Diablo III Lead Producer Keith Lee responded to criticism toward the Art Direction of Diablo III during a brief interview with MTV Multiplayer during the Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals. Who would have foreseen that in less than a week from the official announcement a Petition Online would have over 23,000 signatures of people who wish to express their disappointment toward how Diablo III artistic direction is being done.
Personally, I liked what I saw -- and I saw that demo right on my face on a HUGE screen at the event with plenty of detail. The outdoors naturally need to look sharp and colorful, while the dungeons have that dark ambience. There is also obviously a change of illumination between 2D and 3D environments.
Keith Lee - One of the things that we considered when we were working on the visuals for Diablo III is the fact that color is your friend. We feel that color actually helps to create a lot of highlights in the game so that there is contrast. A great analogy is like in Lord of the Rings. Not everything is dark. It allows you to see what a creepy dungeon can be like but if everything is dark it doesn't allow you to have a lot of contrast.
He continued: Diablo I and Diablo II are darker, and I think that the one of the main reasons why is the fact that in Diablo I, you're basically in a dungeon the whole time. And in contrast to Diablo III, you'll be exploring outdoors, you'll be in dungeons, you'll be experiencing so many different areas. We want to bring as much variety as we can when you're playing the game so that you're excited to check out new environments. We don't want everything to look the same and that's really what we're trying to aim for.
UPDATE: This quote was from the same day the game was announced, so it doesn't reflect much on the afterward fan response to the game. In short, he did not read the petition at that point. However, for your knowledge, I submitted today the Diablo III Art Design Direction Survey thread to Bashiok (Diablo III Community Manager). Your feedback was confirmed to have been received.
Said thread contains links to three of the online petitions.
Colors just fine for me. The texturing way is the main problem (even if people only notice it in a subconscious way), these painted textures which makes no use of normal mapping or specular highlights is what makes the game resemble WoW. But again, I love the colors.
Colors just fine for me. The texturing way is the main problem (even if people only notice it in a subconscious way), these painted textures which makes no use of normal mapping or specular highlights is what makes the game resemble WoW. But again, I love the colors.
Btw, these diffuse-only textures are only justifiable by technical requirements, but it just doesn't make sense for me in a game to be released one or more years from now.
He continued: Diablo I and Diablo II are darker, and I think that the one of the main reasons why is the fact that in Diablo I, you're basically in a dungeon the whole time.
If you play the game without rushing, you will be spending a lot of the time in the outdoors. Just think about Act II and III.
I do understand the rationale behind this decision--to make some areas look "normal" so they contrast to the really dark ones--but I just don't think it was necessary: we already know what the real world looks like!
have you tried any of those games? how can you say that they aren't fun? I personally have tried starcraft 2 at WWI and it is awesome. Not only does it look beautiful, it keeps the great gameplay of starcraft.
YOu all do know that they can acomplish more with a slightly cartoonish look then a realistic look, they talking about it in an interview. take the barb for example, it's very hard to make a realistic charecter pull a gigantic hammer out of his a$$ and swing it in .2 seconds, while making it look clean and crisp. Try playing Age of Conan,0 the animations are all lame because they have to be realistic. I would totally take a small hit in graphics for a game that allows me to do off the wall stuff such as the hammer of the ancients, it just gives blizzard more freedom to play with.
With Diablo/DiabloII/LOD there is an undeniable feel, graphically, sound,... I mean you can _____-smell and taste it !!! No other multiplayer-RPG reached those heights for its time and its legacy, even to this DAY !!! You would see, if you actually played it.
...and just like great food, you can change the "menu" but don't change those magical "recipes".
If D3 flops becuase of BLIZZARD, it simply proves they forgot (due to their own GREED for the last decade) what made DIABLO great.
With Diablo/DiabloII/LOD there is an undeniable feel, graphically, sound,... I mean you can _____-smell and taste it !!! No other multiplayer-RPG reached those heights for its time and its legacy, even to this DAY !!! You would see, if you actually played it.
...and just like great food, you can change the "menu" but don't change those magical "recipes".
If D3 flops becuase of BLIZZARD, it simply proves they forgot (due to their own GREED for the last decade) what made DIABLO great.
To me, what always made Diablo fun and great was the endless variety, the gung ho style of gameplay, the varied enviroments, and the endless slaughter of mobs.
After watching the gameplay trailer, it appears that all the things that really make Diablo, well, Diablo, are there.
And I personally have never smelt nor tasted the game... thats just sorta wierd.
Colors just fine for me. The texturing way is the main problem (even if people only notice it in a subconscious way), these painted textures which makes no use of normal mapping or specular highlights is what makes the game resemble WoW. But again, I love the colors.
