What if I purchase the Diablo III Collector's Edition? If you decide to purchase the Diablo III Collector's Edition when it's available, and then choose to add your Collector's Edition license key to the Battle.net account associated with your existing World of Warcraft Annual Pass promotion, you will receive all of the benefits associated with the Collector's Edition, plus receive four months of World of Warcraft game time which is eligible towards your 12-month subscription commitment. After you purchase the Diablo III Collector's Edition you just need to input the product key into the Battle.net account associated with your World of Warcraft 12-month commitment and that account will then receive the next 4 months of World of Warcraft game time for free. For example, if you already had a month of game time on the associated World of Warcraft account when you input your Diablo III Collector's Edition product key, it would then be 5 months until your next subscription payment was due.
I plan on signing up for the annual as well and I pre-ordered the collectors already. I'm glad they made sure to take people that want the CE into account for this promotion.
Sweet! thanks Praetus. I read that FAQ before applying for annual pass thing and since I've been waiting for this Diablo 3 game for ages so I thought I'd ask if anyone have done it.
Yep gotta love Boogie2988, i am subscribed to his youtube channel.
He does a character called Francis and it's funny.
Here is the video of him talking about Diablo 3 Auction House you mentioned Stinger88.
You should see the new video of him playing skyrim,lol
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDYjljdje-g&feature=relmfu"]Diablo 3 Auction House for Real Money? Always On DRM? Francis is Upset - YouTube[/ame]
I had the pleasure of playing the Diablo 3 beta yesterday at a friends place where I placed through it first with a Witch Doctor and a Wizard... And damn, this game is awesome!
It nearly feels the same as Diablo 2 except for a much more smoth combat and skill system, and the new graphics also set a very nice mood, even if it's a bit stylized, it really sells the world.
My main hero is gonna be a wizard, probably the funniest class so far :P Arcane Orb is fucking awesome!
what is this gay 'uncle' shit?
i wonna see ravens picking corpses eyes out!
blargh
Exactly...
when i clicked the link I saw:
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Seriously? was there anything inapropriate? satanism, sacrilege, violence, gore, nudity?
I must have missed it.
And the niece girl seems soo out of place in this universe. her look, accent etc just don't fit at all imo.
But, hurray for obligatory epic huge marching epic armies and epic Spectacular Clashes(tm).
These days apparently you can't have Fantasy without cheesy cinematic pompeousness.
As always incredible job by the Blizz cinematic department. Felt a little short though. Willing to bet we get tons of these through out the game though.
not as good as the D2 intro, with the flying ghoulies and spectral premonitions!
but I do feel I will be hoping for a shower scene featuring cain and his "Niece"
Yeah, I have to agree, the girl does look way out of place. She looks like a rich girl from an LA suburb. The hair, the designer outfit, everything about her seems modern. She just needs a a pair of D&G sunglasses...
But other than that, it was pretty awesome. I loved the part with the 2d ravens that got animated. Looking at it, I'm not sure if it's 2d animation, or 3d with some nice shader work/filters. Pretty sure it's all 3d. The whole look of pseudo-motion-graphics is real awesome.
Did blizzard piss in your cereal? Looks awesome man.
nah, i'm just a big fan of a game named Diablo. made by Blizzard. did you play it by a chance?
from a technical standpoint - sure, video's execution is great and artists did a decent job. It has eye candy, it's polished and so on.
I'm not denying that at all.
What it doesn't have is the atmosphere that made diablo (and, to a much lesser extent, diablo2) feel so different from other fantasy games.
It lacks that awesome dark medieval vibe - not "dark" as in gay vampires, but actually dark and twisted like Bosch paintings.
Diablo 1 felt inspired by medieval visions of hell, Diablo 3 on the other hand seems inspired by peter jackson.
I got in the beta last week. Played through it on a monk. Badass game. Some tweaks could be welcomed, and Im sure they will be. But over all, i absolutely love this game. It is everything I wanted it to be. Alot of people complain its too easy. but its only on normal difficulty. there is still nightmare, hell, and inferno mode.... I think the new skill system is really going to shine in inferno mode. Yes, I do find it really easy right now. Like, both my fist weapons had +5 health per spirit used. So one of my skills was healing me for more than double my max health. Seems a bit extreme. Once I got those weapons (crafted them myself, lucked out with those attributes, as they were the random one on each), I just steam rolled everything. But I still found it fun. moooore loot! I love that crafting stuff gives you the best items, so far. except for rare items that drop from the skeleton king. Which is how it should be, i think. But i thinkt he crafting could use a tune up, making it harder to craft everything.
