View Full Version : Side by Side Color Comparison
I know this is nothing new, but I don't think anyone actually compared the two color palettes in both WoW and Diablo III directly. I took a screen shot of a cave area in WoW, and then one of the dungeon screenshots from Diablo III.
It looks like a very, very similar palette. The Diablo III palette is just a little clearer.
I'm not too thrilled, to be honest. How can people be happy with this? It's not innovative at all. It seriously looks like the exact same color palette.
I'm not saying the colors are bad. I happen to like how WoW looks... but you think they could have changed it, even just a little bit.
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/2497/d2wowcompit0.th.jpg (http://img139.imageshack.us/my.php?image=d2wowcompit0.jpg)
If you like how WoW looks, what the hell is the problem?
And wow, two sets of caves using a cave-like palette? Stop the presses!
Apocalypse
17-07-2008, 13:51
too much complaining about the graphics in d3, maybe you all forget but d2 looked like crap, it even looked bad at release, yet we still played and loved it. infact the graphics in d2 never became an issue for me, hell i still dont mind the graphics today
sicilian
17-07-2008, 15:06
And wow, two sets of caves using a cave-like palette? Stop the presses!
Um, technically, one's a cave, and one's some Forgotten Tombs ;)
But seriously, anyone been in caves before? A lot of them have a greenish blue hue when there's lighting, especially if there's a lot of moisture. That's how things look in the real world. It can't be THAT big of a deal, can it?
so what? doom, duke nukem, quake...they all looked the same and they are all excellent games. a gloomy atmosphere is a gloomy atmosphere, you can't really change the way it looks can you? there isn't really place for innovation in this area (if we exclude the idea of a cartoony look that can be seen in TF2).
patriach owen
17-07-2008, 15:23
Nice UI btw on WoW... :D, where is that SS ? is it in the little cave in Zangar, where you can kill the mobs for Sporregar rep? :D
but, lol im sure we can all find a SS where the colous look the same in most games.
ThulRasha
17-07-2008, 15:32
I know this is nothing new, but I don't think anyone actually compared the two color palettes in both WoW and Diablo III directly.
Actually, someone did.
Check out this topic:
http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=670641
And they look nothing alike. Both outdoor areas and both have completely different color palettes.
Just because that one cave in WoW has greenish tints like the bridge part of the dungeon in D3, doesn't mean that the whole game will have a similar color palette for every type of area.
And even if it did... why is it a bad thing, if the color palette actually fits the scene?
Fallen_62
17-07-2008, 16:05
It's not like WoW has sold some 100 billion copies (exaggeration...), so they must have done something right with it. So what if they look the same, it's essentially area... Dark, deep places with little light. If they followed that exactly we wouldn't be able to see a damn thing. If they look different in terms of terrain and texture, where's the problem if they have a similar color palette? The world isn't going to end, comets won't fall from the sky, and we will all still play the game. People are just looking for things to gripe about right now...
If you like how WoW looks, what the hell is the problem?
It's the principle of things.
Wow graphics were appropriate for World of Warcraft because it's a Warcraft game. Cartoon is what it's all about.
Starcraft, Diablo and Warcraft are three distinct universes and they're closing in the gap between Diablo and Warcraft from an artistic standpoint.
If every game looked like WoW, it'd be pretty bland. Even if WoW graphics are good.
I love the Warcraft look... in Warcraft.
It's the principle of things.
Wow graphics were appropriate for World of Warcraft because it's a Warcraft game. Cartoon is what it's all about.Yes, and the principle is that there's a bit more to a game than happening to share a little similarity, stylistically, to another game.
You could as easily find screenshots where the D3 shot makes it look like Titan Quest. Are people going to start freaking out that there'll be Spartans in D3? Or find a shot where Halo looks like D3, for a whole other kind of Spartan...
Yes, there are some minor similarities between the two games, but the similarities are being blown way out of proportion. It's madness. The games are very clearly seperate entities. Anyone who cannot see that is allowing their anti-WoW bias to show, whether they will admit to it or not.
sicilian
17-07-2008, 18:16
Even if the color palates are similar throughout the entire game (which I'm 99.9% certain they won't be. There will NOT be any place in Diablo like the Blood Elf Capital :P ), there is so much more to setting a game's mood than simply colors.
Look at the details of the backgrounds. There are cobwebs, the torches and candles have a gothic look, there are chains coming out of a demonic face beneath the bridge in the beginning, everything looks crumbled... We didn't see much in the demo, probably because it couldn't be M rated yet, but I'm sure they'll add some of the gory flavor to the backgrounds too, like impaled bodies, bloody torture devices, etc.
On top of all that, music adds to the ambience, and I heard some great sounding tracks in the demo.
