Diablo III art director leaves Blizzard, game's visual style to be 'maintained'
by Randy Nelson 
{ Aug 7th 2008 at 4:12PM }
"Regarding Brian, he recently resigned to form a startup technology company (outside the game industry)," the email read, continuing, "This change won't impact the game ... we're really pleased with the look and feel that Brian helped create for Diablo III, and the new person we bring onboard will work with the other artists on the team to maintain the art style moving forward." Funny – the job posting doesn't mention anything about "must own fire-retardant undergarments" or "must possess an ability to weather fans' lamentations over your use of a color palette." Oh well, whoever Blizzard hires will find out soon enough.
[Via MTV]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dravean @ Aug 7th 2008 4:20PM
not that the visuals we've seen are bad, but i do feel the old "feel" is gone from them.
still can't wait to play it!
Lars @ Aug 7th 2008 5:04PM
I thought they were fine. Good actually. If anything, they're MORE subdued than the old game.
I was really surprised at the outcry because D2 was very vibrant and colorful. Sometimes the colors even clashed horribly together. Don't get me wrong, I loved D2, still play it to this day, but to me the new visual style looks like it has more consistency and I think that's a welcome change. Regarding the light radii, I don't really care too much either way.
BananaBoat @ Aug 7th 2008 11:20PM
I must have missed this Diablo II that half the people in topics like this are talking about. Colorful? The character models perhaps, but not the general atmosphere. You go from rainy plains/dark caverns/dark cathedrals to a sandy wasteland with...again...dark caverns, ancients (dark) tombs, etc. From there you go to a dark, rainy tropical rain forest, and then straight to the bowels of hell. Where was all this color that some people are remembering? It blows my mind.
On another note, I think the guy they interviewed last weeks answers were pretty bogus across the board. They can't replicate dynamic lighting in a game? It can only be done in photoshop? what? There is dynamic lighting in a ton of games. If only they'd just come out and say "We chose this art style, it's too late to fix it even if we wanted too, sorry to anyone that doesn't like it" it would be fine. Instead they are trying to say that Diablo II was colorful, and that the atmosphere wasn't dark...when it obviously was.
Meh, I'll enjoy the game I'm sure, but I'll be applying the first mood darkening mod I can find.
Mikeymike @ Aug 7th 2008 4:20PM
Lol
wat?
flameofdoom666 @ Aug 7th 2008 4:20PM
If this is because of the fanboy outcry, that would disgust me. I loved Diablo 1, Hellfire, Diablo II, andLord of Destruction- but I also love WarCraft 3, and the Frozen throne and Diablo 3 seems to encourorate from it all. I LOVE the direction the game is in. it is fantastic.
GIVE ME COLOR! (seriously.. act 1 in Diablo 2 is GREEN! people are insane.)
Zertoss @ Aug 7th 2008 4:21PM
But it's dark green, like the blackness of my soul.
/emo
jimmygotsmack @ Aug 7th 2008 4:31PM
Boolean sarcasm = true
YOU DONT UNDERSTAND, DIABLO WAS ABOUT PAIN, AND SUFFERING. THATS WHAT MADE IT SO BEAUTIFUL. IT WAS REAL. NOW THEY WANT TO TAKE AWAY THE BEAUTY, OF IT, JUST SO THE GAME CAN BE EASIER TO PLAY! THEY TOOK AWAY ITS SOUL!!!!
Boolean sarcasm = false
Damn Emos
Mr.ESC @ Aug 7th 2008 8:26PM
I've played all Diablo games except for 3 of course (With fanboys always point the obvious) and they had color, in fact that was part the appeal since D2 took place in far away lands instead of your generic kingdom.
You could play in the day or play in the night and it had some great visual effects for back in the day. I don’t know who started with the “Colors/coulors hurt my eyes” complains (Hopefully that person will burn in hell with every game that is brown or grey and that covers a huge ground).