Also, the real money auction house. I dunno how I feel about it just yet. I dont know anything about it. if you need to buy money, or if you start with some as well. In beta, we start with 50B (blizzard bucks?) If everyone starts with 50, that would be good. I think, cause then there is only a limited amount out there, unless people buy more. But they also have a in game gold auction house. so I think the mix between the two should be good.
That d3 intro is sweet, that sudo-2d stuff is different from Blizzards usual stuff. It worked really well I think. It looked so much like a drawing but it had perspective and paralaxing so ithink it must be 3D. Half the reason I play Blizzard's games is for their amazing cinematics.
you know, some of that gothic grotesqueness is missing in the mood of the d3 trailers.. Maybe its just nostalgia but these Diablo2 cutscenes hold up conceptually very well.. The new Diablo 3 cutscenes seem very very straightforward. Missing a bit of the mystique maybe ?
Diablo is one of the reasons/games that made me get into the games industry. Games and worlds evolve as do dev's. Just have faith and trust in the blizz. So far I've just heard good things from the people playing the beta and I love the visual direction and they've never let me down before.
nah, i'm just a big fan of a game named Diablo. made by Blizzard. did you play it by a chance?
from a technical standpoint - sure, video's execution is great and artists did a decent job. It has eye candy, it's polished and so on.
I'm not denying that at all.
What it doesn't have is the atmosphere that made diablo (and, to a much lesser extent, diablo2) feel so different from other fantasy games.
It lacks that awesome dark medieval vibe - not "dark" as in gay vampires, but actually dark and twisted like Bosch paintings.
Diablo 1 felt inspired by medieval visions of hell, Diablo 3 on the other hand seems inspired by peter jackson.
That leaves me indifferent, same as Heart of the Swarm. I hate Blizzards recent direction.
It's sort of like Epic. They found a formula and they're streamlining everything towards that, even if it kills originality. It's Blizzard so the games are great, but they're just not hitting the same level in terms of story and feel anymore.
This new cinematic is bland, channeling the same "story by numbers" approach that SC2 followed. I just hope that at the end of the game I don't get treated to an equally retarded cinematic twist.
I'm a bit torn about this. I was a huge fan of Diablo 2 and played it endlessly back in the days. But to be honest, the new direction doesn't bother me at all. I think people only remember the first act of Diablo 2 when they compare it the new "softer" direction of Diablo 3.
Act 2 had lushing desert landscapes and very 'egyptian standardish" looking tombs. Act 3 had some standard greyish swamp and the dungeons aren't really as grotesque and evil looking now when I look at screenshots, most of the atmosphere comes from a very very lacking color palette, that if used now, Blizzard would probably be bashed into the lower pits of hell because of the lack of color.
With that being said(and from having played the beta), it's a bit softer then D2, but once you sit down and start playing it with a proper headset, the atmosphere is much more believeable then the one in Diablo 2 ever was.. Atleast in my opinion
The art direction may be different, but the game itself is everything D2 was and more. I played D2 for countless hours, and D3 beta has satisfied me in so many ways. so many small changes they`ve made for the better. Ive had numerous "YESSSS!!" moments. Especially with the treasure monsters running around. They are these little goblins that have a sack on their back, and once oyu hit them, they run away, dropping gold, and try to portal away from the area. if you kill them, (which is somewhat difficult, surprizingly) they drop some good loot.
But with D2, i played it for the loot. Just like most people did. Mindless killing with awesome loot. Story was kinda cool, but its not the reason i kept playing it. you beat it once, story means crap all after that. D3 puts even more emphasis on loot. No more levelling up your skills. you need runes to change them. I feel late game will be so focused on loot, even more than D2, it will be a wonderful wonderful time. And all the skills are fun to watch. Its no longer just mana mana mana. A bunch of the classes have rage / spirit or whatever. where you have 1 set of skills that build your spirit or whatever, then another set of skills that use the spirit.
If you loved D2 at all, you`ll love D3 if you give it a chance. Garenteed.
I think Blizzard realized they're bordering on 'Nintendo' territory, with their re-hashing of familiar franchises/styles.
