Diablo 3 screens remind you of your Diablo-less Christmas
by Griffin McElroy 
on Dec 22nd 2010 3:00PM
41
Reader Comments (44)
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 3:10PM DeadRabbits said
I didn't know who or what a "Blizzard" was until World of Warcraft (sober 3 years) and since then, I've started to wonder WHY IN THE WORLD their development cycles are so long. I mean flush with MMO cash you would think they would want to pump this thing out in time for the holidays.
As long as they are taking polishing (finishing?) this game up, it "hopefully" is the most amazing dungeon crawler in the history of the universe. If it's not I just don't see anyone taking this company seriously anymore.
As long as they are taking polishing (finishing?) this game up, it "hopefully" is the most amazing dungeon crawler in the history of the universe. If it's not I just don't see anyone taking this company seriously anymore.
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 3:27PM blueskyv201 said
@DeadRabbits
Blizzard is not afraid to scrap huge parts of the game and start over in order to deliver the best experience.
If you followed the D3 development process, you see that they went through at least a dozen of UI iterations, changing and tweaking every element, every color, every damn pixel.
They put a lot of thought into all the decisions they make, more than any other developer I know. Just listen to them talk at Blizzcon - those guys really know what they're doing.
I wait is killing me too but I'm willing to wait cause I know their games are always worth it.
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Blizzard is not afraid to scrap huge parts of the game and start over in order to deliver the best experience.
If you followed the D3 development process, you see that they went through at least a dozen of UI iterations, changing and tweaking every element, every color, every damn pixel.
They put a lot of thought into all the decisions they make, more than any other developer I know. Just listen to them talk at Blizzcon - those guys really know what they're doing.
I wait is killing me too but I'm willing to wait cause I know their games are always worth it.
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 4:23PM RageOverdose said
@DeadRabbits
Hi.
In your comment, you say you would wonder why anyone would take this company seriously anymore if they didn't adhere to an entirely subjective accomplishment.
Blizzard games are great games, they spend a lot of time before they are released and after they are released to ensure that the people who want to play their games are satisfied and are given lasting experiences.
No they aren't perfect of course, they don't cater to everyone's personal preference.
I'm glad to know, however, how I should think about this game based upon your opinion. I thank you for that.
Reply
Hi.
In your comment, you say you would wonder why anyone would take this company seriously anymore if they didn't adhere to an entirely subjective accomplishment.
Blizzard games are great games, they spend a lot of time before they are released and after they are released to ensure that the people who want to play their games are satisfied and are given lasting experiences.
No they aren't perfect of course, they don't cater to everyone's personal preference.
I'm glad to know, however, how I should think about this game based upon your opinion. I thank you for that.
Posted: Dec 23rd 2010 2:11AM Invigilator said
@DeadRabbits
Yeah, why would anyone take Blizzard seriously? It's not as if they control the PC gaming market at all.
And before you say "what about Valve" keep in mind that Valve makes Blizzard look fast. What was that about a sequel to Half-Life 2? I think Valve is just a company that makes comics and hats for TF2 now.
Oh, and judging by sales figures, Blizzard is pretty much the only company that can make a PC exclusive sell well. For a reason.
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Yeah, why would anyone take Blizzard seriously? It's not as if they control the PC gaming market at all.
And before you say "what about Valve" keep in mind that Valve makes Blizzard look fast. What was that about a sequel to Half-Life 2? I think Valve is just a company that makes comics and hats for TF2 now.
Oh, and judging by sales figures, Blizzard is pretty much the only company that can make a PC exclusive sell well. For a reason.
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 3:12PM Mrguy you know that guy said
My friend owes me five bucks. I told him Duke Nukem Forever would be out before Diablo III.
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 3:14PM Toop said
I want this game so badly. Why are they doing this to me. Why?
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 3:18PM Ezio Auditore da Firenze said
I can't wait until 2014 to play this!
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 3:29PM Mrguy you know that guy said
@Ezio Auditore da Firenze
Don't you know, we'll all dead, thanks to descendant, of course.