Now so far D3 is looking grim I don’t know if should feel hyped, if its good great if is not I lose nothing but I hope it turns out well I would hate to see one of my favorite games be rubbish for some retarded fanboy complains also that it seems D3 is more for the WOW crowd than the original fan base (No Blizzard, Cain doesn’t counts as fan service seriously the guy should be death already he is like 100 years old ).
Finally using my serious face my only complain about the game is that it looks way too much like Dungeon Siege but that’s because we are in the same old Forest and Dungeons we have explored a thousand time in every damn RPG, seriously the beauty about Diablo is that it was original ,it had great CGI and one hell of a story (no pun intended).
TomCo @ Aug 10th 2008 1:03PM
@jimmy
You declared boolean variable sarcasm twice in the same namespace, forgot your terminators, forgot your comments.
I'm afraid thats not going to compile.
FHBiggs @ Aug 7th 2008 4:24PM
This news post isn't gray enough for me.
dark_inchworm @ Aug 7th 2008 7:21PM
Funny, it looks like the upvotes are about to make your post more vibrant and, if previous indicators are anything to go by, repelling.
Ghen @ Aug 7th 2008 10:22PM
Gotta start wearing dark dark shades while computerizing.
Broseph @ Aug 7th 2008 4:22PM
if the new art director shows up wearing anything but black clothing they'll be run out too hahah
Kael @ Aug 7th 2008 4:24PM
Don't take this as a snipe, but by show of hands, who here thought that the bright green and blue lights Brian used in the dungeon actually conveyed the ominous, scary vibe he said it did? Forget for a moment whether you like the way it looks; I want to get a feel for how many of you think it's scary. I'm genuinely asking.
Jerk @ Aug 7th 2008 5:30PM
Hmmm and here I thought that all the demons, zombies, spooky music and the fact that the game is named after Lucifer himself gave it the "ominous, scary vibe".
Let me ask you a question, will you be buying the game knowing that the colors are oh so bright? So bright that it puts the Super Mario games to shame cause that's what you "hardcore" Diablo fans make it out to be.
Faar @ Aug 7th 2008 5:31PM
Hey look, we all enjoy a bit of scary every now and then I'm sure, but when it all comes down to it, don't we rather prefer to be able to SEE what the fsck is going ON, on-screen?
Diablo's color palette was drab and washed-out because the game launched in the fsckin' mid-1990s, when PCs in general couldn't handle hundreds of thousands of colors on-screen at any kind of playable speed in an action game.
Its art direction was FORCED by technical limitations! Diablo2 was plenty colorful and vibrant in almost all of the overworld maps, and even some of the indoors environments as well, so what the hell are all the people fussing about? 0_o
Churchy @ Aug 7th 2008 5:43PM
Problem here is that none of the previous Diablo games were scary either...
Gloomy? Yes.
Dark? Yes.
But Diablo hasn't ever been scary.
Kael @ Aug 7th 2008 5:49PM
So we're going to ignore my question, assume I said I was going to boycott the game, then flame me for being an unintelligible, raving fool who knows nothing about art or computers. I get that we all need to express ourselves, but I think you're trying too hard to find someone to yell at.
I want to get a real answer to my question. If you guessed I don't get a sense of "big brother is watching" (Brian Morrisroe's words) from the neon green splattered all over the dungeon, you'd be right, but what I wanted to know is whether I was alone. I want to know what you, the guy ticked off that someone is concerned with this, if YOU think it effectively conveys what the artist himself said he was trying to convey with it. This isn't about whether or not you or I like it or are going to buy the game; just answer the question.
Jerk @ Aug 7th 2008 6:17PM
Yes, yes it does and unless I'm color blind or something I don't see any "bright green" in those screen shots. I see a hue of green but not bright green as you suggest. As for the blue colors it's a spell man spells are meant to be bright and powerful looking.
Kael @ Aug 7th 2008 6:43PM
"Yes, yes it does and unless I'm color blind or something I don't see any "bright green" in those screen shots. I see a hue of green but not bright green as you suggest. As for the blue colors it's a spell man spells are meant to be bright and powerful looking."