They're changing what they can, without shit-stomping on everything us fan boys hold dear. It's a good balance.
Truth be told, there was a style to that 'time' when the first Diablo came out. Marilyn Manson and NIN videos were playing all over MTV, you'd see contemporary visuals of Floria Sigismondi, 'Ashley Wood' everywhere, and that general 'gothic' look was very prevalent in all media (high value contrast with high level of grit).
I can't help but think that going back to that visual style would have had everyone bitching about it looking too 'dated'.
D1 and D2 actually had a bit of a Silent Hill feel to me (which I liked). The nature of the grittiness of the low res textures and pixel sprites gave off a certain feeling. Same with PS1 and PS2 games.
It's an aesthetic quality you lose when you get in to the high-res 3D art of today. This applies to the new Silent Hill games as well, they just don't feel the same.
interesting take, jaque. u may have a very good point there
but the art style wasnt everything. when u bring it down to "numbers", u didnt have no sissy uncles and rainbows in d1, and the story had a sense of originality in d2. d3 is as typical as u would expect. i guess that what happens when u develop a franchise...
or become mainstream.
D1 and D2 actually had a bit of a Silent Hill feel to me (which I liked). The nature of the grittiness of the low res textures and pixel sprites gave off a certain feeling. Same with PS1 and PS2 games.
It's an aesthetic quality you lose when you get in to the high-res 3D art of today. This applies to the new Silent Hill games as well, they just don't feel the same.
I'm not sure how old you are, but that's words of an old man! Ha!
I only say that because I'm now 30 and feel the same way.
interesting take, jaque. u may have a very good point there
but the art style wasnt everything. when u bring it down to "numbers", u didnt have no sissy uncles and rainbows in d1, and the story had a sense of originality in d2. d3 is as typical as u would expect. i guess that what happens when u develop a franchise...
or become mainstream.
I think it might be bit a early for anyone to comment about the D3 story, we've seen 3 cinematics and thats it, and none of them really spoils the story in any way.
Sense of originality... meh. The story in D2 was as far as I'm concerned pretty cookie cutter and didn't really have as much depth translated to me as I had when I was playing the warcraft(not world of warcraft) franchise back in the days. I know there's a rich story in the Diablo universe, but thinking back now I can't really recall many of the big events or why/how they happened in the Diablo series. While I remember a lot about Dragon aspects and The sundering in the Warcraft universe. Maybe it has something to do with I was only 11 years old when Diablo 2 hit the street.
I think far to many have nostalgia fogging their memory, I suggest you try and go back and play both Diablo 1 and 2 again The quests in Diablo 2 actually feels alot like the quests in World of Warcraft, but then again Diablo has always been about grinding, while the quests in the Diablo 3 beta seems to have a very good narrative and flow.
Looking at the Baal cinematic, I kinda think the color grading and general feeling is much like the Black Soulstone cinematic where you meet Azmodan.
Just to clarify, I was commenting on the aesthetic of the cutscenes, not the game.
There was always that sense of mystique and suffering in previous diablo cinematics. Made you feel uneasy. The diablo 3 cutscenes could be substituted mordor/sauron. Maybe the tastes have changed but I can't help but feel that blizzards older cinematics were a bit more sophisticated in the diablo franchise. I think the Starcraft cinematics suffer from that as well. They are exceptionally executed but a means to and end. That brood war cutscene still gives me chills.
Just to clarify, I was commenting on the aesthetic of the cutscenes, not the game.
There was always that sense of mystique and suffering in previous diablo cinematics. Made you feel uneasy. The diablo 3 cutscenes could be substituted mordor/sauron. Maybe the tastes have changed but I can't help but feel that blizzards older cinematics were a bit more sophisticated in the diablo franchise. I think the Starcraft cinematics suffer from that as well. They are exceptionally executed but a means to and end. That brood war cutscene still gives me chills.
I can definitely see your point, I've been watching the old cinematics today and I think the reason why they call that feeling is because they go under the "less is more". The Diablo 2 cinematics suffer under the very very underdeveloped cinematic "technology" back then where a rigged character with 20 bones would take days to render, so they were very limited to how much they actually could fill into the cinematics, and that's maybe why they had a more "evil" and "mystique" feel over them, since it was just cheaper to hide everything in dark shadows.