Reply
Don't you know, we'll all dead, thanks to descendant, of course.
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 3:39PM Mrguy you know that guy said
@Ventus
Aren't you from 10 years ago?
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Aren't you from 10 years ago?
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 3:23PM Wizardsofwaverly said
I just got a half wood just by excitement
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 3:58PM Artemis Entreri said
Dang it :( I guess I will stick with the $5 worth of awesomeness that is Torchlight for now.
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 5:37PM DeadInside said
@Artemis Entreri
D3 is gonna make torchlight look like hello kitty island adventure.
Yes it is my fav Blizz franchise.
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D3 is gonna make torchlight look like hello kitty island adventure.
Yes it is my fav Blizz franchise.
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 5:27PM DeadRabbits said
Bury me if you wish, but honestly, there are better games (presumably; I haven't played D3) that come out in half the time. If you are willing to argue against the point that Blizzard is trying to live up to it's hype, and that isn't the one and only sole reason these games aren't being released in reasonable time frames, well then I'll concede to you.
However you'd be wrong, so don't even try.
I mean sure, they make great games, *debatable* but I don't see what I'm going to get out of D3 that I won't be able to get out of Torchlight 2, or Dungeon Siege 3, (even to a lesser degree) and I'll be able to get what I want out of it, much much sooner.
I mean I guess the storyline is important in Diablo.
Just from what I've been reading, it seems like they put cool stuff in, and then take it out because they fear it will be too complex, or spend inordinate amounts of time polishing and developing things nobody really wanted anyway.
I dunno, I just think this game is going to be a huge let down, because people are thinking "OMG with a development this long, this game is going to be awesome" and it's going to end up being like SC2 where everyone is like "Ummm, 20 billion years to develop this game, and we don't have chat channels?"
Who knows.
However you'd be wrong, so don't even try.
I mean sure, they make great games, *debatable* but I don't see what I'm going to get out of D3 that I won't be able to get out of Torchlight 2, or Dungeon Siege 3, (even to a lesser degree) and I'll be able to get what I want out of it, much much sooner.
I mean I guess the storyline is important in Diablo.
Just from what I've been reading, it seems like they put cool stuff in, and then take it out because they fear it will be too complex, or spend inordinate amounts of time polishing and developing things nobody really wanted anyway.
I dunno, I just think this game is going to be a huge let down, because people are thinking "OMG with a development this long, this game is going to be awesome" and it's going to end up being like SC2 where everyone is like "Ummm, 20 billion years to develop this game, and we don't have chat channels?"
Who knows.
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 7:35PM Drakkenfyre said
How many people do you see 15 years from now going "Oh man, Torchlight 1 was so great!". The fact that it didn't have multiplayer turned me off immediately.
Meanwhile, people are still praising the original Diablo, almost 15 years later. And they are still playing Diablo 2 in massive droves.
With the success of the first two, they want to keep the experience similiar, while refreshing it, but not alienating the fans. You might be familiar with the company that puts out a sequel which is completely different than the previous game, and people go "What the !@#$? This isn't what we wanted", That's not Blizzard. So if they work something in that later they feel is too removed from the original experience, they will remove it.
As far as chat channels go in StarCraft 2, we were told back in beta we would get them, just not at launch. And as of next patch, we will get them.
Diablo 3 has been done and redone several times already. They built an almost complete prototype, but the core game play just "wasn't fun", in their opinion, and scrapped it and started over. Where most companies will just make some piece of crap, and release it, Blizzard actually cares about their games. It's like Team Fortress 2, Valve said they built about 12 different versions before they actually settled on the one we have now, that's why it took 12 years to get it.
The games you speak of now will come out, probably be a big hit, and fade away. Diablo will remain as one of the most popular games of all times, and will never become forgotten.
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Meanwhile, people are still praising the original Diablo, almost 15 years later. And they are still playing Diablo 2 in massive droves.