Oh, I don't have anything against the spell effects. Then again, I didn't mean to infer I was talking about them. All but three of the dungeon screenshots on the official website are drenched in, bright green, so it shouldn't be hard to miss. You're saying it appears as a subtle hue? And that it does indeed convey horror to you? That's interesting. I know it's not feasible to get a large sampling here, but at least I know Brian's not totally alone. Anyone else want to chime in?
bm @ Aug 7th 2008 7:10PM
"mid-1990s, when PCs in general couldn't handle hundreds of thousands of colors on-screen at any kind of playable speed in an action game."
Ok now I'm all for a colorful Diablo, but that comment is just bullshit. I've seen this kind of thing before, someone tried to explain away the first Quake's brownness by saying PC's back then couldn't handle all the colors. LOL! I could go and list the countless games containing every color of the rainbow that came out during and before the time Diablo was released, but, god, this is obviously ridiculous as it is. Next thing you're telling me a main character's max HP is capped because of memory limitations.
jimmygotsmack @ Aug 7th 2008 4:25PM
O yes, because that's just what we need, games so dark, that most of the time you put the brightness all the up, because you can't see a damn thing. I love how the petition worded it.
"
- Gothic and obscure scenarios, cryptic, dark and shadowy dungeons
- Graphically realistic world with realistic, dirty and muddy textures (+_+) CANT SEE
- Realistic armory and weaponry without over-sized and exaggerated proportions like big shoulder guards ( have they ever played diablo?)
- A macabre, dark and realistic art style " (DIDN'T they already say that one, back when it said gothic?!)
Penny arcade said it the best.
Lars @ Aug 7th 2008 5:09PM
"Realistic armory and weaponry without over-sized and exaggerated proportions like big shoulder guards ( have they ever played diablo?)"
They're probably talking about World of Diablo's ridiculous shoulders, weapons, and shields that look like spaceships.
D2 was fine, WoD (aka WoW) gets too ridiculous.
Faar @ Aug 7th 2008 5:37PM
Lars,
Diablo 2 would have had shoulderpads looking like "spaceships" also, had everything not been pre-rendered in sprite form. There simply wasn't enough storage space either on disc or in memory for more than a few different shoulderpad designs, when they all had to be rendered in 16 different angles and for a large variety of poses and movements. It totally fits with the genre, diablo had plenty of outrageous armor pieces and weapons so what are you on about?
Lorem @ Aug 7th 2008 4:26PM
The PS mockups that fans did looked muddy as shit. They were overly desaturated. I do remember playing D2 and seeing creeps being hot green. Who bitched about that? Nobody.
Anam @ Aug 7th 2008 4:30PM
My Xbox 360 Elite red-ringed on me. Perhaps it couldn't handle Catan. It stares at me now with it's black body and deformed red eye. But it is not useless. I will send it not to Microsoft, but to Blizzard with a note saying "example of what Diablo III should look like."
bto @ Aug 7th 2008 4:31PM
I demand Joystiq make a dark theme available for us users, consisting mainly of black, and gray, with no other hues available.
screamer @ Aug 7th 2008 4:33PM
This game will rock so much. The graphics are awesome and whoever thinks they are too colorful should turn off the color on their monitor and let me enjoy the game the way it is intended.
LordKelvin @ Aug 7th 2008 4:37PM
Cue Gerstmann-gate conspiracies...
Ghen @ Aug 7th 2008 10:26PM
nah, we really don't care about some pansy art guy.
bto @ Aug 7th 2008 4:39PM
Game looks awesome, and will be a good excuse, beside SC2, to upgrade my computer.
On another note, these overzelous fanboys really need to familiarize themselves with ENBSeries, http://boris-vorontsov.narod.ru/download_en.htm
Kael @ Aug 7th 2008 4:59PM
"Game looks awesome, and will be a good excuse, beside SC2, to upgrade my computer."
If you have to upgrade your computer, then they've failed. Not that this is a bad thing, but Blizzard's really going out of their way to make this and all their games as low-poly and runnable as possible. I'd be really surprised if anyone in the world couldn't run it on their computer, even if it's a laptop from a few years ago.