Compared to now where 11 million polygons and twice as many particles are no problem.
It may be a bit premature at this point to dismiss D3 "as typical as u would expect" or lacking originality. Having played the beta I was very pleased with what I saw. The game play is just amazing and so fluid. The atmosphere of prior Diablo titles is out there, almost like its just over the horizon, just out of reach, but still present. Like previously stated Blizzard has developed its own style much like Nintendo, which is present in all of their games.
I can definitely see your point, I've been watching the old cinematics today and I think the reason why they call that feeling is because they go under the "less is more". The Diablo 2 cinematics suffer under the very very underdeveloped cinematic "technology" back then where a rigged character with 20 bones would take days to render, so they were very limited to how much they actually could fill into the cinematics, and that's maybe why they had a more "evil" and "mystique" feel over them, since it was just cheaper to hide everything in dark shadows.
Compared to now where 11 million polygons and twice as many particles are no problem.
Well in the case of that diablo 2 opening cinematic it's just so powerful conceptually and the narraration is just superb.
It doesn't matter that it looks dated.
In Starcraft 2 the abandoned Kerrigan cinematic borrowed heavily from the Brood war opening cutscene and for that, I found it to be the most powerful. There is that subtlety that I miss.
@jacque Seems like all mediums are simply catering more to the common denominator. It's not a question of style, more a lack thereof.
It's easier to sell stuff to a massive audience without a tangible preference than to a smaller one with a discerning taste. Blizzard is fast becoming the "Disney" of video games. Not to say Disney didn't pioneer much of our pop culture and set a quality bar for interactive media with art, music, story, and sound that anyone can enjoy, Blizzard is simply shrugging off their own style and identity and selling it for wholesome redundancy. But Diabo was blizzard North's IP anyway. The last i heard of those guys was blizzard making jabs at 'em for contemplating the use of clay models in the original diablo for their anniversary video. I'm honestly not sure if anyone really gives much of a damn about the legacy of Diablo at the current blizzard studio.
I've played through the beta many times now, and while I enjoy wow and I like their art style. I was skeptical if they would capture the feel of the old... all it took was a 30seconds of the classic tristram music and i'm right back where I left off years ago. also... it looks fantastic in motion, better then I gathered even from videos, imo.
i should mention that the music isn't EXACTLY the same as the old tristram but captures the mood... at least i think so anyway.
@jacque Seems like all mediums are simply catering more to the common denominator. It's not a question of style, more a lack thereof.
It's easier to sell stuff to a massive audience without a tangible preference than to a smaller one with a discerning taste. Blizzard is fast becoming the "Disney" of video games. Not to say Disney didn't pioneer much of our pop culture and set a quality bar for interactive media with art, music, story, and sound that anyone can enjoy, Blizzard is simply shrugging off their own style and identity and selling it for wholesome redundancy. But Diabo was blizzard North's IP anyway. The last i heard of those guys was blizzard making jabs at 'em for contemplating the use of clay models in the original diablo for their anniversary video. I'm honestly not sure if anyone really gives much of a damn about the legacy of Diablo at the current blizzard studio.
I'm not so sure about that, most of the head guys that are in charge of blizzard is the founding fathers, and it shouldn't surprise me that they care as much of the IPs that Blizzard has as anyone. I believe with Diablo they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. The way Diablo was looking and playing is a different era.. hell I have to really pull myself through an act of Diablo 2 now a days because the gameplay is dated and the graphics are now only playing on my nostalgia to keep me entertained. I would myself be very very if I saw a direct port from that to now, just like any artist you will ever see on this board, they will need to evolve at some point not only for keeping themselves attractive to employers/costumers, but also to make sure they don't get stuck in the same crack like many of the EA studies did a few years ago resulting in games that weren't all they could be.
People have to realize as well, that many of the key people in the diablo franchise left and started their own studio... and now make the wonderful torchlight franchise. At least, thats what I heard?
I'm honestly not sure if anyone really gives much of a damn about the legacy of Diablo at the current blizzard studio.
I seriously doubt that - to sink millions of dollars and commit resources into a project you have to care about it. "The devs don't care" is the same unfounded stereotype as "lazy devs". The fact that the game industry is such a risky, no gaurentee business you have to care.
