Fan Creation of the Week: SakuraFlame and Kotori Cosplay
11:49pm / 8:49pm
Two months ago, on May Activision and Vivendi Games/Blizzard had announced their membership cancellation from the ESA, basically pulling off E3 as well. Suddenly, in recent hours it was announced a ActivisionBlizzard press conference would take place today in the evening. As Gamespot, IGN and Kotaku's auto-updated blogs said, the press conference just ended with the Neversoft Band playing onstage. It is quietly disappointing to not have seen Blizzard up there to promote Wrath of the Lich King and Starcraft 2, or at least play the Diablo III Teaser. The ActivisionBlizzard press conference has wrapped up without any Blizzard game.
11:28pm EST / 8:28pm PDT
Gotta love how Gamespot and IGN are updating the live blog every two minutes. Right now ex-Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker to play out the drums kit for Guitar Hero World Tour. I can imagine Blizzard will come to stage at some point. ActivisionBlizzard is stealing the freaking E3 show Press and attention big time!
11:00pm EST / 8:00pm PDT
Gamespot has a reporter at E3 streaming a Live blog that auto-updates your page with new info from the floor at a restaurant near E3 where ActivisionBlizzard is holding a press conference with a massive screen. A lot of Activision games have been showcased already. We are awaiting any news from Blizzard Entertainment games. Specially Diablo 3 or the unannounced Next-Gen MMO. It is unknown whether the unannounced game might be revealed here however.
We will update anything new that is reported by Gamespot and other websites. For now, if you wish to stand alert, visit the Live Gamespot E3 Watch blog. Your page will auto-reload showing new updates every few minutes.
Thus far they have shown the latest Wolverine Film game, Guitar Hero's latest game,
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2: Fusion, a simultaneous James Bond game/film release, and Spiderman: Web of Shadows trailers. With ActivisionBlizzard'a merger complete last week, this being their first Press Conference, and Blizzard Entertainment being the main jewel in said merger, that means there is a great chance a Blizzard game video or press panel could roll there at the end of the press conference.
Blizzard: Why Corpses Vanish 113 Comments
Blizzard poster Bashiok talked about the technical reasons why corpses vanish, as seen in the 20-minute gameplay trailer, on the Battle.net forums:
When questioned as to how skills like Find Item, Corpse Explosion and Summon Skeleton would work in D3, if they were indeed included, he responded:
Thanks for the tip, Dead9k!
Quote
The main reason for the corpses not being able to stay permanently is the potential number of them on screen at one time, and specifically that each corpse is affected by physics, allowing them to be blasted and thrown all over the place by the force of player abilities.
It's one of the trade offs when integrating new technology, you can get really awesome effects, but they do have a cost. In a 2D world, a sprite of a dead creature doesn't really cost any more (system requirement-wise) than a sprite of something that's alive. Probably less. In a 3D world where a creature dies and then needs to have physics calculations thrown onto it so it can bounce and fall and fly around, they cost substantially more.
We remember fondly those situations where you've just completely obliterated a camp of Fallen, and as you're picking up items - marvel in your destruction. That's a feeling and part of the gameplay where if we can realistically keep some of it without sacrificing features or having insane system requirements we'd definitely like to, but no promises.
It's one of the trade offs when integrating new technology, you can get really awesome effects, but they do have a cost. In a 2D world, a sprite of a dead creature doesn't really cost any more (system requirement-wise) than a sprite of something that's alive. Probably less. In a 3D world where a creature dies and then needs to have physics calculations thrown onto it so it can bounce and fall and fly around, they cost substantially more.
We remember fondly those situations where you've just completely obliterated a camp of Fallen, and as you're picking up items - marvel in your destruction. That's a feeling and part of the gameplay where if we can realistically keep some of it without sacrificing features or having insane system requirements we'd definitely like to, but no promises.
When questioned as to how skills like Find Item, Corpse Explosion and Summon Skeleton would work in D3, if they were indeed included, he responded:
Quote
We haven't announced any abilities outside of those listed on the website, so by discussing what is or isn't in the game I would be essentially making an announcement, which I'm not prepared to do. :)
Thanks for the tip, Dead9k!