With the success of the first two, they want to keep the experience similiar, while refreshing it, but not alienating the fans. You might be familiar with the company that puts out a sequel which is completely different than the previous game, and people go "What the !@#$? This isn't what we wanted", That's not Blizzard. So if they work something in that later they feel is too removed from the original experience, they will remove it.
As far as chat channels go in StarCraft 2, we were told back in beta we would get them, just not at launch. And as of next patch, we will get them.
Diablo 3 has been done and redone several times already. They built an almost complete prototype, but the core game play just "wasn't fun", in their opinion, and scrapped it and started over. Where most companies will just make some piece of crap, and release it, Blizzard actually cares about their games. It's like Team Fortress 2, Valve said they built about 12 different versions before they actually settled on the one we have now, that's why it took 12 years to get it.
The games you speak of now will come out, probably be a big hit, and fade away. Diablo will remain as one of the most popular games of all times, and will never become forgotten.
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 10:43PM Drakkenfyre said
@Credge
If you don't remember people praising Diablo, you aren't old enuf.
It basically created the Action RPG genre for the pc. People still praise it for that.
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If you don't remember people praising Diablo, you aren't old enuf.
It basically created the Action RPG genre for the pc. People still praise it for that.
Posted: Dec 23rd 2010 2:15AM Invigilator said
@Drakkenfyre
Diablo is something to be played socially. Only the most loot-obsessed would consider an inferior clone like Torchlight to be an acceptable substitute.
That's kind of like claiming Red Alert 3 is an acceptable substitute for Starcraft 2. It just isn't. It's not even close.
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Diablo is something to be played socially. Only the most loot-obsessed would consider an inferior clone like Torchlight to be an acceptable substitute.
That's kind of like claiming Red Alert 3 is an acceptable substitute for Starcraft 2. It just isn't. It's not even close.
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 5:27PM brer said
I really don't understand why Starcraft and Diablo Require so much development time. Yah you say they spend years tweaking every pixel and the games are always fun but seriously it's a top down rts and dungeon crawler. I'm prepared for the deluge of downvotes and I'm honestly not chomping at the bit to get my hands on the game. I just honestly look at these games and they don't look or feel like they would require this length. Just being honest, doesn't make me right.
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 5:58PM InjusticeJoker said
@brer
Same here.
Starcraft II is an OK Game. But for me there is no huge difference between this and Starcraft I.
In the end its all about the hype/ brand, if the same product would be released by an unknown company not even half of the people would care...
Reply
Same here.
Starcraft II is an OK Game. But for me there is no huge difference between this and Starcraft I.
In the end its all about the hype/ brand, if the same product would be released by an unknown company not even half of the people would care...
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 5:27PM Shalabi said
Torchlight > Diablo
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 6:43PM Artemis Entreri said
@Shalabi
Can you be a monk in Torchlight?
Nope.
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Can you be a monk in Torchlight?
Nope.
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 7:35PM Drakkenfyre said
Game built on multiplayer > Game with no multiplayer
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Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 10:48PM Drakkenfyre said
@Mr Esc is the namesarcasm is my
Yes, cheating was rampant in the original Diablo. I had many a share of multiplayer games where some asshole would come in, 1-shotting everything, and being unable to be killed. That's why we got the closed realms of Diablo 2.
Diablo 2 the cheating wasn't so bad at first.
Single player and multiplayer were exactly alike, with the exception of people being able to come in and play with you. For every person in the game, the monsters got tougher, the more exp they gave, and the better items they dropped. You didn't want people playing with you one time? Set the game to private, and put a password on it.
Multiplayer was the draw for me. The fact that Torchlight has zero mutliplayer killed any interest I had in it as soon as I heard that.
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Yes, cheating was rampant in the original Diablo. I had many a share of multiplayer games where some asshole would come in, 1-shotting everything, and being unable to be killed. That's why we got the closed realms of Diablo 2.
Diablo 2 the cheating wasn't so bad at first.