People have to realize as well, that many of the key people in the diablo franchise left and started their own studio... and now make the wonderful torchlight franchise. At least, thats what I heard?
Yeah it was kinda obvious that the team is not monolith. Even disappointed by the cinematics I hope for the best. (Read: wasted hours grinding chars with my waifu).
It's an aesthetic quality you lose when you get in to the high-res 3D art of today.
I agree that some part of it is unevitably gone due to technological advancements.
But imo it's a very small part. the rest is pure art direction.
Usage of modern technology doesn't mean that game's stylistics are limited to what's most common in today's fantasy games. It also doesn't mean you have to remove all the grim stuff like hanging rotting bodies or crucified skeletons.
Truth be told, there was a style to that 'time' when the first Diablo came out. Marilyn Manson and NIN videos were playing all over MTV, you'd see contemporary visuals of Floria Sigismondi, 'Ashley Wood' everywhere, and that general 'gothic' look was very prevalent in all media (high value contrast with high level of grit).
Perhaps trends of 90's influenced Diablo and contributed to its sales a lot.
But i think the game borrowed a lot from macabre art which has been present in paintings, sculptures, drawings since ages.
The fearful fascination with death, decay, and apocalypse was really common in middle age, so it's safe to say that Diablo, which takes place in an alternative middle age, was inspired by that.
I guess it's subjective but i don't think this kind of thing is (or should be) inseparably bound to any particular era of gaming.
I can't help but think that going back to that visual style would have had everyone bitching about it looking too 'dated'.
It depends on what aspects of the style you mean.
Shadows not affected by light's color, crappy models and plastic materials would feel dated.
But i'm sure that it's possible to stylize a game in a way that takes the best of the old style and newer styles.
After all D3 is already heavily stylized, just in another direction.
A direction that caused plenty of people to bitch about DIII looking WoW-esque.
and that's maybe why they had a more "evil" and "mystique" feel over them, since it was just cheaper to hide everything in dark shadows.
bullcrap. don't you see the that it was deliberate? i saw lots of cinematics from that era that weren't grim or mysterious AT ALL. fog is just one aspect of that vibe.
and surely the modern technology doesn't mean that blizzard HAD to make an intro that lacks the evil atmosphere?
What you're saying is like saying that Matt Uelman would write cliche orchestral tracks full of pathos for D1 levels but they just didn't have money to hire an orchestra.
Replies
I plan on signing up for the annual as well and I pre-ordered the collectors already. I'm glad they made sure to take people that want the CE into account for this promotion.
Thanks.
[ame="
Yep gotta love Boogie2988, i am subscribed to his youtube channel.
He does a character called Francis and it's funny.
Here is the video of him talking about Diablo 3 Auction House you mentioned Stinger88.
You should see the new video of him playing skyrim,lol
[ame="
It nearly feels the same as Diablo 2 except for a much more smoth combat and skill system, and the new graphics also set a very nice mood, even if it's a bit stylized, it really sells the world.
My main hero is gonna be a wizard, probably the funniest class so far :P Arcane Orb is fucking awesome!
i wonna see ravens picking corpses eyes out!
blargh
Exactly...
when i clicked the link I saw:
Seriously? was there anything inapropriate? satanism, sacrilege, violence, gore, nudity?
I must have missed it.
And the niece girl seems soo out of place in this universe. her look, accent etc just don't fit at all imo.
But, hurray for obligatory epic huge marching epic armies and epic Spectacular Clashes(tm).
These days apparently you can't have Fantasy without cheesy cinematic pompeousness.
Diablo, you've truly fallen low.
but I do feel I will be hoping for a shower scene featuring cain and his "Niece"
But other than that, it was pretty awesome. I loved the part with the 2d ravens that got animated. Looking at it, I'm not sure if it's 2d animation, or 3d with some nice shader work/filters. Pretty sure it's all 3d. The whole look of pseudo-motion-graphics is real awesome.
nah, i'm just a big fan of a game named Diablo. made by Blizzard. did you play it by a chance?
from a technical standpoint - sure, video's execution is great and artists did a decent job. It has eye candy, it's polished and so on.
I'm not denying that at all.
What it doesn't have is the atmosphere that made diablo (and, to a much lesser extent, diablo2) feel so different from other fantasy games.
It lacks that awesome dark medieval vibe - not "dark" as in gay vampires, but actually dark and twisted like Bosch paintings.