New Diablo Novel by Robert B. Marks? 15 Comments
I am speechless. After my recent review of Diablo: Demonsbane, early this morning I visited Robert B. Marks blog to see any new updates and there I find out he read my review. I had said I would like to read new adventures of Siggard, the main character in Demonsbane, to which he answers he did wrote a continuation in Garwulf's Corner# 43 back on 2002.
Robert B. Marks also responds to my wish of reading more books from him. He already has the title and topic of possible Diablo novels he could pitch to Blizzard Entertainment if they wanted him to write new Diablo books.
The title of any new Diablo novels he gets to write would be ... Diablo: Angels of Darkness, Soldiers of Light
The joy. You really should read Diablo: Demonsbane from the Diablo Archive to experience what others who have read it feel now after hearing he is interested in writing new stories based on the Diablo universe.
Read Robert B. Marks blog here.
Have you read Diablo: Demonsbane? Please share your very own review. Make sure to add SPOILER tags where needed. I will make sure to let Robert B. Marks read your reviews.
Garwulf's Corner# 43 : The Fate of Siggard by Robert B. Marks
Call it a need for closure, if you will. You see, way back when, I wrote this little e-book titled Demonsbane. It inaugurated the Diablo fiction line, and went on to become a bestseller in its own right (which, for e-books, means it sold more than five hundred copies). The hero was this tragic character, a man named Siggard who had so much vitality that death literally could not touch him. Stab him, burn him, decapitate him, he would come back for more. The only way he would finally find some rest is if his soul found peace, which is about as likely as a computer showing up and asking for a convenience store in the Diablo world.
Siggard was a really interesting character. I had hoped to do much more with him in future books, but it didn't end up that way. I can't say what Pocket books is going to do after the third Diablo novel is out (my editor threatened to do nasty things involving Barney the Dinosaur to me if I told anybody), but I've been assured that, barring some major change in the author pool at Pocket Books, I'm not writing anything for the next set. So, rather than leave Siggard to linger in the back of my mind, I've decided to tell you all what was going to happen next to our intrepid hero.
Before I start, though, I have to stress one thing: the only thing in this that counts as official continuity is Demonsbane. Everything else is my own warped imagination at work in the Diablo world. Essentially, these are little outlines of stories I had hoped to tell, and may even get to someday, assuming that when I do have the opportunity to pitch them, Blizzard doesn't have a heart attack from sheer terror...
So, we start at the end of Demonsbane. Siggard is standing in the ruins of Brennor, having just dispatched the Archdemon Assur (which, for those who missed the reference when reading the book, is the name of the home city of the Assyrians). The Archangel Tyrael, who has been showing up in disguise every now and then (it's the Sin War, for crying out loud...the angels are supposed to be subtle...that's my story, and I'm sticking to it), informs Siggard that his suspicions are correct; Siggard is one of a rare breed, who has so much vitality death cannot touch him. After an epilogue that has Siggard walking off into the sunset in search of the next battle, his sword Guthbreoht (forged by the legendary Velund the Smith) at his side, the e-book ends.
The next story was going to be another e-book. I had this wonderful idea that would play on some things I wanted to do to...er...with the Diablo world. After all, Tyrael went through all of Demonsbane cloaked, didn't he? What if the angels held themselves in such secrecy that no mortal was ever allowed to see an angel uncloaked and live?
So, story number two, which I never did work out a title for, begins with a murder. This fellow is running through the streets of Kurast, being chased by some shadowy thing. Suddenly, the Archangel Tyrael corners him, uncloaked. The man has just enough time to say "You're too late, they already know" before Tyrael kills him.
