The two aren't mutually exclusive. That said, I'm not a super-competitive gamer - that's one of the reasons why I'm looking forward to Diablo 3. Unlike StarCraft 2, you don't get better by improving your skill per se, your character gets stronger just by playing more.
I'm quite into lore, though. I'm one of those gamers who, when playing a game like Deus Ex, has to pick up every audio log, and read every data pad that's lying around - a completionist, if you will.
There is apparently a good deal more class-specific NPC dialogue in D3 than D2, so here's hoping I find myself needing to listen to lots of new dialogue on subsequent runthroughs :). It's touches like that which really bring the world to life and bring a level of immersion which A-RPGs normally lack.
Lore and story have always played a very little role in the game in previous games, at least in my opinion, i see no reason to have much lore in a game such as this anyway.
I do appreciate that they have added more dialog etc... but they come in small portions because Diablo is about the action and items
Would have been cool if books dropped from shelves ingame that you could read when ever you wanted that gave some background info about the Diablo universe and the different monsters/characters (maybe that is in already, if so I'm sorry).
I agree entirely z00t. This is why I have recently taken the time to delve into the lore that abounds about Diablo. I just wrote a post about "The Book of Cain" which, I feel, is a great read for anyone wishing to add that touch of lore to an already bloodied Diablo fans axe.
But yeah, that's another one of the reasons why I'm looking forward to D3 - prior to D3, the lore was all over the place, you had lots of different writers. I really like that with D3, they've had a long, hard look at the lore and decided what should be canon, creating a new, definitive lore for the Diablo universe, including that whole creation myth.
I don't doubt that the lore will be pretty thick in D3, but the question is whether or not it's rich ENOUGH to be sustained in the long term. I'd be a sad panda if Blizzard did something like SC2 further down the line where there are practically near-retcons in order to accommodate new lore.
But yeah, that's another one of the reasons why I'm looking forward to D3 - prior to D3, the lore was all over the place, you had lots of different writers. I really like that with D3, they've had a long, hard look at the lore and decided what should be canon, creating a new, definitive lore for the Diablo universe, including that whole creation myth.
I don't doubt that the lore will be pretty thick in D3, but the question is whether or not it's rich ENOUGH to be sustained in the long term. I'd be a sad panda if Blizzard did something like SC2 further down the line where there are practically near-retcons in order to accommodate new lore.
The whole creation myth is quite elegantly dealt with in TBoC. Reminds me a touch of the Silmarillion. I have not read to far into the book but, it has already given me a clarity about the Diablo universe which is far greater than many RPG's have played.
I play for fun!
Fun is action and lore, is the thrill of item finding, is beating the game.
Learning mechanics, plan and try out different builds is also part of the fun as well as appreciating the art concepts, animations and details.
I don't expect to be the best since I'll principaly do PvE.
I play a lot more for the Diablo setting in general than the lore itself, I don't really care what happen in the world of Diablo, but I care about its world as a whole (artistically and technically speaking). Don't get me wrong I like the story but I'm not very exited to know what it has in store.
But in the end the action and the mechanics are what really defines Diablo in my opinion, so If I had to chose I'll got with "Action".
I find myself drawn to the gameplay of Diablo more than the lore. However, I do like spending time reading backgrounds of characters and locations when I'm not playing and at work etc. The lore is very interesting, but it isn't what I log on for long after beating the game.
Heck, I've ignored as much news/forum posts on the story just so I can be suprised for when I finally play it. Don't get me wrong, Blizzard just has this way of making a dungeon crawler fun that no other company has hooked me on yet. But by far, definitely the lore.
For both. One of the reason I loved both D1 and D2 was because of how good the story was. The gameplay was addictive but I wanted to keep going forward to find out what happens next. Without a good story, the game just becomes a click/grind fest, imo.
100% both, on equal measure. The action is awesome, but it's the background plot that helps keep me moving forward and prevents me from getting tired of it.
I'd say I mostly play for the action of the game. I don't know much about the lore but it does seem interesting. The game itself is what made it though. All of the Diablo games will stand the test of time because they are all so amazing and I cannot wait to finally play the next chapter of the game.
