Lord of Destruction's Influence on Diablo III


As with any product, video games take time and money to develop. Sometimes developers have grand ideas on how to make their game shine. Unfortunately, due to financial and time constraints, not all of their dreams can come to fruition. DiabloWiki.com - Diablo II Diablo II is no exception. There were probably dozens of ideas that just never made it off of the drawing board for one reason or another. However, while many of these things may have been cut from the original release, expansions packs offer developers a chance to bring some of these ideas back and even possibly add a few new ideas. With DiabloWiki.com - Lord of Destruction Lord of Destruction (LoD), a fifth Act was added that offered a variety of many new mechanics and design to the game. Many of these ideas helped bring depth and more variety to Diablo.

The aim of this article is to not only highlight some of these changes, but most importantly, make notice of these features' influence on Diablo III. Many of the changes added to Act V of Diablo II can be seen in DiabloWiki.com - Diablo III Diablo III. Having more time and money for this project, they were able to apply many of these changes to the whole game and even develop the ideas even further in many cases.

Starting off, there was some graphical advancement in Diablo II. In Act V, our heroes are taken to DiabloWiki.com - Harrogath Harrogath where they will venture up DiabloWiki.com - Mt. Arreat Mt. Arreat to defeat DiabloWiki.com - Baal Baal. In order to give this environment a look of grandeur and height, backgrounds were greatly improved upon. While standing on the mountain side, you could see villages and other peaks below you (pictured below on the left). This small but important detail helped add depth to the environment compared to the closed of dungeons and walls surrounding the previous areas.


(Click any image to enlarge)
With Diablo III, they have taken this idea and expanded upon it. Dungeon areas have been shown with multiple layers of depth to them. In the backgrounds players can see other floors, doorways, and other miscellaneous objects to help bring life to these concealed areas. Taking the idea even further, in Diablo III monsters will even interact with these backgrounds. Emerging from the depths of the dungeon, we have seen http://diablowiki.com/Ghouls" class="wiki-link">http://media-diablofans.cursecdn.com/attachments/16/736/wiki2.gif" alt="DiabloWiki.com - Ghouls"/> Ghouls crawling up these walls to attack our brave fighters (pictured above on the right). Even the foreground has become fair game for monsters to reside and attack you at their will. It is clear to see just how much depth is actually added by using this concept from Diablo II and taking it even further.

Another subtle feature that was added in LoD was the addition of breakable environments. Diablo II always had the numerous amounts of barrels and urns to break open but none of these were really part of the actual level. They were added into them to give players just one more chance to get some loot. However, in Act V, there were walls, doors, catapults, and towers added that could be destroyed. Not really monsters or random barrels, these objects included an element that helped add a perception of power to your character as you were actually able to break your surroundings with your skills. Sometimes it was even necessary, as a breakable wall would separate you from the other side of your destination.

With Diablo III, a multitude of breakable environments have been added. As seen in the first game play demo, almost every piece of furniture and decor is destructible, reflecting the pure power of your hero. There are also doors that cannot simply be clicked to open. Like the walls that closed off your hero from Diablo II, these doors can only be opened by smashing them into tiny pieces. In addition to destroying this environment, players can now take advantage of their surroundings. Crumbling walls, dangling chandeliers, swing axes, and numerous environmental additions have been made to smack down the monsters you battle against. A simple swing of an axe or blast of arcane power will send the environment crumbling around you and damaging all those in its path.

The next idea that was added to Diablo II through LoD was monsters with multiple stages. Some came in the form of http://diablowiki.com/Demon Imps" class="wiki-link">http://media-diablofans.cursecdn.com/attachments/16/736/wiki2.gif" alt="DiabloWiki.com - Demon Imps"/> Demon Imps jumping up and using either towers or http://diablowiki.com/Siege Beasts" class="wiki-link">http://media-diablofans.cursecdn.com/attachments/16/736/wiki2.gif" alt="DiabloWiki.com - Siege Beasts"/> Siege Beasts to do additional damage. After destroying their leverage, the player would still have to fight the imp itself. There were also the http://diablowiki.com/Putrid Defilers" class="wiki-link">http://media-diablofans.cursecdn.com/attachments/16/736/wiki2.gif" alt="DiabloWiki.com - Putrid Defilers"/> Putrid Defilers that would release parasitic worms into other monsters, adding another stage of fighting before these monsters would fall to the ground. These ideas helped to add more challenges to the fight and more depth to the monsters.


We have seen this influence in Diablo III as well. The first example was seen in the original game play trailer. http://diablowiki.com/Zombies" class="wiki-link">http://media-diablofans.cursecdn.com/attachments/16/736/wiki2.gif" alt="DiabloWiki.com - Zombies"/> Zombies had a chance to have their legs ripped from their torso. However, this is not always enough to kill. Some of them will continue to crawl their way towards you, relentlessly attacking you with the body parts they still have remaining. The DiabloWiki.com - Thousand Pounder Thousand Pounder was also shown with two stages. After taking so much damage, the brute would begin to glow and change his fighting technique. It has also been stated that many bosses would follow this mechanic and have multiple stages, each would bring a change to the battle. With the Hack N' Slash mentality of this game, adding some unique twists to the monsters will help add variety to these numerous foes.

Another influence that made its way into the expansion was the ideas of followers. With the original Diablo II, the only additional aid we would receive from the townsfolk, excluding hirelings, would be DiabloWiki.com - Flavie Flavie, who remained stationary and fired at monsters that strayed too near. The rest of the monster slaying was left up to you while the citizens sat calmly in their cozy towns. With the addition of LoD this would all change. At the beginning of the Act, brave Barbarian citizens of Mt. Arreat would join you in your battle. Covering the battlefield, players would watch as the brutish forces would take down many demons on their own.


Diablo III has adopted this idea of others aiding in the fight against Hell. While venturing into random dungeons, your hero may happen upon other brave fighters. After interacting with these people, they will follow you to their death in your fight. An example of this can be seen, once again, in the first game play video where the archers protecting Cain follow you through the dungeon until they met their ultimate demise. More of the followers have been promised to aid you like the weapon smith we saw in the Demon hunter video. While we do not know if hirelings will make a return, we do know that you will not be fighting the Denizens of Hell by yourself.

The last idea that was added to Diablo II was in the form of a quest. The DiabloWiki.com - Rite of Passage Rite of Passage was a very unique quest that came towards the end of LoD. What made this quest so unique was that it was the first and only fight in the game where the player could not use Town Portals (TP) to escape death and refill their potions and come back to finish the battle. If a player used a TP to leave the area, the three Ancients would be reset and regain full life. This added, perhaps, the only change to the fighting design of Diablo II. With any other challenge, the player could quickly and easily leave the fight to regain their vigor. This quest made the fight a true fight to the finish without any chance of escape.

Diablo III has not only taken this idea for a few fights but has adopted the mechanic for the entire game. Town Portals have been officially removed from the game. Realizing the added challenge and immersion this previous quest offered, the developers deiced to add this challenge to every fight. Adding more mechanics to allow for this, players will only be stopping at town at the occasional waypoint. Boss fights will become more challenging and require some skill and technique to best these monsters while preserving your own life.



With LoD, many new ideas emerged to help make the game more fun. Taking simple ideas and using them to add depth, the last Act of Diablo introduced many unique experiences to the game play. Diablo III has taken these ideas and expanded upon them to add the same level of depth and increase the fun while playing the game. What other features that we glimpsed in LoD will we see in Diablo III?

Comments

  • To post a comment, please or register a new account.
Posts Quoted:
Reply
Clear All Quotes