Flash over to a tavern in the east, where Siggard is drinking some mead. Tyrael steps over to him, and informs him that somehow, somebody has discovered the name of the Lord of Terror, meaning that one of the Prime Evils can now be summoned to the mortal realm. Siggard tracks down an evil wizard and confronts him in his tower, but he is too late. Diablo has been summoned. The Lord of Terror tempts Siggard with the idea of restoring his family (killed by Assur a few centuries past in Demonsbane), and suggests that the angels have been lying to mankind all along; the Sin War was never a conflict between good and evil. At the last minute Siggard resists the temptation, slays the evil wizard, and sends Diablo back to the Burning Hells. Tyrael appears and states that it is just the beginning, but Siggard will have nothing of it. The experience has shaken him to his core, and he needs some time alone. So, the story closes with our hero wandering northwards, hoping that the northmen/barbarians will be able to sooth his soul.
The third story was going to be a full-length novel, titled Angels of Darkness, Soldiers of Light. It opens around twenty years after the events in Demonsbane. Sarnakyle, Siggard's companion in the e-book and later the wizard who turns the Vizjerei clans back to elemental magic, is asked to perform an exorcism. The exorcism goes poorly; one of the wizards is killed, but just before the demon is sent back to Hell, it tells Sarnakyle that great evils are coming. Sarnakyle is shaken, as it is impossible to tell what was a truth and what was a lie, and he leaves the Mage clans once again to seek the truth. He never returns, and his name becomes legend (as told in the epilogue of Demonsbane).
Flash forward about seven hundred years. Two of the Prime Evils have been captured in soul stones, and the final Prime Evil, Diablo, is about to be confronted by the Horadrim army led by Jared Cain. A massive battle ensues, where Diablo barely escapes with his rearguard. After seeing to their losses, the Horadrim begin to pursue.
Up in the barbarian lands, Siggard is living in peace amongst the Northmen. A sage comes to him and leads to him to a barrow, where the remains of Sarnakyle have lain buried for over six centuries. Siggard goes to the barrow, where a projection of Sarnakyle informs him of what the wizard was able to learn in his final wanderings, including a great secret that the angels will kill to protect. He leaves to contemplate this, but Tyrael appears before him and says that his services are once again needed to capture Diablo. Reluctantly, Siggard heads south.
In Westmarch, Jared Cain and his forces are pursuing Diablo and the remnants of his army. After the trail grows cold, the Horadrim are given shelter at the Monastery of the Sightless Eye, the home of a female order of healers and mystics. There, the Abbess informs Cain that there are rumblings of something evil to the north, and he takes a small group of Horadrim to investigate.
It turns out that what he has found is the rearguard of what is left of Diablo's army. The Horadrim are ambushed, but at the last minute they are saved by Siggard, wielding Guthbreoht like a demon. Siggard explains who he is, and that he has seen the main force nearby. Cain gathers the rest of his army, and they find Diablo and fight a pitched battle. Once again Diablo escapes, but not before fighting Siggard. During the melee, Siggard discovers that Diablo's sword has been enchanted with a glyph of unbinding, as the demonic blade shatters Guthbreoht. Siggard leaves the Horadrim, inconsolable.
After Cain and his army have left in pursuit of Diablo, Tyrael appears to Siggard. Siggard holds up the shards of Guthbreoht and says that he is finished. Tyrael reveals that the only other person he has ever known who had Siggard's type of immortality was Velund the Smith, and sends Siggard off to find him. Siggard finds Velund on an island, where the smith agrees to remake Guthbreoht with even stronger enchantments. Guthbreoht is reforged and renamed, and Siggard goes off with his new sword to find the Horadrim.
As Guthbreoht is being reforged, Cain and the Horadrim come across the burnt out ruins of the Monastery of the Sightless Eye, which has been razed by Diablo. The Abbess, along with the handful of survivors, pledge themselves to become a military order, and join the Horadrim in their fight against the demonic forces. This time, the trail is fresh, and allows the Horadrim to pass Diablo's army and fortify themselves ahead in the town of Tristram.
Siggard, guided by Tyrael, arrives at Tristram and rejoins the army. While they are waiting for Diablo to appear, he begins to fall for a local woman, who has lost her husband in a recent epidemic. And then, as the friendship begins to turn to a romance, Diablo appears.
