[mockery]

In what might be a hint of what we can expect to see at BlizzCon next month, Bashiok recently chimed in on the Battle.net forums to explain about how dungeons will vary aesthetically depending on how important they are:

Quote

"I think there's a nice juxtaposition between the larger more epic dungeons and the others that may be less epic but have very specific tones and themes associated with them. When you step inside one of the more epic dungeons, like the Tristram cathedral (and considering its past, shouldn't it be epic?) you immediately know you're somewhere important. Somewhere that looks and feels magical in its presentation and lighting, as opposed to, say... a cave. Still cool! Caves are still awesome, but you probably don't want magical purple and green lighting in a cave, it's probably going to have a much different feel.

That type of theming adds a lot to keeping the scenery changing and interesting. If you're just fighting demons against a grey or brown backdrop for hours and hours, days and days, maybe years and years... it gets boring. Interesting, themed, and contrasting scenery all help ensure visual longevity.

I think before too long we'll have shown a nice cross section of the dungeon types and looks. It's been too long staring at the one dungeon. Each one has a very unique look and feel, so it's really cool going in to each one and having a total change of scenery. It's all very exciting."

Here's hoping we get to see that nice cross section of dungeon types at BlizzCon next month. Then again, all this really means is that the more epic a dungeon is, the more rainbows and unicorns we'll be seeing in them, right? ;)

[Dagget]

Any time you can get the word "juxtaposition" in a sentence, its going to be epic. :thumbsup:

[Dauroth]

Well, he used the phrase 'too long' twice! I'm guessing he's trying to say that it's really TOO LONG since we saw anything new than the Tristram Cathedral, Tristram and the Leoric Highlands!

[Credge]

"Caves are still awesome, but you probably don't want magical purple and green lighting in a cave, it's probably going to have a much different feel."

You're right.

I also don't want to see 'magical purple and green lighting' anywhere. I'd rather see a pale yellow light with shadows and then add those colors from a stained glass window in small amounts.

I mean, magical purple and green lighting has a place. That place isn't the Tristram Cathedral. Maybe, like... The Magic Forest or something. You can fight some unicorns and happy smiley clouds and rainbows there.

[maximusje]

Nice, more Peggle in the dungeons! :D.

[I don't dislike the colours & lightning effects].

[Dauroth]

I don't want to see it in a Magic Forest, either! I would like to see the Dark Wood from D2 in glorious 3D! ;)

[Ophion]

Then we might get that dark and scary feeling in the caves? Hopefully ^^

[DesmondTiny]

THAT IS AWESOME!!i!!!! I cant wait to also see the diffrent obsticales you have to get around.

[Lachdonan]

The idea of Blizz revealing some new zones/dungeons is very nice. Gives us a chance to speculate some more about what kind of monsters and also story line we will see.

[Doppelganger]

I see, he's basically just beating the dead horse again. Well yeah, every game should be epic and have at least sourceless green and purple lighting, how boring if not every game would be like that. I mean, just think about it, in this day and age?
Anyways, what was the actual question he supposedly answered? Ah yeah, "Dungeon Differences".

[gamma11]

lame sourceless light. sick of it.

[Airandius]

Ah nice, I really hope we'll get some dark scary caves. Perhaps some icy caves aswell. :D

[Ophion]

gamma11 said:

lame sourceless light. sick of it.

Maaaaaaaagic!

[Tapsi]

To those who say they like seeing purple lights, purple carpets, purple robes, purple pointy wizard hats etc; what exactly do you mean? Sure, I'd love a purple robe. But when you see Diablos disciples summoning some ugly monstrosity, do you really want them to do that in the purplest enviroment ever created? Please explain. Are you happy happy to meet diablo? Do you just want to see pretty colours and a turqouise mana orb? Pegasus ornaments and stainless purple curtains in the former hell of Tristram? Are you claiming to like the purple lighting separately from the thought of facing diablo, or do you wish to face diablo on a fluffy purple cloud of a dungeon? Please explain, I do not understand where you are coming from.

[Ralsu]

Tapsi said:

Are you claiming to like the purple lighting separately from the thought of facing diablo, or do you wish to face diablo on a fluffy purple cloud of a dungeon? Please explain, I do not understand where you are coming from.