Diablo 1 felt inspired by medieval visions of hell, Diablo 3 on the other hand seems inspired by peter jackson.
This is what annoys me.
[ame="
Also, the real money auction house. I dunno how I feel about it just yet. I dont know anything about it. if you need to buy money, or if you start with some as well. In beta, we start with 50B (blizzard bucks?) If everyone starts with 50, that would be good. I think, cause then there is only a limited amount out there, unless people buy more. But they also have a in game gold auction house. so I think the mix between the two should be good.
[ame="
guess some people never heard of a pimp named Deckard Cain
you know, some of that gothic grotesqueness is missing in the mood of the d3 trailers.. Maybe its just nostalgia but these Diablo2 cutscenes hold up conceptually very well.. The new Diablo 3 cutscenes seem very very straightforward. Missing a bit of the mystique maybe ?
That leaves me indifferent, same as Heart of the Swarm. I hate Blizzards recent direction.
It's sort of like Epic. They found a formula and they're streamlining everything towards that, even if it kills originality. It's Blizzard so the games are great, but they're just not hitting the same level in terms of story and feel anymore.
This new cinematic is bland, channeling the same "story by numbers" approach that SC2 followed. I just hope that at the end of the game I don't get treated to an equally retarded cinematic twist.
Act 2 had lushing desert landscapes and very 'egyptian standardish" looking tombs. Act 3 had some standard greyish swamp and the dungeons aren't really as grotesque and evil looking now when I look at screenshots, most of the atmosphere comes from a very very lacking color palette, that if used now, Blizzard would probably be bashed into the lower pits of hell because of the lack of color.
With that being said(and from having played the beta), it's a bit softer then D2, but once you sit down and start playing it with a proper headset, the atmosphere is much more believeable then the one in Diablo 2 ever was.. Atleast in my opinion
But with D2, i played it for the loot. Just like most people did. Mindless killing with awesome loot. Story was kinda cool, but its not the reason i kept playing it. you beat it once, story means crap all after that. D3 puts even more emphasis on loot. No more levelling up your skills. you need runes to change them. I feel late game will be so focused on loot, even more than D2, it will be a wonderful wonderful time. And all the skills are fun to watch. Its no longer just mana mana mana. A bunch of the classes have rage / spirit or whatever. where you have 1 set of skills that build your spirit or whatever, then another set of skills that use the spirit.
If you loved D2 at all, you`ll love D3 if you give it a chance. Garenteed.
I think Blizzard realized they're bordering on 'Nintendo' territory, with their re-hashing of familiar franchises/styles.
They're changing what they can, without shit-stomping on everything us fan boys hold dear. It's a good balance.
Truth be told, there was a style to that 'time' when the first Diablo came out. Marilyn Manson and NIN videos were playing all over MTV, you'd see contemporary visuals of Floria Sigismondi, 'Ashley Wood' everywhere, and that general 'gothic' look was very prevalent in all media (high value contrast with high level of grit).
I can't help but think that going back to that visual style would have had everyone bitching about it looking too 'dated'.
It's an aesthetic quality you lose when you get in to the high-res 3D art of today. This applies to the new Silent Hill games as well, they just don't feel the same.
but the art style wasnt everything. when u bring it down to "numbers", u didnt have no sissy uncles and rainbows in d1, and the story had a sense of originality in d2. d3 is as typical as u would expect. i guess that what happens when u develop a franchise...
or become mainstream.
I'm not sure how old you are, but that's words of an old man! Ha!
I only say that because I'm now 30 and feel the same way.
I think it might be bit a early for anyone to comment about the D3 story, we've seen 3 cinematics and thats it, and none of them really spoils the story in any way.
Sense of originality... meh. The story in D2 was as far as I'm concerned pretty cookie cutter and didn't really have as much depth translated to me as I had when I was playing the warcraft(not world of warcraft) franchise back in the days. I know there's a rich story in the Diablo universe, but thinking back now I can't really recall many of the big events or why/how they happened in the Diablo series. While I remember a lot about Dragon aspects and The sundering in the Warcraft universe. Maybe it has something to do with I was only 11 years old when Diablo 2 hit the street.
I think far to many have nostalgia fogging their memory, I suggest you try and go back and play both Diablo 1 and 2 again
Looking at the Baal cinematic, I kinda think the color grading and general feeling is much like the Black Soulstone cinematic where you meet Azmodan.
