Not at all what I expected

[Reth]

I was expecting diablo 3 to be more dark and from a third person point of view in a huge world. I could be wrong but from the surface this looks like wow in diablo perspective.

[Merick]

1. It is pretty dark.
2. It is a third person perspective.
3. You have no way of knowing how big the world is yet.

[Hello Jim]

It remainds me much more of God of War or Lord of the Rings games.
But I really can't tell until I play.
It's new, yes, it's even not so Diabloic, but it just looks awesome

[Felix]

Everytime a new and exciting game is announced the crowds gather to play the "How I would have done it" game. Getting obnoxious and irritated in general when others come to do the same and don't come up with the same.

Well my 2.5 cents (yes, my opinion is more important cause it's MY game); I'm very glad to see that Diablo III is infact Diablo III.

[Omikron8]

diablo will never belong in a 3rd person perspective

the movement and multi target combat of diablo does lend itself well to having to spin your directional keys constantly to see your targets, this is the problem you would have in the 3rd person mode

[Reth]

I know I was hoping for a whole new take on diablo, you know like hellgate london but better. but maybe this will be pretty fun. But it does look just like titans quest.

[stillman]

For me I thought it looked a whole lot like D2. Just all that barb jumping and zombies. I think there will be ups and downs for sure. For instance, when i saw the barb, I thought "Oh no, another 10 more years of watching that same guy jump like Super Mario". Then again, we didn't get to see a full fleged mage character so we're not getting the whole picture, needless to say.
Overall, I'm very impressed with everything, except I too was hoping for more originality. Just my preference, but I wanted to see no D2 heros recycled since we played the hell out of them already. Or, maybe the zombies could all be "higher ups" wtih standard issue armor instead of being easy naked meat to kill. You know, advancements, not just D2 stuff.

Omikron8, I'm totally glad it's not 3d for the same reason: I don't want 100 accumulated hours of hitting a button to turn around just to see stuff. So I'm pretty pleased with the view and the gamepaly, animation, etc.

[billobob]

people are comparing d3 to WoW and other games just because it's in 3d... of course they can't preserve the exact same look when they jump to better graphics. doesn't mean the gameplay isn't better

[capnlarge]

Err...it is in 3rd person perspective, just like every other Diablo game ever.

Looks like Diablo to me and I'm real excited. :D

[ProfessionalBerg]

Err...it is in 3rd person perspective, just like every other Diablo game ever.

Looks like Diablo to me and I'm real excited. :D

There's a huge difference between a 3rd-person view (a-la WoW) and isomeric/top-down view a-la Dungeon Siege/Diablo 2/etc.

[Zeek]

Looks great to me. I couldn't be more happy with this announcement. They didn't go MMO and they didn't go first person or anything too crazy. They kept the same Diablo feel and just enhanced it. I'm super impressed. Blizzard does it again!

[Es Mors]

There's a huge difference between a 3rd-person view (a-la WoW) and isomeric/top-down view a-la Dungeon Siege/Diablo 2/etc.

But it's still technicaly 3rd-person, so saying it's not is just wrong. Or am I totaly misunderstanding here?

[PoiZonCraZy]

i love it. this game is gonna be amazing.

[capnlarge]

It might be an isometric view...but it's still 3rd person. (i.e:from the perspective of someone watching the action)

[Drandimere]

Everytime a new and exciting game is announced the crowds gather to play the "How I would have done it" game. Getting obnoxious and irritated in general when others come to do the same and don't come up with the same.

I agree, people need to let the development process run it's course and then evaluate the final product. We've seen a glimpse of two classes and two locations and people are already jumping to conclusions, making broad-brush-stroke evaluations and generally claiming that the "sky is falling".

D3 isn't going to be D2, just as D2 wasn't D1.

I want to make a few comments about the comparisons with other 3-D games. First, remember that Blizzard took some heat when D2 released because it wasn't 3-D. The Blizzard development cycle tends to be so long that by the time they actually release a product, the technology can be a bit outdated. By the time D2 released, 3-D games were out, but it was too late to go back and re-do everything in 3-D. Second, 3-D games have a tendency to have a certain feel because of the 3-D characteristics - so, I wouldn't expect D3 in 3-D to be radically different than other fantasy based 3-D games. Lastly, the Diablo franchise has always been about the game play and not the "look". Although Blizzard wants the game to look sweet, it takes a back-seat to creating addictive game-play. Substance over style has worked for them pretty well so far.

[Mad Mantis]

I agree, people need to let the development process run it's course and then evaluate the final product. We've seen a glimpse of two classes and two locations and people are already jumping to conclusions, making broad-brush-stroke evaluations and generally claiming that the "sky is falling".

Why wait with criticism until it is too late to do anything about it? That doesn’t make sense.

Of course the criticism at this point in time is going to be broad-brush-stroke. Let people speak out while the information comes out. When more information becomes available the criticism will be more directed at specifics.
At this point in the they can already poll to see if they got the feel of the product right. For some it is already spot on and for some it is not. When more information becomes available Blizz can see how the opinions shift.

The earlier people start with criticism the easier it will be to change something if it needs to change. You can more easily follow trends and see if something needs to be adjusted.

[Friends Call Me Butch]

I agree, people need to let the development process run it's course and then evaluate the final product.

I agree. Eight years is really just a blink of the eye in the grand scheme. Maybe by 2015 we'll have a clearer picture of how the game is progressing.