But all this is moot as well, since we saw what is likely a very early portion of the game. As you go further on, there's going to be a great variety of landscapes and areas, and I'm positive they'll use different palates for each.
Vertigo X
17-07-2008, 18:47
Well, this should shut up the people who say that the Diablo 3 screens don't look the least bit like WoW. I agree with the people that say that, in the end, we'll all be playing and (most likely) enjoying the game. I just think it's kind of ridiculous how there are people who are adamant that there's no similarities!
I dont get it? How can you compare those two games, i for one dont even like the looks of WoW but i love the looks of d3. I dont think that they look similar to each other at all!!
Why are you even comparing this? First of all, you're taking a screen shot from ONE AREA of the game. Diablo 2's color palette changes from act to act. Secondly, D3 isn't even close to being finished, so why is this even an issue?
Vertigo X
17-07-2008, 22:57
Well, I can't speak for the OP, but this is just a jab at those people who say the two games look nothing alike. If you still can't see it, then you're most likely caught up in the "anti-anti-hype." :)
Who the hell cares? It's all about game play. I still break out the NES games at times because they were the deleted! Ninja Gaiden? Castlevania? Link? They are absolutely crap graphics by todays standard but the games are still fun.
To the people saying the outdoor areas in both games are highly different...
Obviously they are. WoW was marketed to be a colorful and visceral game (Diablo III is too, but they still are quite different in outdoor areas.)
This isn't the only cave/dungeon area in WoW that looks like the Diablo III dungeon we were provided in the demo. It's just one of the many that show the very similar palettes.
It's not like these games are made from entirely different companies and it's just coincidental.
The art people doing Diablo III obviously took some cues from WoW and I think this pretty much proves it.
As we know, advancing in acts in Diablo III does usually tend to an increasing darker, gothic approach as you near hell.
I'm not too worried about the colors in Diablo III, but based solely off the D3 information we have now, off the one and only dungeon we have seen... it doesn't look all that different from WoW, and I was really expecting an entirely different universe.
So, based on that, my personal buy/not buy is going to be reserved until a little more game play is shown (or I'll play single player on a borrowed copy so I can find out what happens with the story line since I'm honestly dieing to know!).
If I want WoW I'll just stick with that. I already pay monthly for it, I don't need a clone wrapped in a D3 package. I just wanted to post some screenshots that did actually look alike for the people saying there are no comparisons. I mean... if I tilted the camera the right way and removed the interface from both how many people would be able to tell right away? I wouldn't be able to.
You've obviously haven't read my analysis so here it is, just to crush any taboos that might exist!
So first is cartoony: From the images I've compiled for you we can clearly see if D3 graphics look cartoony or not.
Definition of cartoon(y):
1. a. A drawing depicting a humorous situation, often accompanied by a caption.
b. A drawing representing current public figures or issues symbolically and often satirically: a political cartoon.
2. A preliminary sketch similar in size to the work, such as a fresco, that is to be copied from it.
3. An animated cartoon.
4. A comic strip.
5. A ridiculously oversimplified or stereotypical representation: criticized the actor's portrayal of Jefferson as a historically inaccurate cartoon.
v. car·tooned, car·toon·ing, car·toons
Judging by definition and common sense for cartoony, as well as comparing several images I can clearly state that D3 graphics are not cartoony.
Second is WOW'ish: From the images I've compiled you can clearly see the if D3 graphics look like WOW ones or not.
WOW graphics: Using strong and vivid colors, the dominant colors are the main 16 colors and there is little use of softer or highly darker variants.
D3 graphics: Using mostly softer colors, rather than the main 16 colors, though (outside)areas use mostly vivid colors. Nature(trees, bushes, grass, etc...) use mostly 1 predominant darker color variant.
Although a small resemblance between D3 and WOW graphics can be found by having vivid colors, that can also be said for almost every game in the industry.
Third is Brightness: Brightness (also called effulgence) is an attribute of visual perception (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_perception) in which a source appears to emit a given amount of light (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light). In other words, brightness is the perception elicited by the luminance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminance) of a visual target. This is a subjective (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjective) attribute (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attribute)/property (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property) of an object being observed.
There are different level of brightness; Mostly with brightness we resemble a sunny(summer or spring)day. Now if it starts raining its still light, we can still see, but the level of brightness is reduced.
Brightness stops when night time(taking there are no light sources).
Having all this in mind the D3 graphics are neither dark or bright, they change according to time fo day and natural occurances(rain, clouds, etc...).
Forth is light variations:
Light, or visible light, is electromagnetic radiation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_radiation) of a wavelength (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavelength) that is visible (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visible_spectrum) to the human eye (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_eye) (about 400–700 nm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanometre)). In a scientific (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science) context, the word light is sometimes used to refer to the entire electromagnetic spectrum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_spectrum). Moreover, in optics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optics), the term "visible light" refers to electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths of ~300 nm (near UV (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet)) through ~1400 nm (near infrared (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared)). [1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light#cite_note-0) Light is composed of elementary particles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elementary_particles) called photons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photons).