Lore on the first playthrough. That's why I won't play with other people at first. I want to read all the books and talk to all the people and don't want to be racing toward the end of every level, ignorig everything. After that I'll just skip everything I already know.
I freaking LOVE Lore of any game i play. I have looked up countless stories of games. BUT even if i love the lore i still love the action of the games so i think im half and half. after i beat the game and see the continuation of the story i'll be playing for the action
I play for a little of both.
I love the stories behind Blizzard games and have always been in love with the Diablo story. The "hack and slash" gameplay is also a nice difference from the other games I play so i like that too.
Well the lore is what is gonna be interesting at first. Im pretty sure many of us are keen to know what happened after the worldstone keep was destroyed. So i guess the first normal difficulty playthrough will answer most questions abt the lore. As for the reccuring playthroughs like Nightmare, Hell and Inferno it is certainly for the action as well as PVP and making your characters awesome. Or at least i want to make my character awesome and kickass in PVP
i play for the Action, second is the exitment of finding items and stuch.
but lore is somthing that is more intressting the first "week" of the game, and then i kinda have heard it all a few times so lore gets irrelevant after a few times. but i do always love the feel of progression when advancing thrue the acts.
thats why i always played D2 from act 1 normal to act 5 hell the normal way then getting boosted. as i loved the game itself and didnt want it to be a "jobb" (new char? ok, boost a1n -> a5h, baal run. ok im 85-90 now, lets gear up. ok done. play few days.... new char?)
I'm quite into lore, though. I'm one of those gamers who, when playing a game like Deus Ex, has to pick up every audio log, and read every data pad that's lying around - a completionist, if you will.
There is apparently a good deal more class-specific NPC dialogue in D3 than D2, so here's hoping I find myself needing to listen to lots of new dialogue on subsequent runthroughs :). It's touches like that which really bring the world to life and bring a level of immersion which A-RPGs normally lack.
A QUADRILLION MAGIC FIND is worthless if you can't kill shit!
I do appreciate that they have added more dialog etc... but they come in small portions because Diablo is about the action and items
Would have been cool if books dropped from shelves ingame that you could read when ever you wanted that gave some background info about the Diablo universe and the different monsters/characters (maybe that is in already, if so I'm sorry).
That's a little harsh :P.
But yeah, that's another one of the reasons why I'm looking forward to D3 - prior to D3, the lore was all over the place, you had lots of different writers. I really like that with D3, they've had a long, hard look at the lore and decided what should be canon, creating a new, definitive lore for the Diablo universe, including that whole creation myth.
I don't doubt that the lore will be pretty thick in D3, but the question is whether or not it's rich ENOUGH to be sustained in the long term. I'd be a sad panda if Blizzard did something like SC2 further down the line where there are practically near-retcons in order to accommodate new lore.
The whole creation myth is quite elegantly dealt with in TBoC. Reminds me a touch of the Silmarillion. I have not read to far into the book but, it has already given me a clarity about the Diablo universe which is far greater than many RPG's have played.
Fun is action and lore, is the thrill of item finding, is beating the game.
Learning mechanics, plan and try out different builds is also part of the fun as well as appreciating the art concepts, animations and details.
I play a lot more for the Diablo setting in general than the lore itself, I don't really care what happen in the world of Diablo, but I care about its world as a whole (artistically and technically speaking). Don't get me wrong I like the story but I'm not very exited to know what it has in store.
But in the end the action and the mechanics are what really defines Diablo in my opinion, so If I had to chose I'll got with "Action".
I love the stories behind Blizzard games and have always been in love with the Diablo story. The "hack and slash" gameplay is also a nice difference from the other games I play so i like that too.
but lore is somthing that is more intressting the first "week" of the game, and then i kinda have heard it all a few times so lore gets irrelevant after a few times. but i do always love the feel of progression when advancing thrue the acts.
thats why i always played D2 from act 1 normal to act 5 hell the normal way then getting boosted. as i loved the game itself and didnt want it to be a "jobb" (new char? ok, boost a1n -> a5h, baal run. ok im 85-90 now, lets gear up. ok done. play few days.... new char?)