I've been saying the same thing all week. Its not the style its self that's the problem is the lack or normal/bump maps and shaders that has everyone up in arms. Just having painted textures makes it look like WoW a bit simply because this is how all the textures are done in WoW. I love the color, and think this game looks awesome.
Although I agree the new look does not fit with the traditional style that Diablo brought about.
I disagree that the game should be changed from its current state. You all have to remember, this is not the same team of people working on Diablo 3 as who worked on D2. All the original members of the Diablo team have left, and are now part of other companies.
This means we have new people working on the series, which means they are probably slightly afraid to deviate too much from the way Diablo 2 was made.
The safest way they can do this, without affecting the game play is to change the overall look of the game.
Give them some credit, it doesn't look like traditional Diablo. But its still Diablo, and you all know damn well, they could make the entire game engine cell shaded based, and you would all still play it till your fingers rot off.
If anything, they could probably implement a video option that applies the filter that everyone seems to like, making the game look darker if enabled, or look as is if its not enabled.
I for one hope they don't change, I'd like to see the new team try to do something new with Diablo. They are resurrecting a dead animal. They have to do something to it so it doesn't look dead and rotten.
here we go again, there's STILL some people complaining about artistic direction in a 20 minute video
diablo is like a 7+ hour game if you play every single quest and such
compare that to a 20 minute video and all of a sudden, some of you feel the need to sign some stupid petition really thinking that a company that has sold top of the line games does not know what it's doing
really unbelievable people..acting like children; stop jumping to conclusions
Just wanted to get a feeling for what other Diablo fans are saying about Diablo 3... and it is DEFINETLEY mixed.
Personally I think 3 is an improvement over its predecessors. In my opinion 1 and 2 seemed unfinished and almost too dark and dismal. The brighter areas of the game will add an interesting contrast that we haven't seen before.
I came across another survey... this one to show our appreciation to Diablo 3 developers. Sign it if you want.
The petition is not stupid... all you anti-petition guys are all the same, you come here with no real arguments and manipulate all we have fought for. If you are one of the guys that wants a new game go play somethingelse, i want some form of Diablo, not World of Diablo! or Diablocraft...(and there i go reapeating miself just so people hear me^_^)
And i saw all the Videos with the Blizz producers that work on Diablo 3 and they didn't really seem to know what they were talking about... that's my opinion
JUST VOTE THE PETITION! DIABLO NEED YOU!
wow, this was the worst argument you could pull off against me
i dont have any real arguments? TWENTY MINUTES, count that, TWENTY MINUTES of a video and that could be the lightest part of the game ever and you can honestly say that you're not proud of the artistic direction they decided to take
YOU petition people have no real arguments to post against what the makers of diablo see, they KNOW what they're doing, they foreshadow'd the idea knowing that some people will be against the new direction
not all of us wants it to be dark throughout the whole game, where's the fun in that?
the point of showing light vs dark contrast in the game is to show you that the mood won't always be dark like in the past games, don't base a broken opinion on a 20 min gameplay video; when they release another in a different scenario, THEN you may have a proper argument and petition
wow, this was the worst argument you could pull off against me
i dont have any real arguments? TWENTY MINUTES, count that, TWENTY MINUTES of a video and that could be the lightest part of the game ever and you can honestly say that you're not proud of the artistic direction they decided to take
YOU petition people have no real arguments to post against what the makers of diablo see, they KNOW what they're doing, they foreshadow'd the idea knowing that some people will be against the new direction
not all of us wants it to be dark throughout the whole game, where's the fun in that?
the point of showing light vs dark contrast in the game is to show you that the mood won't always be dark like in the past games, don't base a broken opinion on a 20 min gameplay video; when they release another in a different scenario, THEN you may have a proper argument and petition
Your argument is based on speculation. YOU ONLY SAW ONE PART OF THE GAME!! ZOMG THE REST IS PROBABLY DARKER!!! OMG YOU IDIOTS!! DONT COMPLAIN CUZ THE REST MIGHT POSSIBLY HOPEFULLY BE DARK!
By dark/gothic, people are not referring to the LIGHTING in the game. They are referring to the ART DESIGN.
Maybe if you spent half as much time reading and comprehending than posting ignorant shit, you might actually be able to make some sort of defense for your weak argument.
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Personally, I liked what I saw -- and I saw that demo right on my face on a HUGE screen at the event with plenty of detail. The outdoors naturally need to look sharp and colorful, while the dungeons have that dark ambience. There is also obviously a change of illumination between 2D and 3D environments.
UPDATE: This quote was from the same day the game was announced, so it doesn't reflect much on the afterward fan response to the game. In short, he did not read the petition at that point. However, for your knowledge, I submitted today the Diablo III Art Design Direction Survey thread to Bashiok (Diablo III Community Manager). Your feedback was confirmed to have been received.