There was always that sense of mystique and suffering in previous diablo cinematics. Made you feel uneasy. The diablo 3 cutscenes could be substituted mordor/sauron. Maybe the tastes have changed but I can't help but feel that blizzards older cinematics were a bit more sophisticated in the diablo franchise. I think the Starcraft cinematics suffer from that as well. They are exceptionally executed but a means to and end. That brood war cutscene still gives me chills.
I can definitely see your point, I've been watching the old cinematics today and I think the reason why they call that feeling is because they go under the "less is more". The Diablo 2 cinematics suffer under the very very underdeveloped cinematic "technology" back then where a rigged character with 20 bones would take days to render, so they were very limited to how much they actually could fill into the cinematics, and that's maybe why they had a more "evil" and "mystique" feel over them, since it was just cheaper to hide everything in dark shadows.
Compared to now where 11 million polygons and twice as many particles are no problem.
Well in the case of that diablo 2 opening cinematic it's just so powerful conceptually and the narraration is just superb.
It doesn't matter that it looks dated.
In Starcraft 2 the abandoned Kerrigan cinematic borrowed heavily from the Brood war opening cutscene and for that, I found it to be the most powerful. There is that subtlety that I miss.
It's easier to sell stuff to a massive audience without a tangible preference than to a smaller one with a discerning taste. Blizzard is fast becoming the "Disney" of video games. Not to say Disney didn't pioneer much of our pop culture and set a quality bar for interactive media with art, music, story, and sound that anyone can enjoy, Blizzard is simply shrugging off their own style and identity and selling it for wholesome redundancy. But Diabo was blizzard North's IP anyway. The last i heard of those guys was blizzard making jabs at 'em for contemplating the use of clay models in the original diablo for their anniversary video. I'm honestly not sure if anyone really gives much of a damn about the legacy of Diablo at the current blizzard studio.
i should mention that the music isn't EXACTLY the same as the old tristram but captures the mood... at least i think so anyway.
I'm not so sure about that, most of the head guys that are in charge of blizzard is the founding fathers, and it shouldn't surprise me that they care as much of the IPs that Blizzard has as anyone. I believe with Diablo they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. The way Diablo was looking and playing is a different era.. hell I have to really pull myself through an act of Diablo 2 now a days because the gameplay is dated and the graphics are now only playing on my nostalgia to keep me entertained. I would myself be very very
I seriously doubt that - to sink millions of dollars and commit resources into a project you have to care about it. "The devs don't care" is the same unfounded stereotype as "lazy devs". The fact that the game industry is such a risky, no gaurentee business you have to care.
This might help:
Link: http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/03/24/20-years-of-blizzard-blizzards-dna-2/
cool diablo 3 pvp! dunno if its been posted yet, but this looks cool
I agree that some part of it is unevitably gone due to technological advancements.
But imo it's a very small part. the rest is pure art direction.
Usage of modern technology doesn't mean that game's stylistics are limited to what's most common in today's fantasy games. It also doesn't mean you have to remove all the grim stuff like hanging rotting bodies or crucified skeletons.
Perhaps trends of 90's influenced Diablo and contributed to its sales a lot.
But i think the game borrowed a lot from macabre art which has been present in paintings, sculptures, drawings since ages.
The fearful fascination with death, decay, and apocalypse was really common in middle age, so it's safe to say that Diablo, which takes place in an alternative middle age, was inspired by that.
I guess it's subjective but i don't think this kind of thing is (or should be) inseparably bound to any particular era of gaming.
It depends on what aspects of the style you mean.
Shadows not affected by light's color, crappy models and plastic materials would feel dated.
But i'm sure that it's possible to stylize a game in a way that takes the best of the old style and newer styles.
After all D3 is already heavily stylized, just in another direction.
A direction that caused plenty of people to bitch about DIII looking WoW-esque.
bullcrap. don't you see the that it was deliberate? i saw lots of cinematics from that era that weren't grim or mysterious AT ALL. fog is just one aspect of that vibe.
and surely the modern technology doesn't mean that blizzard HAD to make an intro that lacks the evil atmosphere?
What you're saying is like saying that Matt Uelman would write cliche orchestral tracks full of pathos for D1 levels but they just didn't have money to hire an orchestra.