To the horror of the defenders, Diablo has managed to reinforce his army. A brutal siege begins, where the Lord of Terror vows to destroy all of the Horadrim for the capture of his brothers. As the situation becomes desperate, Siggard and Cain lead a foray out during the night, where they capture Diablo in the soulstone. Without the power of Diablo to keep them in the mortal realm, the remainder of the demonic army vanishes.
As the leaders of the Horadrim celebrate the defeat of the last Prime Evil in the house of the mayor of Tristram, Tyrael appears, and Siggard states that the cost of the angels' secret has been too high. Despite Tyrael's warnings, Siggard reveals the truth: the angels and demons are of the same blood. In the distant past, some angels settled in Heaven while others settled in the Burnings Hells, fascinated by the chaos of the place. Those who settled in the Heavens became ethereal, creatures of the noblest aspects of their nature, while those who settled in Hell were overcome by the basest aspects of their nature, and were warped in both spirit and physical appearance by the place.
As soon as the secret is out, Tyrael uncloaks himself and uses his power to subdue the entire room. As the Archangel's sword is raised to kill all who have heard the secret, Siggard manages to convince him that the Horadrim are necessary, and without them the Prime Evils will escape their prisons and reign unopposed. The Horadrim promise that the secret will remain within their order, and Siggard, feeling a bit unwell but not understanding why, goes to visit his new love.
On the way, Tyrael appears and tells him that his life is ebbing. Siggard has finally found love, which is the only thing that can bring peace to his tormented soul, and death can finally claim him. Siggard protests that he now has a reason to stay, but Tyrael points out that Siggard's family has waited for him in the afterlife for seven centuries, and it is now time to join them. Siggard sees his wife and daughter again, and reaches out to them, breathing his last breath as he does.
Cain comes out to discover Siggard is dead, and Tyrael explains what has happened, instructing that the warrior should be buried like a hero, his sword with him, until the blade chooses a new master. Siggard is laid to rest in the old Tristram church, while the foundation stones for a new cathedral to house the soulstone containing Diablo are placed by the Horadrim and Sisters of the Sightless Eye.
And that is the end of the Siggard story arc. Perhaps one day I will be allowed to write it in full. But, at least for now, the story is told (and to the fanfic writers out there, no, I don't want to see any renditions of the story arc...Siggard is my character, and I'd like to be the only one to write his stories).
Robert B. Marks also responds to my wish of reading more books from him. He already has the title and topic of possible Diablo novels he could pitch to Blizzard Entertainment if they wanted him to write new Diablo books.
The title of any new Diablo novels he gets to write would be ... Diablo: Angels of Darkness, Soldiers of Light
The joy. You really should read Diablo: Demonsbane from the Diablo Archive to experience what others who have read it feel now after hearing he is interested in writing new stories based on the Diablo universe.
Read Robert B. Marks blog here.
Have you read Diablo: Demonsbane? Please share your very own review. Make sure to add SPOILER tags where needed. I will make sure to let Robert B. Marks read your reviews.
Garwulf's Corner# 43 : The Fate of Siggard by Robert B. Marks
Call it a need for closure, if you will. You see, way back when, I wrote this little e-book titled Demonsbane. It inaugurated the Diablo fiction line, and went on to become a bestseller in its own right (which, for e-books, means it sold more than five hundred copies). The hero was this tragic character, a man named Siggard who had so much vitality that death literally could not touch him. Stab him, burn him, decapitate him, he would come back for more. The only way he would finally find some rest is if his soul found peace, which is about as likely as a computer showing up and asking for a convenience store in the Diablo world.
Siggard was a really interesting character. I had hoped to do much more with him in future books, but it didn't end up that way. I can't say what Pocket books is going to do after the third Diablo novel is out (my editor threatened to do nasty things involving Barney the Dinosaur to me if I told anybody), but I've been assured that, barring some major change in the author pool at Pocket Books, I'm not writing anything for the next set. So, rather than leave Siggard to linger in the back of my mind, I've decided to tell you all what was going to happen next to our intrepid hero.
Before I start, though, I have to stress one thing: the only thing in this that counts as official continuity is Demonsbane. Everything else is my own warped imagination at work in the Diablo world. Essentially, these are little outlines of stories I had hoped to tell, and may even get to someday, assuming that when I do have the opportunity to pitch them, Blizzard doesn't have a heart attack from sheer terror...
