Before I get into my tentative excitement after watching the Diablo 4 gameplay trailer, I’ll pose a question:
What words and phrases define the essence of Diablo for you? Here are some I’d use:
Dark
Gritty
Baroque
Despair
Gothic
Hopelessness
Earthy tones
Non-gratuitous use of magic
ACTUAL USE OF WEAPON YOU’RE CARRYING (helloooo??!!!!)
I’ll confess up front that to me, these features are so intrinsically tied to the Diablo experience that I almost instantly gave up on Diablo 3.
Diablo 3 has always been an over-the-top explosion of cartoony colour. Others have made apt descriptions of battle scenes being akin to care bears having an orgy in a field of rainbows.
This aspect was never fixed in Diablo 3; and by itself was reason enough that I never ended up enjoying the game, even after its purported ‘fixes’ that led to it becoming a success.
Now, after all these years, I’ve seen the gameplay trailer for Diablo 4; and I must say... I was pleasantly surprised. There’s promise here.
The art direction immediately struck me as darker, grittier; and with more earthy tones. There’s that key sense of despair that drew me to Diablo 1 all those many years ago.
In terms of fight mechanics, it looks like the characters’ weapons are MORE THAN JUST A PROP AND ACTUALLY GET USED?! Huge win.
Of course, I wasn’t going to get it all... the fight mechanics still seem a bit over-the-top and gratuitous. I don’t want to destroy all enemies in my vicinity in a blurry whirl-wind of super-heroism. I want to feel like the character has to work a bit to make a kill; like the odds are stacked against him. I want to see his sword cutting into the foe’s flesh; and for magic to have to be used sparingly.
I sincerely hope Blizzard works on this; but if all we end up getting is the grittier, more gothic art direction, that’ll probably be enough to get me back into Diablo.
I’ll leave it there for now. What are your thoughts? Can you relate?
Before I get into my tentative excitement after watching the Diablo 4 gameplay trailer, I’ll pose a question:
What words and phrases define the essence of Diablo for you? Here are some I’d use:
Dark
Gritty
Baroque
Despair
Gothic
Hopelessness
Earthy tones
Non-gratuitous use of magic
ACTUAL USE OF WEAPON YOU’RE CARRYING (helloooo??!!!!)
I’ll confess up front that to me, these features are so intrinsically tied to the Diablo experience that I almost instantly gave up on Diablo 3.
Diablo 3 has always been an over-the-top explosion of cartoony colour. Others have made apt descriptions of battle scenes being akin to care bears having an orgy in a field of rainbows.
This aspect was never fixed in Diablo 3; and by itself was reason enough that I never ended up enjoying the game, even after its purported ‘fixes’ that led to it becoming a success.
Now, after all these years, I’ve seen the gameplay trailer for Diablo 4; and I must say... I was pleasantly surprised. There’s promise here.
The art direction immediately struck me as darker, grittier; and with more earthy tones. There’s that key sense of despair that drew me to Diablo 1 all those many years ago.
In terms of fight mechanics, it looks like the characters’ weapons are MORE THAN JUST A PROP AND ACTUALLY GET USED?! Huge win.
Of course, I wasn’t going to get it all... the fight mechanics still seem a bit over-the-top and gratuitous. I don’t want to destroy all enemies in my vicinity in a blurry whirl-wind of super-heroism. I want to feel like the character has to work a bit to make a kill; like the odds are stacked against him. I want to see his sword cutting into the foe’s flesh; and for magic to have to be used sparingly.
I sincerely hope Blizzard works on this; but if all we end up getting is the grittier, more gothic art direction, that’ll probably be enough to get me back into Diablo.
I’ll leave it there for now. What are your thoughts? Can you relate?
“Others have made apt descriptions of battle scenes being akin to care bears having an orgy in a field of rainbows“
>Very accurate description. I hated how diablo 3 felt and how cartoonish it was. The spells all felt over the top and like from some PlayStation game
”I don’t want to destroy all enemies in my vicinity in a blurry whirlwind of super heroism”.
>I don’t get this comment though. You don’t? That’s one of my favorite parts of diablo. You may start out as weak and slowly become more powerful with better spells/abilities and gear. But the majority of the time after the beginning I want to be destroying large swaths of enemies in different destructive and creative ways with each class.