Single player and multiplayer were exactly alike, with the exception of people being able to come in and play with you. For every person in the game, the monsters got tougher, the more exp they gave, and the better items they dropped. You didn't want people playing with you one time? Set the game to private, and put a password on it.
Multiplayer was the draw for me. The fact that Torchlight has zero mutliplayer killed any interest I had in it as soon as I heard that.
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 5:36PM DeadRabbits said
I voted you up Brer, it's an honest point.
You would think that a developer going to painstaking lengths to maximize every detail of their product is a good thing, but I suppose some don't seem to see the downside to this, which can be plainly contrasted in Duke Nukem Forever.
They fretted over EVERY detail, upgraded things if a new engine came out, and ended up perfecting their product into bankruptcy. While Blizzard is in no jeopardy whatsoever as far as bankruptcy is concerned, the point remains, is that too much of a good thing can be bad.
You would think that a developer going to painstaking lengths to maximize every detail of their product is a good thing, but I suppose some don't seem to see the downside to this, which can be plainly contrasted in Duke Nukem Forever.
They fretted over EVERY detail, upgraded things if a new engine came out, and ended up perfecting their product into bankruptcy. While Blizzard is in no jeopardy whatsoever as far as bankruptcy is concerned, the point remains, is that too much of a good thing can be bad.
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 6:04PM brer said
@DeadRabbits
A very honest comment since I used the word three times in one paragraph. Lol.
There is something to be said for polish, most games could use more, but the same thing goes for knowing when something is done. That being said every Blizzard game I play is pretty fun so they must be doing something right
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A very honest comment since I used the word three times in one paragraph. Lol.
There is something to be said for polish, most games could use more, but the same thing goes for knowing when something is done. That being said every Blizzard game I play is pretty fun so they must be doing something right
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 7:39PM Drakkenfyre said
The thing in Duke Nukem Forever was the guy behind Duke Nukem is the one pushing for perfection. He was the one who insisted on putting new things in all the time. He's the one who personally funded the project out of his own back pocket when the publisher's money ran out. The success of the first Duke Nukem 3D provided the money for this. While his employees were happy to finish the game, he was obsessed over being "the best" released, and he wouldn't stop until his game was "perfect" in his eyes, or he ran out of money, We all saw what happened there.
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Posted: Dec 23rd 2010 2:18AM Invigilator said
@DeadRabbits
Oh, Blizzard is in SUCH danger of bankruptcy.
Have you heard? I guess World of Warcraft only makes over a billion dollars a year, which is apparently not nearly enough to cover the server maintenance costs. Cataclysm ONLY sold 3 million copies on the first day of sales, talk about a slow start, eh?
And then there's Activision, the company that Blizzard is part of. I hear that this game they made, called "Black Ops" made a billion dollars faster than any entertainment medium other than Avatar.
But no, I'm sure they're in immediate danger of failing as a company. It's not at all as if you, DeadRabbits, are more hopelessly ignorant in this subject than one imagine to be possible, even on the internet.
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Oh, Blizzard is in SUCH danger of bankruptcy.
Have you heard? I guess World of Warcraft only makes over a billion dollars a year, which is apparently not nearly enough to cover the server maintenance costs. Cataclysm ONLY sold 3 million copies on the first day of sales, talk about a slow start, eh?
And then there's Activision, the company that Blizzard is part of. I hear that this game they made, called "Black Ops" made a billion dollars faster than any entertainment medium other than Avatar.
But no, I'm sure they're in immediate danger of failing as a company. It's not at all as if you, DeadRabbits, are more hopelessly ignorant in this subject than one imagine to be possible, even on the internet.
Posted: Dec 23rd 2010 4:18AM DeadRabbits said
@Invigilator You did read my comment right? I explicitly stated "Blizzard is in no jeopardy whatsoever, as far as bankruptcy is concerned"
I mean really? That's not even something that requires reading behind the lines.
It's ok, I love you anyway, even though you can't read for jack.
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I mean really? That's not even something that requires reading behind the lines.
It's ok, I love you anyway, even though you can't read for jack.