So, we start at the end of Demonsbane. Siggard is standing in the ruins of Brennor, having just dispatched the Archdemon Assur (which, for those who missed the reference when reading the book, is the name of the home city of the Assyrians). The Archangel Tyrael, who has been showing up in disguise every now and then (it's the Sin War, for crying out loud...the angels are supposed to be subtle...that's my story, and I'm sticking to it), informs Siggard that his suspicions are correct; Siggard is one of a rare breed, who has so much vitality death cannot touch him. After an epilogue that has Siggard walking off into the sunset in search of the next battle, his sword Guthbreoht (forged by the legendary Velund the Smith) at his side, the e-book ends.
The next story was going to be another e-book. I had this wonderful idea that would play on some things I wanted to do to...er...with the Diablo world. After all, Tyrael went through all of Demonsbane cloaked, didn't he? What if the angels held themselves in such secrecy that no mortal was ever allowed to see an angel uncloaked and live?
So, story number two, which I never did work out a title for, begins with a murder. This fellow is running through the streets of Kurast, being chased by some shadowy thing. Suddenly, the Archangel Tyrael corners him, uncloaked. The man has just enough time to say "You're too late, they already know" before Tyrael kills him.
Flash over to a tavern in the east, where Siggard is drinking some mead. Tyrael steps over to him, and informs him that somehow, somebody has discovered the name of the Lord of Terror, meaning that one of the Prime Evils can now be summoned to the mortal realm. Siggard tracks down an evil wizard and confronts him in his tower, but he is too late. Diablo has been summoned. The Lord of Terror tempts Siggard with the idea of restoring his family (killed by Assur a few centuries past in Demonsbane), and suggests that the angels have been lying to mankind all along; the Sin War was never a conflict between good and evil. At the last minute Siggard resists the temptation, slays the evil wizard, and sends Diablo back to the Burning Hells. Tyrael appears and states that it is just the beginning, but Siggard will have nothing of it. The experience has shaken him to his core, and he needs some time alone. So, the story closes with our hero wandering northwards, hoping that the northmen/barbarians will be able to sooth his soul.
The third story was going to be a full-length novel, titled Angels of Darkness, Soldiers of Light. It opens around twenty years after the events in Demonsbane. Sarnakyle, Siggard's companion in the e-book and later the wizard who turns the Vizjerei clans back to elemental magic, is asked to perform an exorcism. The exorcism goes poorly; one of the wizards is killed, but just before the demon is sent back to Hell, it tells Sarnakyle that great evils are coming. Sarnakyle is shaken, as it is impossible to tell what was a truth and what was a lie, and he leaves the Mage clans once again to seek the truth. He never returns, and his name becomes legend (as told in the epilogue of Demonsbane).
Flash forward about seven hundred years. Two of the Prime Evils have been captured in soul stones, and the final Prime Evil, Diablo, is about to be confronted by the Horadrim army led by Jared Cain. A massive battle ensues, where Diablo barely escapes with his rearguard. After seeing to their losses, the Horadrim begin to pursue.
Up in the barbarian lands, Siggard is living in peace amongst the Northmen. A sage comes to him and leads to him to a barrow, where the remains of Sarnakyle have lain buried for over six centuries. Siggard goes to the barrow, where a projection of Sarnakyle informs him of what the wizard was able to learn in his final wanderings, including a great secret that the angels will kill to protect. He leaves to contemplate this, but Tyrael appears before him and says that his services are once again needed to capture Diablo. Reluctantly, Siggard heads south.
In Westmarch, Jared Cain and his forces are pursuing Diablo and the remnants of his army. After the trail grows cold, the Horadrim are given shelter at the Monastery of the Sightless Eye, the home of a female order of healers and mystics. There, the Abbess informs Cain that there are rumblings of something evil to the north, and he takes a small group of Horadrim to investigate.