Said thread contains links to three of the online petitions.
http://www.blizzplanet.com
Btw, these diffuse-only textures are only justifiable by technical requirements, but it just doesn't make sense for me in a game to be released one or more years from now.
I do understand the rationale behind this decision--to make some areas look "normal" so they contrast to the really dark ones--but I just don't think it was necessary: we already know what the real world looks like!
Ordo et Progressus
Theyre dissapointing. diablo 3 and sc2.
We care more about high resolution, details, object sharpness, environmental atmosphere and realism.
We care less about how colorful, vivid, cartoony, WoWish, advanced or eye candy the graphics are.
If you will sacrifice virtual details, high resolution for the sake of WoWish graphics then you will fail.
What's the Big Deal of D3?: http://www.diablofans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9462
No Must/1Pt. Wonder/Useless Skills in D3: http://www.diablofans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11299
Heavens in Dark Style?:http://www.diablofans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11312
Item Finding Mechanism should change:http://www.diablofans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10736
"I DIDNT SAY THEY'RE NOT FUN"
Simple eh?
With Diablo/DiabloII/LOD there is an undeniable feel, graphically, sound,... I mean you can _____-smell and taste it !!! No other multiplayer-RPG reached those heights for its time and its legacy, even to this DAY !!! You would see, if you actually played it.
...and just like great food, you can change the "menu" but don't change those magical "recipes".
If D3 flops becuase of BLIZZARD, it simply proves they forgot (due to their own GREED for the last decade) what made DIABLO great.
To me, what always made Diablo fun and great was the endless variety, the gung ho style of gameplay, the varied enviroments, and the endless slaughter of mobs.
After watching the gameplay trailer, it appears that all the things that really make Diablo, well, Diablo, are there.
And I personally have never smelt nor tasted the game... thats just sorta wierd.
I've been saying the same thing all week. Its not the style its self that's the problem is the lack or normal/bump maps and shaders that has everyone up in arms. Just having painted textures makes it look like WoW a bit simply because this is how all the textures are done in WoW. I love the color, and think this game looks awesome.
I disagree that the game should be changed from its current state. You all have to remember, this is not the same team of people working on Diablo 3 as who worked on D2. All the original members of the Diablo team have left, and are now part of other companies.
This means we have new people working on the series, which means they are probably slightly afraid to deviate too much from the way Diablo 2 was made.
The safest way they can do this, without affecting the game play is to change the overall look of the game.
Give them some credit, it doesn't look like traditional Diablo. But its still Diablo, and you all know damn well, they could make the entire game engine cell shaded based, and you would all still play it till your fingers rot off.
If anything, they could probably implement a video option that applies the filter that everyone seems to like, making the game look darker if enabled, or look as is if its not enabled.
I for one hope they don't change, I'd like to see the new team try to do something new with Diablo. They are resurrecting a dead animal. They have to do something to it so it doesn't look dead and rotten.
diablo is like a 7+ hour game if you play every single quest and such
compare that to a 20 minute video and all of a sudden, some of you feel the need to sign some stupid petition really thinking that a company that has sold top of the line games does not know what it's doing
really unbelievable people..acting like children; stop jumping to conclusions
Just wanted to get a feeling for what other Diablo fans are saying about Diablo 3... and it is DEFINETLEY mixed.
Personally I think 3 is an improvement over its predecessors. In my opinion 1 and 2 seemed unfinished and almost too dark and dismal. The brighter areas of the game will add an interesting contrast that we haven't seen before.
I came across another survey... this one to show our appreciation to Diablo 3 developers. Sign it if you want.
http://www.thenextbench.com/hpg/blog/article?message.uid=4883
wow, this was the worst argument you could pull off against me
i dont have any real arguments? TWENTY MINUTES, count that, TWENTY MINUTES of a video and that could be the lightest part of the game ever and you can honestly say that you're not proud of the artistic direction they decided to take
YOU petition people have no real arguments to post against what the makers of diablo see, they KNOW what they're doing, they foreshadow'd the idea knowing that some people will be against the new direction
not all of us wants it to be dark throughout the whole game, where's the fun in that?
the point of showing light vs dark contrast in the game is to show you that the mood won't always be dark like in the past games, don't base a broken opinion on a 20 min gameplay video; when they release another in a different scenario, THEN you may have a proper argument and petition
I think you're a dolt.
Your argument is based on speculation. YOU ONLY SAW ONE PART OF THE GAME!! ZOMG THE REST IS PROBABLY DARKER!!! OMG YOU IDIOTS!! DONT COMPLAIN CUZ THE REST MIGHT POSSIBLY HOPEFULLY BE DARK!
By dark/gothic, people are not referring to the LIGHTING in the game. They are referring to the ART DESIGN.
Maybe if you spent half as much time reading and comprehending than posting ignorant shit, you might actually be able to make some sort of defense for your weak argument.