Three primary properties of light are:
Intensity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intensity_%28physics%29);
Frequency (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency) or wavelength (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavelength) and;
Polarization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polarization).
So as you can see there are different variations of light, similar as there are different variations of brightness.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/CircularPolarizer.jpg/800px-CircularPolarizer.jpg
So having all this in mind D3 graphics are in any way perfectly realistic, depending of the source of light in any dark area, the area would would take on the glowing light characteristics of the light source. So if a torch in a dungeon is the light source some objects in that area would have a redish/orange glow, if there is a dim source of light then the environment may take on a bluish glow.
http://www.earlham.edu/%7Ebaumasa/graphics/more%20ice%20cave.jpg
Conclusion: D3 graphics/art is styilized, using vivid colors and changing enviorements and thus changing brightness and light. It can't be said its cartoony since it uses variants of every color and although 'some' of the nature(trees, bushes, etc..) is painted and not rendered it uses darker colors and not main colors.
Although it uses vivid colors and being referred to as WOW'ish, by that logic it can be said it looks like most of the games on the market today and compared to any game to proove something in negative or positive way. So this kind of "argument" is error.
Now for the images:
WOW (http://www.farcry2game.info/wow.jpg)
D3 (http://www.farcry2game.info/d3-2.png)
D2 (http://www.farcry2game.info/d2-2.jpg)
Cartoony (http://www.farcry2game.info/cartoony.jpg)
The question?: Does D3 have any similarity to D2? - Yes it does, if you look at image D3 and D2(names resemble the games)they are in a sense very similar.
Are D2 and D3 graphics same? - No, its safe to say that although there are similarities the graphics are not same, but then again thats to be expected as there has been so much improvement in graphics, its would be a killer not to improve the graphics in D3.
Does the D3 graphics need improvement? - Yes and no. In terms of details, yes they need improvement some improvements, but cinsidering D3 is still in PRE-ALPHA its obvious to expect some improvements(without signing stupid petitions and whining about it); In terms of overall graphics, no they do not need any big improvement.
On to the next question: Does diablo 3 need art improvements? - Yes, we can all agree I think that a undetailed bluish goblin on the stairs and brand new chairs is not good, BUT we can also all agree I think that 95% of the gameplay demo art was great. From the detailed and amazing starting point of the gameplay demo, the fountains, old and broken bricks, sideway bricks with writings on them, old, broken and gothic like columns with spider webs on them, old rusty candle carriers, to the gothic and rusty shandeleer is was all amazing.
And although its easy to oversee all the great art becaose of few goblin statues and huge nostalgia I call you to clear your mind and judge rationally!
too much complaining about the graphics in d3, maybe you all forget but d2 looked like crap, it even looked bad at release, yet we still played and loved it. infact the graphics in d2 never became an issue for me, hell i still dont mind the graphics today
Thank you for verbaliing my thoughts.
Diablo 2 is still incredibly popular today, and the graphics are incredibly weak. But hey, WHO GIVES A DAMN?
It's an amazing game, and Diablo 3 will be as well. I'm sick of all this complaining. Blizzard is finally deciding to give us the gift of another installment in the amazing Diablo series, and all I hear is moans and groans over the colours and whatnot.
Shut the hell up, it's going to be amazing. The graphics even look pretty good for a newer game... Sure, it's not state-of-the-line Crysis graphics, but who would want to have to have a beast of a machine to play it?
Be thankful it's not incredibly graphically stunning. It will have lower system requirements.
Apocalypse
18-07-2008, 00:49
Who the hell cares? It's all about game play. I still break out the NES games at times because they were the deleted! Ninja Gaiden? Castlevania? Link? They are absolutely crap graphics by todays standard but the games are still fun.
its all about faxanadu my friend. anyway if a game is good it gets played by mean, end of story. dont give a rats *** about the graphics.
btw i for one like how diablo looks. blah blah its not dark, d2 was not really dark either and i liked that game
To the people saying the outdoor areas in both games are highly different...
Obviously they are. WoW was marketed to be a colorful and visceral game (Diablo III is too, but they still are quite different in outdoor areas.)
This isn't the only cave/dungeon area in WoW that looks like the Diablo III dungeon we were provided in the demo. It's just one of the many that show the very similar palettes.
If I want WoW I'll just stick with that. I already pay monthly for it, I don't need a clone wrapped in a D3 package.