It turns out that what he has found is the rearguard of what is left of Diablo's army. The Horadrim are ambushed, but at the last minute they are saved by Siggard, wielding Guthbreoht like a demon. Siggard explains who he is, and that he has seen the main force nearby. Cain gathers the rest of his army, and they find Diablo and fight a pitched battle. Once again Diablo escapes, but not before fighting Siggard. During the melee, Siggard discovers that Diablo's sword has been enchanted with a glyph of unbinding, as the demonic blade shatters Guthbreoht. Siggard leaves the Horadrim, inconsolable.
After Cain and his army have left in pursuit of Diablo, Tyrael appears to Siggard. Siggard holds up the shards of Guthbreoht and says that he is finished. Tyrael reveals that the only other person he has ever known who had Siggard's type of immortality was Velund the Smith, and sends Siggard off to find him. Siggard finds Velund on an island, where the smith agrees to remake Guthbreoht with even stronger enchantments. Guthbreoht is reforged and renamed, and Siggard goes off with his new sword to find the Horadrim.
As Guthbreoht is being reforged, Cain and the Horadrim come across the burnt out ruins of the Monastery of the Sightless Eye, which has been razed by Diablo. The Abbess, along with the handful of survivors, pledge themselves to become a military order, and join the Horadrim in their fight against the demonic forces. This time, the trail is fresh, and allows the Horadrim to pass Diablo's army and fortify themselves ahead in the town of Tristram.
Siggard, guided by Tyrael, arrives at Tristram and rejoins the army. While they are waiting for Diablo to appear, he begins to fall for a local woman, who has lost her husband in a recent epidemic. And then, as the friendship begins to turn to a romance, Diablo appears.
To the horror of the defenders, Diablo has managed to reinforce his army. A brutal siege begins, where the Lord of Terror vows to destroy all of the Horadrim for the capture of his brothers. As the situation becomes desperate, Siggard and Cain lead a foray out during the night, where they capture Diablo in the soulstone. Without the power of Diablo to keep them in the mortal realm, the remainder of the demonic army vanishes.
As the leaders of the Horadrim celebrate the defeat of the last Prime Evil in the house of the mayor of Tristram, Tyrael appears, and Siggard states that the cost of the angels' secret has been too high. Despite Tyrael's warnings, Siggard reveals the truth: the angels and demons are of the same blood. In the distant past, some angels settled in Heaven while others settled in the Burnings Hells, fascinated by the chaos of the place. Those who settled in the Heavens became ethereal, creatures of the noblest aspects of their nature, while those who settled in Hell were overcome by the basest aspects of their nature, and were warped in both spirit and physical appearance by the place.
As soon as the secret is out, Tyrael uncloaks himself and uses his power to subdue the entire room. As the Archangel's sword is raised to kill all who have heard the secret, Siggard manages to convince him that the Horadrim are necessary, and without them the Prime Evils will escape their prisons and reign unopposed. The Horadrim promise that the secret will remain within their order, and Siggard, feeling a bit unwell but not understanding why, goes to visit his new love.
On the way, Tyrael appears and tells him that his life is ebbing. Siggard has finally found love, which is the only thing that can bring peace to his tormented soul, and death can finally claim him. Siggard protests that he now has a reason to stay, but Tyrael points out that Siggard's family has waited for him in the afterlife for seven centuries, and it is now time to join them. Siggard sees his wife and daughter again, and reaches out to them, breathing his last breath as he does.
Cain comes out to discover Siggard is dead, and Tyrael explains what has happened, instructing that the warrior should be buried like a hero, his sword with him, until the blade chooses a new master. Siggard is laid to rest in the old Tristram church, while the foundation stones for a new cathedral to house the soulstone containing Diablo are placed by the Horadrim and Sisters of the Sightless Eye.
And that is the end of the Siggard story arc. Perhaps one day I will be allowed to write it in full. But, at least for now, the story is told (and to the fanfic writers out there, no, I don't want to see any renditions of the story arc...Siggard is my character, and I'd like to be the only one to write his stories).