[greenwizard]

people are comparing d3 to WoW and other games just because it's in 3d... of course they can't preserve the exact same look when they jump to better graphics. doesn't mean the gameplay isn't better

Who ever said that 3d is better? Don't you remember playing slide-scroller games on the NES... and then comparing them to something like Hellgate London

[Meenah]

3rd person means you are outside of the character.

So this is 3rd person, but not "classic" 3rd person. It is, as said, isometric/top-down 3rd person.

[stillman]

I think we should criticise it to the bitter end. Isn't that what this whole D3 forum is about? It would be pretty quiet around here if everyone just patiently waited for the release date.

[Hello Jim]

"By the time D2 released, 3-D games were out, but it was too late to go back and re-do everything in 3-D"

I'm sorry, but IMO this 3D is worse. Until they discover a breakthrough in graphic engine, this graphic will remain both ugly and unreal. The Diablo 2 style, however, wasn't trying to be real, it was more of hand art than computer art. That's much more better looking and original. Too bad Diablo's fallen to the hands of fashion.

[Drandimere]

Why wait with criticism until it is too late to do anything about it? That doesn’t make sense.

OK, I understand what you are saying. If you believe that unsolicited criticism on this forum is going to influence the development team at Blizzard, then by all means, fire away.

I'm not saying that Blizzard doesn't listen to its customers, but I personally believe that the vast majority of "consumer feedback" that they collect is in a closed (solicited) environment.

[Drandimere]

"The Diablo 2 style, however, wasn't trying to be real, it was more of hand art than computer art. That's much more better looking and original. Too bad Diablo's fallen to the hands of fashion.

Personally, I like the more hand-drawn 2D look myself. Thus far, I've never cared for any visuals in 3D games, they always end up looking to polygon-like, even with a high-end video card. I will say that they are getting there though, especially in the past two years.

[Malrenn]

I was expecting diablo 3 to be more dark and from a third person point of view in a huge world. I could be wrong but from the surface this looks like wow in diablo perspective.
~Go look at the sauration thread for more discussion on this topic. Not saying this is a bad post or anything just good discussion there.


Everytime a new and exciting game is announced the crowds gather to play the "How I would have done it" game. Getting obnoxious and irritated in general when others come to do the same and don't come up with the same.

Well my 2.5 cents (yes, my opinion is more important cause it's MY game); I'm very glad to see that Diablo III is infact Diablo III.
Go take a look at the official forums...YIKES!:banghead:
~I agree its good to criticize early and often, but it needs to have a good focus. Alot of people are just freaking out and spewing nonsense, predictably.


diablo will never belong in a 3rd person perspective the movement and multi target combat of diablo does lend itself well to having to spin your directional keys constantly to see your targets, this is the problem you would have in the 3rd person mode
~We can now speculate what this "Next - Gen" MMO they are working on will be! Well we may have been already but whatever. Will it be a Diablo MMO, Starcraft or a new franchise altogether? Remember how Warcraft TFT segued us into WoW. Could SC2 or D3 be doing the same. I have no guess atm, and like many dont know if I want to see Diablo in an MMO setting. Unless it is truly NEXT GEN.(whatever that means). All I know is I am sick of the slow paced, dependent on others grind grind grind that MMOS have become. I do not want that for Diablo ever.

people are comparing d3 to WoW and other games just because it's in 3d... of course they can't preserve the exact same look when they jump to better graphics. doesn't mean the gameplay isn't better
~ That is exactly right. Good gameplay is most important. Take the game Pharaoh, which many consider one of the best city builders to this day, even though the graphics are from 1999 and look it. Again, the saturation thread has a good discussion going on this too.


I agree, people need to let the development process run it's course and then evaluate the final product. We've seen a glimpse of two classes and two locations and people are already jumping to conclusions, making broad-brush-stroke evaluations and generally claiming that the "sky is falling".

D3 isn't going to be D2, just as D2 wasn't D1.

I want to make a few comments about the comparisons with other 3-D games. First, remember that Blizzard took some heat when D2 released because it wasn't 3-D. The Blizzard development cycle tends to be so long that by the time they actually release a product, the technology can be a bit outdated. By the time D2 released, 3-D games were out, but it was too late to go back and re-do everything in 3-D. Second, 3-D games have a tendency to have a certain feel because of the 3-D characteristics - so, I wouldn't expect D3 in 3-D to be radically different than other fantasy based 3-D games. Lastly, the Diablo franchise has always been about the game play and not the "look". Although Blizzard wants the game to look sweet, it takes a back-seat to creating addictive game-play. Substance over style has worked for them pretty well so far.
~ I expect Blizzard is going to address the long development cycle, especially if they hope to release the aforementioned "Next Gen" MMO. You kinda have to be able to release a product that is current in terms of gameplay innovation, graphical style and quality and tech before you can make such a claim. This does not fit well with their previous long development cycles, so I am interested to see what they come up with!
Substance and Style is hard to do in one game and get it working smooth. ESP in the MMO genre. Again I refer to the yet unannounced MMO and not D3 when I say...MMO.


I agree. Eight years is really just a blink of the eye in the grand scheme. Maybe by 2015 we'll have a clearer picture of how the game is progressing.
~ ./wrists

[moranor]

I agree, people need to let the development process run it's course and then evaluate the final product. We've seen a glimpse of two classes and two locations and people are already jumping to conclusions, making broad-brush-stroke evaluations and generally claiming that the "sky is falling".

Saying it looks good is evaluating it as well, and I doubt anyone would get criticized for doing that

I feel disappointed by the art style and I think I will be when it's released as well because I don't like the cartoon look