Thanks for your feedback. I hear you that destroying multiple enemies (exponentially more as you advance and become more powerful) is fun. I guess my point is more that this shouldn’t be too gratuitous. You shouldn’t be able to use too many powers too often such that the game is just a constant blurry whirl-wind or destructive skills / magic damage. High impact damage should be hard to use, so you’re forced to reserve it for when shit hits the fan and you really need it.
Thanks for your feedback. I hear you that destroying multiple enemies (exponentially more as you advance and become more powerful) is fun. I guess my point is more that this shouldn’t be too gratuitous. You shouldn’t be able to use too many powers too often such that the game is just a constant blurry whirl-wind or destructive skills / magic damage. High impact damage should be hard to use, so you’re forced to reserve it for when shit hits the fan and you really need it.
Ah ok, so you’re saying you don’t want mass AOE spells and abilities to be spammable early on? Or ever? They should all have CDs?
Edit: Actual use of weapons is indeed a given in games, D3 ignored that almost completely. I don't know if D4 needs praise for something such basic and regular.
Edit: Actual use of weapons is indeed a given in games, D3 ignored that almost completely. I don't know if D4 needs praise for something such basic and regular.
Because of the ‘Open World’ feature? Nah. The gameplay of diablo, is unchanged. I thought the same thing when i first heard about the Open World feature, that it came from Warcraft. But now I don’t see just the addition of an Open World some of us can share making the game “WoWified”. It’s still an ARPG and plays like one. The Open World feature will hopefully just make the game more community based which will give it more longevity. You can still do all the dungeons and storyline quests by yourself, you don’t need other players.
Just by design. I call Diablo franschise as a Gothic Demonic Adventure. It is still an ARPG.
DIablo 3 was also a ARPG, but I called it a WOWified one, meaning rainbows and over the top skills and gear. It filled its purpose ofc. But I am not a WOW player more than 3 hours, so I can't really say much about open world or such being MMO or WoW. I dont like that kind of genre obviously, but if they can take something and translate it into Diablo I am all for it.
DIablo IV, seems like a normal Gothic Demonic Adventure still. Adventure can be everything from going to livingroom to livingroom, no need for open world for me to think that hehe.
Unless I didnt really understand and I have commented in vein
Just by design. I call Diablo franschise as a Gothic Demonic Adventure. It is still an ARPG.
DIablo 3 was also a ARPG, but I called it a WOWified one, meaning rainbows and over the top skills and gear. It filled its purpose ofc. But I am not a WOW player more than 3 hours, so I can't really say much about open world or such being MMO or WoW. I dont like that kind of genre obviously, but if they can take something and translate it into Diablo I am all for it.
DIablo IV, seems like a normal Gothic Demonic Adventure still. Adventure can be everything from going to livingroom to livingroom, no need for open world for me to think that hehe.
Unless I didnt really understand and I have commented in vein
I’m confused. You think D3 was WoWified because of the graphics? And somehow D4 is also WoWified even though the graphics are much darker and more gothic? I would think the gameplay itself mattered more towards a game feeling like WoW or not.
I’m confused. You think D3 was WoWified because of the graphics? And somehow D4 is also WoWified even though the graphics are much darker and more gothic? I would think the gameplay itself mattered more towards a game feeling like WoW or not.
D3 graphics looked too much a kin to WOW, cartoony.
D4 looks like Diablo 1 and Diablo 2, how it should be, Gothic.
Game Style: Gothic Demonic Adventure.
Some say ARPG. I can call it ARPG too.
D3 I couldn't call Gothic Demonic Adventure, just ARPG or a WOW cartoony ARPG.
Before I get into my tentative excitement after watching the Diablo 4 gameplay trailer, I’ll pose a question:
What words and phrases define the essence of Diablo for you? Here are some I’d use:
Dark
Gritty
Baroque
Despair
Gothic
Hopelessness
Earthy tones
Non-gratuitous use of magic
ACTUAL USE OF WEAPON YOU’RE CARRYING (helloooo??!!!!)
I’ll confess up front that to me, these features are so intrinsically tied to the Diablo experience that I almost instantly gave up on Diablo 3.
Diablo 3 has always been an over-the-top explosion of cartoony colour. Others have made apt descriptions of battle scenes being akin to care bears having an orgy in a field of rainbows.