Diablo: Demonsbane Review 9 Comments
http://clickserve.cc-dt.com/link/banner?lid=41000000024415161
After receiving the Diablo Archive, boasting 752 pages, just recently, I decided to read through it backwards starting with Diablo: Demonsbane by Robert B. Marks (of Garwulf's Corner fame).
I am sure the Diablo Archive will be a jewel among my Blizzard novels collection. Better to have four Diablo novels on a single tome, than have individual books all around the place unable to find them at times. There is one thing I disapprove from the Diablo Archive however. For such a big tome, and quiet heavy in weight, the cover designer Richard Yoo or whoever chose the cover material should have gone for thick cardboard material. This huge archive is no pocket book. It is about two inches thick. The cover material is made of the same material as any other pocket book with the same thin thickness. The result is a jellyfish-effect when you handle the heavy book around. I usually read on my bed. At times when I am uncomfortable, I usually lie on my back and rise the book above me in the air. The weight is almost unbearable after 20 minutes, but the material doesn't help. Enough with the material rant.
What can be found inside is worth the nuisance. For years, I have heard of Diablo: Demonsbane. A lecture painted in myth. Something I knew existed, but couldn't reach. It was a few years ago, when I first heard of its existence. It was released on 2000 in ebook format. I have a lot of Warcraft RPG books in ebook format, and even purchased Warcraft: Of Blood and Honor as an ebook. But for some odd reason I never got around reading Diablo: Demonsbane, even when I craved it more than any other book. Curiosity compels one's craving. I have never read a review of Demonsbane, or heard what it was about. I just knew it was the first of the Diablo stories ever released.
I reported about the first printing of Diablo: Demonsbane on paper two years ago on July 2, 2006. It was titled Blizzard Legends Vol. 1. It contained a printed version of three ebooks from each game franchise: Warcraft: Of Blood and Honor (by Chris Metzen), Starcraft: Uprising (by Micky Neilson), and Diablo: Demonsbane (by Robert B. Marks).
However, it is now with the release of Diablo Archive that fans have the opportunity to get this craved story more broadly as it comes bundled along with Diablo: Kingdom of Shadow, Diablo: The Black Road, and Diablo: Legacy of Blood.
Personally, I was expecting something different in Diablo: Demonsbane. More of a dark fantasy meets Lord of the Rings with some fancy Shakespearian old-english language accent. Part of the myth I envisioned for lack of any knowledge of a Demonsbane's summary.
I started reading on Sunday evening and couldn't stop reading. It caught my attention. It is a short novella spanning through page 685-738. According to the epilogue, these events take place on year 302 and seem to happen during the Sin War. Right at the end when I read the epilogue, it made me wonder. Did Diablo: The Sin War somehow retconned Demonsbane? I have no idea. What I do know is that none of the events of the Sin War trilogy seem to be mentioned in it. Nor did the main character in Demonsbane show up in the Sin War trilogy.
Which book comes first in the timeline is also a mystery to me. One thing does gets mentioned that might help those who have better knowledge of the time line than me. Sarnakyle the Kejistan mage of the Spirit Mage Clan mentioned he was among the party of mages that killed Bartuc the Warlord of Blood at Viz-jun two years earlier.
The story is centered around Siggard, a warrior who fought at Blackmarch with the Entsteig's army. They had fought demons there led by the favored archdemon of the Lord of Terror: Lord Assur. This archdemon has a peculiar glyph of invincibility that makes him feared by the Vizjerei Mage clans. There is however one thing that may kill him, and that would be spoiling it. I did see it coming when I read what could kill him, but was unsure as the requirements for it to happen were not clear at sight, specially with the interaction of Siggard with the other characters.
Ever since the Night of Souls through the events in Brennor, it kept bouncing around my mind why Siggard can't remember anything about Blackmarch until certain point as if he had magically forgotten. As I was reaching the last pages of the story, it was more evident my suspicions were right, but the idea resulted contradictory. Making me doubt. Robert B. Marks wrote here a very nice story, and wrapped up with a surprise few could have seen coming. It keeps a fast pace, while adding elements of suspense. I enjoyed the read and don't regret it. One well-known character appears a couple of times, but heavily weights on the outcome of the story: Tyrael.
