Heroes Rise: 50% Unlocked

We’ve finally hit the half-way mark on the Heroes Rise promotional page! The release is so close, we can nearly taste it. As it should be after 12 years of waiting. With the Open Beta currently underway (not without technical problems, of course. But it seems like quite the coincidence that the 50% milestone unlocks the day the beta opens to the world. The excitement just continues to mount.

And no it’s not a wallpaper or facebook image, it is a brand new Blizzcast.

Our own Rob Simpson talks Diablo III item, quest, and sound design with Senior Designer Jason Bender, senior sound designer Kris Giampa, and Lead Content Designer Kevin Martens. What are the best ways to capture the sound of bones breaking? Find out in this BlizzCast 17 video exclusive.

Nizaris Update:

• The video covers a lot of information we have known before, or at least have surmised. Starting with Senior Designer Jason Bender talking about randomization and aspects that difficulty levels bring to the game.
•  Second up is Senior Sound Designer Kris Giampa covering some of the basics on how they bring the world to life with their sound libraries. It’s an interesting piece, especially if you haven’t listened to the panel from Blizzcon ’11 that focuses on Blizz music.
• Third is Lead Content Designer Kevin Martens who talks a little about the background of the Festering Woods (big surprise!), which will involve some [wikiNephalem[/wiki] Artifacts and warring spirits. The really cool part of this video is that it contains small clips of the game that have never been seen before.

The closing remarks are the most interesting as it refers to the fabled Cow Level. Based on Kevin’s remarks, we may not have seen the last of the Cow King.

So… spoiler warning if you want to keep your knowledge about the rest of the game to a minimum.

Over all, the content is geared towards a new audience, but it’s definitely worth a listen. And, of course, unlike all other Blizzcasts, these are live interviews held directly with the lead designers. Enjoy!