Posted: Dec 23rd 2010 4:24AM DeadRabbits said
@Invigilator
PS: Ughh, you make me pity the younger generation. So quick to jump to conclusions, make very brash and unintelligent comments, and to do so without even a fraction of a basis to do so.
Seriously, re-read my comment, then re-read yours, then be a big boy and say you are sorry for being completely rude and condescending, and I'll be more than happy to absolve you of your childishness.
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PS: Ughh, you make me pity the younger generation. So quick to jump to conclusions, make very brash and unintelligent comments, and to do so without even a fraction of a basis to do so.
Seriously, re-read my comment, then re-read yours, then be a big boy and say you are sorry for being completely rude and condescending, and I'll be more than happy to absolve you of your childishness.
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 6:25PM Fragasm said
Yes, Blizzard takes their sweet time developing games -- they could probably speed it up a little bit. However, when Devs are forced to rush out products and don't take the proper amount of time polishing their games -- we get disasters like COD: Black Ops.
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 7:15PM simblor said
I see myself going through several left mouse buttons when this game comes out.
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 8:33PM Fragasm said
@Mr Esc is the namesarcasm is my
You should read up on the official site a little bit. Crafting, a new health system and dynamic combat are among their new additions. Sure it won't be a completely new direction in terms of the 2 previous games; I actually think they are trying hard to keep it similar to the previous games. It will look better, play better, and be a deeper more challenging experience than the previous games. I can't wait to play this.
You should read up on the official site a little bit. Crafting, a new health system and dynamic combat are among their new additions. Sure it won't be a completely new direction in terms of the 2 previous games; I actually think they are trying hard to keep it similar to the previous games. It will look better, play better, and be a deeper more challenging experience than the previous games. I can't wait to play this.
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 9:03PM DarknessBear said
Don't get me wrong, I CAN'T wait for Diablo 3 - and I think the game is looking amazing. But, every time there are "new images" released. I always have a hard time telling which ones I've seen and haven't. Everything looks the same...
Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 10:32PM Fragasm said
@DarknessBear Not to come off as a fanboy or anything but I'm sure they are keeping as much of the game secret from us in effort to not spoil the game for us. They want to show us teasers and certain aspects of the game, but without ruining too much for us before we get our hands on it.
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Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 10:53PM DarknessBear said
@Fragasm Oh I can understand that. Just that seems like every month Joystiq posts "new Diablo 3 images" and it feels like the same bunch of images every time...
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Posted: Dec 22nd 2010 11:32PM DeadRabbits said
@Fragasm I hope you're right. I love dungeon crawlers, and while I was a little late to the Diablo 2 party, I'm pretty excited for 3. My main point is that (and I'm sure alot of you realize it) that when this game comes out people are going to expect a mind blowing experience in exchange for all this waiting around.
It just walks that dangerous line of leaving gamers with a "we waited that long for this?"
Not to mention there are quite a few games that have come out recently that have distilled the most engaging parts of Diablo down to a pure amalgamation of enjoyability. Diablo 3 runs the risk of feeling like a step backwards. I hope I'm wrong.
Also am I saying something wrong with my other posts? I keep getting downvoted, but I'm just throwing ideas and sentiments out there, all while using semi decent grammar and english. Is it because I'm arguing the unpopular side of this topic?
It just walks that dangerous line of leaving gamers with a "we waited that long for this?"
Not to mention there are quite a few games that have come out recently that have distilled the most engaging parts of Diablo down to a pure amalgamation of enjoyability. Diablo 3 runs the risk of feeling like a step backwards. I hope I'm wrong.
Also am I saying something wrong with my other posts? I keep getting downvoted, but I'm just throwing ideas and sentiments out there, all while using semi decent grammar and english. Is it because I'm arguing the unpopular side of this topic?
Posted: Dec 23rd 2010 4:57AM Fantusta said
No, no one was every "CERTAIN" they'd have Diablo III. Not until I hold it will I even come close to believing that it's coming out. We've all learned our lesson.