I will be reading through the Diablo Archive in upcoming days. One thing I am glad of doing, however, is to have started backwards, reading Diablo: Demonsbane first. It is a pity this story was brought as an ebook and as a short novella. As an ebook, it didn't get the attention it deserved in 2000. And as a novella, it was too short. The story was worth an entire book of 378 pages. I hope the author writes a continuation of Siggard's adventures. Otherwise, I would like to read a new story from him again. Take note Blizzard. Cheers, Robert B. Marks.
Go grab your copy of the Diablo Archive.
Diablo 3 Not An MMO 45 Comments
For those wondering, Diablo 3 will only support a certain amount of players per Game. That disqualifies it as an MMO which consists of thousands of players in a persistent world on a single server. The amount of players per game in Battle.net 2.0 has not yet been determined, but Diablo 3 Community Manager Bashiok explains a few things about this topic:
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Bashiok: MMO's are generally categorized as being able to support hundreds of thousands of simultaneous players in a persistent world.
While Battle.net can certainly support that many players at one time, the lack of a persistent world and restrictions on how many players can be within each "world" (game) would keep Diablo III from being categorized as an MMO.
One of the larger things to think about when balancing game sizes is that with mechanics that encourage players to stick together, only so many players can be doing these huge over-the-top type abilities without it turning into a visual mess.
We'll settle on a group size that allows for the most amount of players while still keeping the games fun, and sane.
While Battle.net can certainly support that many players at one time, the lack of a persistent world and restrictions on how many players can be within each "world" (game) would keep Diablo III from being categorized as an MMO.
One of the larger things to think about when balancing game sizes is that with mechanics that encourage players to stick together, only so many players can be doing these huge over-the-top type abilities without it turning into a visual mess.
We'll settle on a group size that allows for the most amount of players while still keeping the games fun, and sane.
Diablo III Thoughts From Ex-Blizzard Employee 198 Comments
Mike Huang, an ex-Blizzard North Developer, recently posted in his personal blog a few thoughts about Diablo III, from similarities to what they had done in the early concept stages of Diablo III prior to their departure, to the complete change of direction in certain areas of the game.
Thanks, Lyquid.
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Mike Huang: When I left Blizzard in '03, Blizzard North had done quite a bit of pre-production work on Diablo III, as well as some protoyping on the 3d-game engine. Today at the Blizzard Invitational in Paris, they announced the release of Diablo III. Since much of the work we had done on Diablo III was concept and prototype work, seeing the development they've done over the last 5 years was very interesting; while some of the concepts we were developing definitely looks like it made it through to the version of the game they displayed, some of the design choices they appear to have made seem counter to the decisions the original Diablo team members would have made had they remained on development of the title -- the most apparent change that I can point to is the appearance of "floating numbers" as seen in the gameplay video -- this was a feature that Blizzard Irvine continually "suggested" during development on Diablo II, which Blizzard North refused to implement -- with development now located within Irvine, the decision to add floating numbers to the game isn't one which surprises me.
One of the design choices which again shows Blizzard Irvine's hand in the changes made is the re-appearance of the Barbarian character class -- the original design documents for Diablo III included a set of all new character classes, with no reappearance of old character classes (our reasons for this was simple -- since we were enhancing and improving the skill system, we didn't want to try and adapt old skills into a new system -- we'd rather create all new skills for the new character classes. The return of the Barbarian class feels like a change that was made after development of the title was moved to Irvine 3 years ago. -- this is an excerpt only. Read the full article at Mike Huang's blog
One of the design choices which again shows Blizzard Irvine's hand in the changes made is the re-appearance of the Barbarian character class -- the original design documents for Diablo III included a set of all new character classes, with no reappearance of old character classes (our reasons for this was simple -- since we were enhancing and improving the skill system, we didn't want to try and adapt old skills into a new system -- we'd rather create all new skills for the new character classes. The return of the Barbarian class feels like a change that was made after development of the title was moved to Irvine 3 years ago. -- this is an excerpt only. Read the full article at Mike Huang's blog