Churchy @ Aug 7th 2008 5:47PM
Well if this dudes got some compy thats was chugging along by the skin of its teeth playing WoW it's pretty reasonable that they wouldn't be making a game years later that will still run on his hardware.
Low system requirements doesn't necesarrily mean that everyone will be meeting them, some people just have old junkers. That's not Blizzards fault.
bto @ Aug 7th 2008 5:55PM
Well, it's not 'that' outdate per se, it's a Pentium D with 2 GB RAM, but, I was just looking for an excuse to do a major overhaul this fall, as the last major one happened in 2004, with minor updates last year.
cuteunit @ Aug 7th 2008 4:50PM
Joystiq's tone, and the tone of the flock here in the comments in this and other posts on the subject move me to post.
Let me point something out, mmmkay?
Titan Quest had bright happy colors even in the places that were supposed to be dark and evil
Dungeon Siege had bright happy colors even in places that were intended to be dark and evil
Do we really need Diablo to cotton candy it's evil to make it palatable as well?
The issue isn't the presence of color, it's the misuse of it in certain areas of the game such as the interiors of crypts.
Color is an essential element of presenting a vivid virtual world, but misusing it is just as bad as giving the Mona Lisa a nice shock of pink raver hair.
Jerk @ Aug 7th 2008 6:02PM
Sorry but I don't see bright happy colors in the Diablo III screen shots. I think all the colors used in the 2 different areas they showed off did their job. Your comparison to the Mona Lisa having pink hair hold no weight at all. I don't see any exuberant amount of colors anywhere. The fan made photoshops lacked any life what so ever and lacked the vividness that the environments required. The crypt or temple area had the right amount of brightness for an early dungeon that's introducing new comers to the series, play mechanics and what not. I'm 100% sure that as you progress through the game things will get much more ominous and dark and not just in color palate.
If they decided to add clouds with happy faces in the sky and rainbow marsh mellows to regain health and the gameplay was awesome I'd still buy that shit. Stop complaining wait till more info and more screen shots are released before you people make yourselves look more pathetic.
MagusDF @ Aug 8th 2008 9:21AM
I vote for a rainbow unicorn level in place of the cows!
Eh @ Aug 7th 2008 4:49PM
I think the art looks better, but I also think they could push the graphics a hell of a lot further.
F1 & The day I beat Ghost and Goblins @ Aug 7th 2008 5:20PM
I agree! Mere high def. 3d graphics are not enough Blizzard!! WE DEMAND 4D!!!!
KrazyIan @ Aug 7th 2008 4:52PM
Comments need more Penny Arcade:
http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/8/6
Mikeymike @ Aug 7th 2008 6:53PM
Story of my life right there
Shmil @ Aug 7th 2008 4:52PM
THE COLORS DUKE! THE COLORS!!
F1 & The day I beat Ghost and Goblins @ Aug 7th 2008 5:24PM
I've got a compromise: The emo Diablo fans will buy the game and Blizzard will pack a free pair of dark sunglasses with each box! BRILLIANT!!
Thief @ Aug 7th 2008 5:43PM
Just aslong as there's no excessive pink.
Kael @ Aug 7th 2008 6:24PM
This situation with Diablo 3 really boils my blood, so here comes another treatise on the subject. If you just want to flame me, go ahead and hit 'reply' now.
The worst part about all this dismissive and insulting commentary on anyone taking an issue with the game is that so many of those people who can recognize something's off with the visuals can't express it correctly. When they see the color being misused, they wrongly say there's too much color. People love jumping all over that.
Cuteunit, you've got it right; it's not that color is bad; we all recognize the previous games had loads of color and light in them, it's just that Brian Morrisroe has a strange reaction to neon green; he finds it disturbing somehow, and so puts it all over the scary dungeon to emphasize the horror. I realize people are allowed to react to things how they will, but even still, that's a little messed up, isn't it? I asked earlier if anyone feels the same way Brian does about the green, but I don't think anyone does. I mean, even loyalists of the way it looks now don't say the art is conveying scary or creepy moods, even though that was Brian's intention all along.
