Blizzard poster Bashiok has commented on the Battle.net forums about the game’s five classes, emphasizing on their diversity and uniqueness as characters, unlike those of many other games.

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Source: Blizzard Guru

In a recent interview with Eurogamer, Blizzard's president of game design Rob Pardo gave console owners a tiny sliver of hope that Diablo III could find its way onto their systems:

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Now before you console owners get all excited, keep in mind that Blizzard has stated that they have no plans for console development and that Diablo III would be a PC and Mac exclusive. Still, it'd be interesting to see how Diablo would work on a console.

I'm sure some of you remember trying Diablo on the original Playstation system. It didn't look or play nearly as well as the PC version, but consoles have come a long way since then. So what do you think? Would you like to see Diablo III released on consoles as well or should it remain a PC/Mac exclusive?

Diablo III Concept Art by Peter Lee and other artists can offer fans a view into the early stages of development for the classes and various locations of the world of Sanctuary. Here you have a few samples obtained at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals 2008 in Paris as an exclusive to fansites.

Among the concept art provided are the Barbarian and the Witch Doctor, Deckard Cain, and locations such as Caldeum, Tristram, and the Tristram Church. Other concept art can be found at the official Diablo 3 website here.

  

  

  

  

Gamespot cornered Executive Vice President of Blizzard Entertainment and Executive Producer of Diablo III ... Rob Pardo to talk about the art direction of Diablo III and he explains the early stages of its development at Blizzard North.

Watch the video interview and post your impressions.

Thanks, thecowking.

It is no secret anymore. Diablo III has been officially announced. Now, are you passionate about Blizzard games and have great skills at what you do, and experience? Blizzard is hiring passionate fans with the following requirements:

Senior 3D Level Designer
The Diablo III team is looking for a skilled senior 3D level designer with experience building levels using Maya or other similar 3D level-building tools. The ideal candidate has created levels on a shipped game. We would also like for this candidate to have excellent analytical understanding of competitive online play with various Blizzard Entertainment games and mods (real-time strategy, World of Warcraft, Defense of the Ancients, etc.). The senior level designer needs to be able to create fun and interesting environments that look and play great while mentoring the junior members of the level design team. For more information, check out the job posting.

3D Environment Artist
The Diablo III team is looking for a 3D environment artist skilled at creating models and texture maps for both objects and natural environments. The ideal candidate has experience modeling and texturing assets for a diverse visual range of environments. A solid grasp of form, color, and light for both 2D and 3D art assets is essential. The environment artist must have a skill in another art task as well (illustration, modeling, texturing, animation, or concept drawing) and be well-versed in related tools -- Maya, Photoshop, etc. The ideal candidate works well in an environment of peers who are passionate about making great games. For more information, check out the job posting.

3D Level Designer
The Diablo III team is looking for a skilled 3D level designer with experience building levels using Maya or other similar 3D level-building tools. The ideal candidate has created and distributed levels in the fan/mod community, or has industry experience on a shipped game. We would also like for this candidate to have excellent analytical understanding of competitive online play with various Blizzard Entertainment games and mods (real-time strategy, World of Warcraft, Defense of the Ancients, etc.). For more information, check out the job posting.

Associate 3D Environment Artist
The Diablo III team is looking for an associate 3D environment artist skilled at creating models and texture maps for both objects and natural environments. The ideal candidate has experience modeling and texturing assets for a diverse visual range of environments. A solid grasp of form, color, and light for both 2D and 3D art assets is essential. The associate environment artist must have a skill in another art task as well (illustration, modeling, texturing, animation, or concept drawing) and be well-versed in related tools -- Maya, Photoshop, etc. The ideal candidate works well in an environment of peers who are passionate about making great games. For more information, check out the job posting.

Associate 3D Level Designer
The Diablo III team is looking for a skilled associate 3D level designer with experience building levels using Maya or other similar 3D level building tools. The ideal candidate has created and distributed levels in the fan/mod community, or has industry experience on a shipped game. We would also like for this candidate to have excellent analytical understanding of competitive online play with various Blizzard Entertainment games and mods (real-time strategy, World of Warcraft, Defense of the Ancients, etc.). For more information, check out the job posting.

Senior 3D Environment Artist
The Diablo III team is looking for a senior 3D environment artist skilled at creating models and texture maps for both architectural and natural environments. The ideal candidate has experience modeling and texturing assets for a diverse visual range of environments. A solid grasp of form, color, and light for both 2D and 3D art assets is essential. The senior environment artist must have experience mentoring a team and have a skill in another art task as well (illustration, modeling, texturing, animation, or concept drawing) and be well-versed in related tools -- Maya, Photoshop, etc. The ideal candidate works well in an environment of peers who are passionate about making great games. For more information, check out the job posting.

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.

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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.