This is a Diablo III fansite, so I am gonna try to stick to that. Below you have a couple of quotes from the interview. You can read other comments made by Bill Roper concerning the Diablo III art direction through page four and five. His opinion on Diablo III is very valuable. Personally, myself and all the crew (and fans) wish Bill Roper the best in the immediate present and future. I know these are very hard times. I held one of the first, if not the first, Hellgate: London fan site interviews with Bill Roper on August 27, 2005. And, prior to that, was surprised to get emailed by him for other personal matters. I have always been a fan of him and his work. As such, it pains me as much and as close as it would a brother.
GFW: Have you thought about how you would feel if they get some team together and actually somehow cobble it into a game? Are you going to have mixed feelings -- like you're glad that somebody was finally able to put this baby out -- or do you wish that it just got killed with you guys?
BR: I think what I would really want to see is that there was some way where Travis [Baldree] and his guys were able to finish their game. It's pretty different from, for example, how I feel about the Diablo III stuff. I'm excited to see Diablo III, because it's a whole new thing. They've got a whole new direction on it. They have a few of the guys that worked at Blizzard North still around, but there's a whole new team on it, and it's like, OK, it's their license, and they're trying to really move the bar and do something different with the Diablo license. Yeah, I'm excited when I see what they're coming up with.
GFW: What was your own gut reaction to the art direction?
BR: I just thought it was different. I think the thing I always liked about the Blizzard North and Blizzard HQ constructs is the fact that they were two very distinct groups. At Irvine, we had a way that we approached things -- game development, art style, from color to character shapes, everything -- that was very distinct from the guys at Blizzard North. I think that it made it pretty compelling when you bought the Diablo titles. You got something that was markedly different from what you got out of a WarCraft or StarCraft. I think now, because everything's down there, you're seeing the Irvine take on the Diablo universe. So it's just the direction they're going with the people they have and the mindset there. I always liked the fact that Diablo was very dark and Gothic and gritty and edgy, but I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with the direction they've gone. They just chose to go a different way.
I think the core Diablo fans are saying, "We really like the dark, edgy, gritty look of that game!" We had people impaled on spikes, for god's sake. And now it's kind of bright and airy and doesn't quite feel the same. But I dunno. I look at it, and it's got high production quality, and it looks like it's going to be really fun to play. I think that wall of zombies is the coolest concept for a spell maybe ever. It's not any different in terms of gameplay mechanics, but it's so cleverly thought-out. I'm gonna raise a wall of undead! Oh my god, why didn't we ever think of that! It's genius! So I look forward to that. Again, it's a take on something, even if it's different. With Mythos, it's a thing where...it's mostly done, and you want the guys who were working on it, pouring their vision into it, their heart and soul into it, to be the ones who complete it. Short of somebody else being involved with the project, I don't really see that happening.
That is not going to happen. The original employees (ALL OF THEM) from Flagship Studios Seattle founded a new company called Runic Games and they are not going to be working on Mythos.
That was my thoughts exactly.
Who cares what Bill Roper says? They did good on Diablo but Hellgate... not so much... at all.
So they pretty much"jumped ship" as it was sinking?
Wonder what they'll try to make next.
I'm more confident in D3 than anything I've ever been before, because the people making it are also under the same management that delivered to us Starcraft, Warcraft 3 and World of Warcraft -- and they have some of the deepest pockets in the game industry. They wouldn't be able to fuck up even if they tried.
Exactly. They've become a gaming tycoon for a reason and with 3 separate franchises that differ quite a bit they've got a lot of ground covered to rake in the cash.
I can tell hes secretly thinking fuck thoughs wow heads wreck diabloes unique art style !#@$%@!$%!.
The games prob gonna be good and fun to play dont get me wrong there, but i still hate the art direction just how i feel.
Hmm after all bill did make 2 of the best rpgs ever diablo 1 and 2, so his points/ opinions are valuable.
As with hellgate, it was a forced release an unfinished game, it was release prematurely and buged to hell, they never released a beta for it it was in alpha then a few months after alpha was released, bill roper and his team wanted to finish the game but where forced to release it because of the time frame he was taking to complete it, because of this the game was buged to hell and needed hundreds of patches to complete and fix it, and on top of that not many people did like the idea of forced own instances, everyone was to hooked on WoWs style of instance and area play.
To me hearing bills responses to the art directiona nd game play are very valuable to myself and prob many other hard core diablo fans.
One: No it doesn't look like WoW you ignorant kid.
Two: If pokemon was made by blizzard and it had the gameplay for d2 i would not complain and I would be happy. So yes it does make sense "rofl". And does D3 look like pokemon? no so stfu that was a stupid argument on your part.
Three: You should be more worried about gameplay and online (pay to play and battle.net 2 features)
Don't think he had anything to do with the art. Lol.
I've met him in person, and yes, I'm at complete liberty to 'diss' him, as it were. I'm simply judging him based on the results of his most recent work, Hellgate: London.
They are my opinions, after all. Who are you to decide what I can, or cannot say, ryan?
Surely, the "Greatest Man in the Gaming Industry" would come up with the greatest game, would he not? Is Hellgate: London the greatest game? I think not!
So far, Blizzard has given me absolutely no reason to believe that they are going to fuck up D3, or fuck over the waiting Diablo fans. Not one reason! Far be it from me to try to invent one. I love Blizzard's games, they've always been great. Though I don't play WoW, I don't play it because it hasn't been feasible for me, not because I'm a D2 fan that is jealous of WarCraft's attention.
Now I think I will go to Rhapsody, redownload Steppenwolf's Monster/Suicide/America piece off the Monster album, pack up my laptop, go home, slip into my coffin, read awhile, and hide from the detrimental effects of the sun.
Sooo... you would not play a game if it was fun as hell? just becouse it looked bad? gameplay is the most imoprtant, graphs is just a bonus, i'll rest my case!
Anyways, bill roper has seen better days. Sometimes a game is better off without the originals. Sometimes it needs new breath to be breathed into it. Blizzard will handle DIII as well as any other game they make, regardless of who makes it because if its created by Blizzard you can expect the highest quality work.
You think graphs and cool effects are more important then gameplay?
Well thats like have a nice girlfriend who is a bitch, then haveing a cute girlfriend who are nice too you. oh my gosh!
I think what Flagship studios did was an achievement! Their only mistake (and he admits this btw) is that they tried too do too much with very little money. Their only problem was, they where used to Blizzard's funding, and always having millions and millions of dollars at their disposal to make a great game. I have absolutely no doubt at all in my mind, that if HG:L had the Blizzard seal of approval on it, it would have been A LOT more than it currently is. It would have been more finished and with more content. Because let's admit it, the concept was nice, It was different and daring, but that's what Blizzard is all about.
Anyways I hope all the best for Bill Roper and the guys who used to work at Blizzard North and Flagship.
And Uleman, PLEASE GO BACK AND MAKE DIABLO III's MUSIC!!!!! (Don't get me wrong, I like the music now, at least I don't hate it, but I know that Uleman would've made something more memorable and perfect)