When Blizzard unveiled Diablo III many were surprised at the new look of the game. Unlike the first two games which incorporated a dark and gritty, almost washed out aesthetic, Diablo III embraces a far more bright and vibrant look that is reminiscent of the Warcraft series.
One of the original masterminds behind the first Diablo has spoken out in an interview with Videogamer.com about his feelings regarding Blizzard’s new take on the Diablo universe.
Bill Roper had this to say:
“You know, I liked the darker grittier. I liked the differences in art style, to be honest. So, I think I would personally from a player standpoint prefer that,”
“I think that one of the things that we always tried to get across was that Diablo was Gothic fantasy and I think there was just a need that was put in there from the visuals that I didn’t necessarily get. I got it from the architecture and to a degree from the character design but not the feeling of the world,” he added. “I can’t say that I dislike it. I didn’t look at it and go, oh my God that’s horrible. But I looked at it and went, it’s not really… to me as a player it just didn’t really ring with Diablo.”
Bill Roper left Blizzard to start Flagship studios, which failed miserably with Hellgate London which was coincidentally billed as the “spiritual successor to Diablo II” at one point. When we put his comments in this context, they immediately reek of sour grapes.
However, the man is entitled to his opinion, and there is some valuable insight contained in his comments. It does give us a more thorough understanding of why Diablo III looks the way it does, and also reminds us that Diablo III is being made by a different team to that which created its predecessors.
Take a look at the Diablo 3 Screenshots and have your say on the forums.
Loading ...