Well, I'm saying that I am smart enough not to fall for the stereotype that any place where there is evil the world magically turns gray and loses all color. It's very possible to commit vile, evil acts in a room with bright walls. To learn about this for yourself, visit your local prison and speak to a child molester. Ask him if his victim's bed was covered with a gray comforter or maybe something with ponies and bright colors.

As much as it sucks for fans of a gray scale game, evil is NOT confined to a world of black and white. Just because the color purple is present in a room, that does not mean that it has to be in the form of a purple cloud. Medieval kings paid top coin for silk tapestries died bright red and purple. The bright colors stood out on the gloomy stone walls of the castle and showed off the owner's wealth.

That said, YES, it will suck if every epic dungeon is bathed in a green or purple glow with no discernible source. The caves in Diablo I had an appropriate orange glow because of the lava everywhere. The icy areas of Act 5 of Diablo II had an appropriate blue tint caused by the shadows on ice.

So, I don't mind color, I just want it to match the environment in some way. And if Diablo shows up in a room with a purple tapestry on the wall, I won't be any less anxious about the coming encounter.

[Ophion]

Ralsu said:

Well, I'm saying that I am smart enough not to fall for the stereotype that any place where there is evil the world magically turns gray and loses all color.

I think that his fluffy clouds point was that blood (death), darkness (the unknown) and colorless (no sunshine) places triggers fear in humans. That is why those places feels more evil. And why wouldn't we want the demon infested places to feel as evil as possible? Even if the sense of evil is just a illusion made by the brain to protect us.

[Zhar]

I'm pretty happy with that post, looking forwards to how they handle the different dungeons.

[Ralsu]

emilemil1 said:

blood (death), darkness (the unknown) and colorless (no sunshine) places triggers fear in humans.

Awesome point, man. I guess I think of it this way:

When I am watching a horror movie, I expect the slasher to be hiding in the drab rundown shack. The fact that he'll slit your throat in the room you just painted canary yellow for your newborn baby--the fact that NO place is safe--actually adds a greater element of fear than dividing the world into colorless=dangerous and colorful=safe. :)

[Musica]

I'm going to try to not contribute too much to leading this thread into another flame war art direction debate, but I think that the topic does still merit some comment if it can be kept civil.

The primary difference in what I sense in the art direction of Diablo 3 compared to the art directions of the previous games (especially Diablo 1) is that from what we've seen (which of course can't be considered the definitive, final version of the game), Diablo 3 seems right now more like a bright (in terms of atmosphere) game with dark elements to it whereas Diablo and Diablo 2 were darker games with bright elements to them. Thus the dominant impressions of each art direction seem different from each other.

Of course there were some brightly coloured monsters, spells and lava pools in Diablo 1 and likewise in Diablo 2 (although the amount of "bright" things were even more present in this game) but they still managed to retain the impression of a predominantly dark, macabre, and more menacing atmosphere because of the grittier textures used, lack of out-of-place sourceless lighting, stylization etc.

As for Bashiok's reply to the original poster's question, I tend to disagree that a "grey-scale world" (which is a misnomer in itself for what art direction critics have really felt they wanted from the art direction of Diablo 3) can be boring and dull because Diablo and to a lesser degree Diablo 2 are proofs that such a world can be interesting and fun, not to mention highly atmospheric. Anyways, I digress, maybe Blizzard's next update will prove more promising than what they've showed us from the Tristram cathedral. I don't mind some epic elements such as perhaps one act that has a few epic areas (similar to Act V from Diablo 2), I can live with that. But if this kind of penchant for epic areas keeps constantly returning throught the game to become an integral part of what Diablo 3 is and not just a nice little add-on, I don't think I'll be looking very forward to Diablo 4 if that ever comes out.

So there you have it. My two cents on the direction that Diablo 3 seems to be taking in its art. If you have a differing opinion as most people do, feel free to express it. I won't flame you.

[JNM-illiquid]

lol whenever I hear the word epic warcraft & stupid colours and music immediately jumps into my mind. I hate the word epic lol and bashiok said it several times just then. :| mmm idk what to think haha. In my opinion being subtle has a far greater impact in creating a scary mood than being epic e.g. for me a dungeon that is dark coloured with dark ambient music playing and the sounds of water dripping and wind blowing is far better than some dungeon with purple lights and a full blown orchestra playing.