desert wasteland, and the same potential problems cropped up. But it all worked out in my opinion, because we were able to take the player underground, and to various darker environments. Therefore, I think you can?t judge the atmosphere of D3 from a short demo. Who knows what incredible sights await the player of Diablo 3?
Xulfxulf - contributor
Published: 537 days 21 hours ago | Interview | PC
 
 

Showing: 1 - 14 of 14 Comments
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Xulfxulf - 537 days 22 hours ago
1 - No sour grapes
Ben was sincerely enthusiastic about D3, and not bitter about all the work he put into the early version of the game being churned when the project was rebooted after Blizzard North closed.
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Leord - 537 days 22 hours ago
1.1 -
Think you can really be that much of the "bigger man"? That is very gracious, and most impressive if true. I'm not sure if I would manage after spending months of work into something =P

There doesn't seem to be any "cracks" though, so I guess he's just one of the "good guys" of the world =)

Makes it even more sad he's no longer at Blizzard =/
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Leord - 537 days 22 hours ago
2 -
Wow, that's quite interesting to hear the voices from "ex Blizzard", I mean I think Blizzard don't want people to realize that none of the original team is left ;)

Also, I'd DIE to hear some of the juicy company gossip that must circulate around the departure of Blizzard North! I guess a few hints can be read between the lines here, but I want more!
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Baka-akaB - 537 days 21 hours ago
2.1 -
I doubt they care really . Most ex blizzard employees got a crappy track record after they left ... a mixed bag of crap like hellgate , or games still unfinished no one even talks about ... Flagships biggest project so far , even seems to be Mythos , an average looking d2 mmo , whose success probably depended on the absence of a true diablo sequel .

So far only folks from battlenet , like Arena.net did something big , and potentially threatening to blizzard .

Anyway it's nice of those ex employee to praise the game , and to defend Bliz against those silly "dont turn diablo into a cartoon" attacks .
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Leord - 537 days 21 hours ago
2.2 -
You're right, Hellgate was a flop (Mythos is 3D btw!), but I think that was to a great extent derived from the game being released too early. I liked the gameplay in Beta a lot, it was just still beta when it was released...
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barom - 537 days 13 hours ago
2.3 - @2.1
It's true that no one probably cares. Me personally dont care simply because Blizzard has proved themselves that they are capable and are likely to pull it off. On a sidenote I'll just add Warcraft 3 didn't have much of WC2 team.

Though I wouldn't say all ex-blizzard got a crappy record. You mentioned ArenaNet which made Guild Wars and is the second most popular MMO out (of the ones on the retailers shelf ofc). I also personally disagree with Mythos being your average mmo, I think it looks amazing not to mention it's gonna be free. Lastly Ready At Dawn, one of the biggest upcoming studios has proven themselves to be a very talented developer. Bringing out Daxter and GoW: CoO for PSP and now working on some project for 'next'-gen consoles.
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syrinx - 537 days 22 hours ago
3 -
It's very interesting to hear a PoV of someone who was so integral to the look of D1 and 2 with all these comments about 3 not capturing the dark feel of sanctuary. Personally, I love the look of D3. It's still looks ominous to me.
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Obama - 537 days 21 hours ago
4 -
Judging from the gameplay video alone, D3 will be an epic title that last for a decade. I personally don't care whether or not a new team is making the game, as long as it lives up to the expectation.
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Tyrael - 537 days 21 hours ago
5 -
It's a question of addiction, from an "intangibles" perspective. Will Diablo 3 have that aesthetically pleasing feeling that would only otherwise be instilled by substance abuse. It has to feel like you're so caught up in the game that the idea of stopping never crosses your mind.
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Leord - 537 days 21 hours ago
5.1 -
Agree wholeheartedly. To a great extent, it seems kind of odd how the whole "Blizzard North" thing went down, and at the same time, I DO actually have faith in Blizzard, and what really matters is the feeling of Diablo 3, not the backstory of the development!
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Xulfxulf - 537 days 20 hours ago
6 - Do they care?
Yes, I can say that the ex-bliz northers care. It's not like they were going to march on Blizzard HQ in protest if D3 looked like ass, but it's the continuation of a project many of them spent most of their professional lives on. Seeing D3 continuing on, even though they all knew it would, has to be like seeing your ex beaming on their wedding day. You may be happy for him/her, but there are still some mixed emotions.

If you look at the intro to the full article, I mentioned that we've been talking with a number of other guys and I know they care; none but Max Schaefer have yet been willing to go on the record, though.
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mirroredderorrim - 537 days 20 hours ago
7 -
Ahh,Max. I used to dual Wield Fury Shaefers.
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MK_Red - 537 days 12 hours ago
8 -
Well, even though the D3 team is entirely new, at least it's still in the hands of Blizzard. Poor Fallout 3 doesn't have that.
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SL1M DADDY - 537 days 10 hours ago
9 - Sorry, but...
I think to complain about the color in D3 when all that has been seen is a demo is silly. I loved the environments in D2 and they were far more colorful than #1. This game will be great for me and that is all I can say. Why? Because it's Diablo, and I love the world in which it resides, despite the color palate.
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