This aspect was never fixed in Diablo 3; and by itself was reason enough that I never ended up enjoying the game, even after its purported ‘fixes’ that led to it becoming a success.
Now, after all these years, I’ve seen the gameplay trailer for Diablo 4; and I must say... I was pleasantly surprised. There’s promise here.
The art direction immediately struck me as darker, grittier; and with more earthy tones. There’s that key sense of despair that drew me to Diablo 1 all those many years ago.
In terms of fight mechanics, it looks like the characters’ weapons are MORE THAN JUST A PROP AND ACTUALLY GET USED?! Huge win.
Of course, I wasn’t going to get it all... the fight mechanics still seem a bit over-the-top and gratuitous. I don’t want to destroy all enemies in my vicinity in a blurry whirl-wind of super-heroism. I want to feel like the character has to work a bit to make a kill; like the odds are stacked against him. I want to see his sword cutting into the foe’s flesh; and for magic to have to be used sparingly.
I sincerely hope Blizzard works on this; but if all we end up getting is the grittier, more gothic art direction, that’ll probably be enough to get me back into Diablo.
I’ll leave it there for now. What are your thoughts? Can you relate?
“Others have made apt descriptions of battle scenes being akin to care bears having an orgy in a field of rainbows“
>Very accurate description. I hated how diablo 3 felt and how cartoonish it was. The spells all felt over the top and like from some PlayStation game
”I don’t want to destroy all enemies in my vicinity in a blurry whirlwind of super heroism”.
>I don’t get this comment though. You don’t? That’s one of my favorite parts of diablo. You may start out as weak and slowly become more powerful with better spells/abilities and gear. But the majority of the time after the beginning I want to be destroying large swaths of enemies in different destructive and creative ways with each class.
Thanks for your feedback. I hear you that destroying multiple enemies (exponentially more as you advance and become more powerful) is fun. I guess my point is more that this shouldn’t be too gratuitous. You shouldn’t be able to use too many powers too often such that the game is just a constant blurry whirl-wind or destructive skills / magic damage. High impact damage should be hard to use, so you’re forced to reserve it for when shit hits the fan and you really need it.
Ah ok, so you’re saying you don’t want mass AOE spells and abilities to be spammable early on? Or ever? They should all have CDs?
Gothic demonic adventure. That's about it.
Diablo 3 is a game I called WoWified ARPG.
Edit: Actual use of weapons is indeed a given in games, D3 ignored that almost completely. I don't know if D4 needs praise for something such basic and regular.
:: Enkeria [Twitter / Twitch / Website / Tattoos]
Because of the ‘Open World’ feature? Nah. The gameplay of diablo, is unchanged. I thought the same thing when i first heard about the Open World feature, that it came from Warcraft. But now I don’t see just the addition of an Open World some of us can share making the game “WoWified”. It’s still an ARPG and plays like one. The Open World feature will hopefully just make the game more community based which will give it more longevity. You can still do all the dungeons and storyline quests by yourself, you don’t need other players.
Nothing about the Open World.
Just by design. I call Diablo franschise as a Gothic Demonic Adventure. It is still an ARPG.
DIablo 3 was also a ARPG, but I called it a WOWified one, meaning rainbows and over the top skills and gear. It filled its purpose ofc. But I am not a WOW player more than 3 hours, so I can't really say much about open world or such being MMO or WoW. I dont like that kind of genre obviously, but if they can take something and translate it into Diablo I am all for it.
DIablo IV, seems like a normal Gothic Demonic Adventure still. Adventure can be everything from going to livingroom to livingroom, no need for open world for me to think that hehe.
Unless I didnt really understand and I have commented in vein
:: Enkeria [Twitter / Twitch / Website / Tattoos]
I’m confused. You think D3 was WoWified because of the graphics? And somehow D4 is also WoWified even though the graphics are much darker and more gothic? I would think the gameplay itself mattered more towards a game feeling like WoW or not.
D3 graphics looked too much a kin to WOW, cartoony.
D4 looks like Diablo 1 and Diablo 2, how it should be, Gothic.
Game Style: Gothic Demonic Adventure.
Some say ARPG. I can call it ARPG too.
D3 I couldn't call Gothic Demonic Adventure, just ARPG or a WOW cartoony ARPG.
:: Enkeria [Twitter / Twitch / Website / Tattoos]