What does that mean, though, when no one in either camp thinks he succeeded in his attempt to convey the horror in the game? I think it makes him look bad at his job. If you're reading this, Brian, no offense--I respect you, but you have to admit your use of color doesn't work as intended.
The unfortunate thing is that it looks like Blizzard has taken a liking to messing with the fans. Did you hear about how one of the artists, after hearing some people legitimately point out how rainbows only work against the game's horror vibe, began painting rainbows all over the game's environments? What a shame Blizzard has decided to be so readily dismissive and insulting to what is, admittedly under mountains of terrible grammar, over-dramatization and unbelievable claims of boycotts, valuable and constructive feedback. I would have thought that Blizzard would have learned to recognize that these knee-jerk reactions are being caused by something, and to figure out what that is to examine it and make sure it's what they want in the game.
You might say they've already decided not to work for a horror vibe in the game in favor of a more lighthearted, cartoony and greener game than its predecessors, but that's not what Brian said at the WWI; not at all. That's the contradiction I can't get my head around. On the one hand, the Art Director said they want to be consistent with the previous games and make a dark horror game with grit, realism and a hint of stylization without being too cartoony. On the other hand, the Lead Designer says he's happy with the new, lighter and more cartoony direction they've decided to go in, and wants to see how much further they can push the style (away from horror, obviously).
Which statement is a lie? Is it the one about being consistent with the older games? Then why don't they just say so? I don't expect the new Prince of Persia to be consistent with the previous games because they straight-up said it won't be, right from the beginning. Because they said that, they've got all the freedom and license to do whatever they want with it and fans don't feel cheated or lied to. They can do the same with Diablo 3 if they really, really want to, that's OK!, they just need to stop sending mixed signals so we can all know what to expect from the game and accept it.
If tomorrow they said they're going to make it cel-shaded, at least I wouldn't feel like they're just getting horror wrong.
Jerk @ Aug 7th 2008 9:17PM
Fair enough Prince Kael'thas, but why don't you give Blizzard a little more credit than that and wait a couple more months for them to reveal more of the game and more of the dungeons. What get's me about all of the fans the hardcore ones is that they get all up in arms about TWO zones when they have yet to see the rest of the game. Also you're making too much of a big deal about the green in that ONE dungeon.
Just think about the upcoming expansion for WoW, it's a huge difference from what Outlands looks like with all the floating islands and crazy looking pink and purple magic swirls in the sky. Wrath of the Lichking looks and feels a lot darker, the more gothic architecture is a much better fit for the WoW universe. That's all Blizz man you gotta trust them, I'm in the Beta at the moment and Wrath is ten times better then what BC currently is when it comes to the look of the game.
If Blizz shows off more of Diablo III and we still have brightly lit dungeons all over the place then I think more people will agree with you and the others complaints, but at this moment it's a little premature to get all up in arms about the 2 different zones that they decided to show off. So be patient and wait and see what else they show off, cause at the moment like I said before all those people that are signing that petition make me "Face Palm" from how pathetic I think they are.
agobelle @ Aug 7th 2008 7:32PM
Maybe the ones who had outcry never made it past Act 1?
Kwipper @ Aug 7th 2008 9:24PM
Okay. I'm sorry, but this is seriously pissing me off and I am going to get quite vulgar. This is going out to all of the people who are bitching and whining about the current art direction in Diablo 3.
People! Stop fucking whining about the current art direction in Diablo 3. Shut your fucking twat mouths up. You're whining over something retarded. I swear to god, you whiners all need to choke to death on some fish-hooks or something. You're whining over the fact that this game has a rainbow or two, or that it doesn't look dark and dreary enough. IT'S FUCKING COLOR! If you don't like a little color in your game, then I suggest you don't play Diablo 3!
You whiners need to shut the fuck up, and die!
If I get banned for this post, I don't fucking care. It needs to be said.
Ghen @ Aug 7th 2008 10:34PM
ur mom
Nietha @ Aug 7th 2008 9:56PM
"the driving for behind" ...