Breaking news: Not only are grey rocks actually grey in both games, but green grass is also green in both games. We are awaiting news on whether the color of water follows this disturbing trend:)
Seriously, you are taking a similar look of torch lit rocks and exaggerating that into *WoW clone!*. I just fired up Titan Quest, the indoor rocky area leading up to a cyclops is very similar to the WoW screenshots.
I do understand peoples fear of the unstoppable juggernaut that is WoW, and that it will invade and ruin every new game. I'll reserve that fear and outcry for when they start release information about the treasure and loot systems and game play. If I start seeing references to un-tradeable items and big bosses on weekly timers, I'll join you in the cries of doom. But I won't start panicking and calling it a WoW clone over a single barebones cave tileset, that obviously hasn't even had any detail work added to it.
*snip*
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/2497/d2wowcompit0.th.jpg (http://img139.imageshack.us/my.php?image=d2wowcompit0.jpg)
This is getting kind of old...
If we're going to base the "color scheme" of an area from Diablo III's demo video then maybe we should compare it with some other games too, then we can claim that blizzard is copying them, too.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l4/NKlint/th_es4o.jpg (http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l4/NKlint/es4o.jpg)
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l4/NKlint/th_ffxii.jpg (http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l4/NKlint/ffxii.jpg)
Final Fantasy XII
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l4/NKlint/th_gw.jpg (http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l4/NKlint/gw.jpg)
Guild Wars
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l4/NKlint/th_l2.jpg (http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l4/NKlint/l2.jpg)
Lineage 2
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l4/NKlint/th_cave.jpg (http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l4/NKlint/cave.jpg)
a real cave
There's like the same shades of green in some of those pictures as there is in the Diablo III demo video, they must be re-using the same color pallet from those games! It's a conspiracy amongst game developers and reality I tell you!!!
lots of texts and images
wow go fiigure, for your D3 and WoW comparisons, you chose out door areas, with no consideration to the dungeons, which is where pretty much all of the WoW comparisons complaints come from.
Great post, NKlint. I'm sure if you spent another half hour searching you could find 10-20 more screen shots from different games with that exact same palette.
CaptainDingo
18-07-2008, 20:44
This just in, if anything dares to use even remotely similar colors to World of Warcraft, the entire game practically IS World of Warcraft, and since I'm too good for such silly childish games and instead play games that take skill, like chugging potions while I left click repeatedly, this will not stand!
World of Warcraft uses green grass, we better make the grass red in Diablo 3 so it doesn't look like World of Warcraft. The water is also blue, let's make Diablo 3 water yellow just to make sure it doesn't get confused with World of Warcraft.
Quick, what color hasn't World of Warcraft used? You say it uses every color in the rainbow? That leaves no colors left for Diablo 3 to specifically differentiate it from a game I repeatedly remind everyone that I hate!
Stay tuned, where later we investigate the eerie similarities between Bioshock and the water level in Super Mario Bros.
sicilian
19-07-2008, 00:38
Quick, what color hasn't World of Warcraft used? You say it uses every color in the rainbow?
Sigh, guess we'll just have to make the entire game black and white... that'll make everyone happy because it'll be "darker" ;)
SirMoogie
19-07-2008, 01:14
Confirmation bias. Look it up.
PlasmaTorture
19-07-2008, 01:21
Confirmation bias. Look it up.
It applies to both sides in this debate, I think.
Only to the side that doesn't have evidence to back it's claims up.
SirMoogie
19-07-2008, 01:46
Only to the side that doesn't have evidence to back it's claims up.
It applies to both sides, as does hasty generalization. Confirmation bias is more about an abuse of evidence, than it is a lack of it.
It applies to both sides, as does hasty generalization. Confirmation bias is more about an abuse of evidence, than it is a lack of it.
Disregard "confirmation bias" for a moment, and based off the evidence provided would you say that the use of particular colors in Diablo III is influenced by World of Warcraft or that it's influenced by it's own artistic design based off of reality?
What's it matter that you think that we're biased towards finding evidence supporting our position, why treat this like a Trial anyway? Do you think there is something to gain by proving one side right or not or is this thread about revealing that because one game uses a set of colors in an area should be regarded as thievery of art design?
In my "biased" opinion gathered from my observations the color choices made in W.o.W has nothing to do with Diablo III's creators choice in color which it uses to design it's dungeons.
Why don't you give us your opinion and add to the thread's discussion instead of throwing obscure psychological terminology at us.
If we're going to base the "color scheme" of an area from Diablo III's demo video then maybe we should compare it with some other games too, then we can claim that blizzard is copying them, too.
Nice. I agree that there are other games that have a similiar palette for their dungeons, and I do remember seeing the same blue/greenish tint many times in the past. I wouldn't consider this enough to justify the game copying off WoW.
Whether D3 looks like WoW or not isn't a concern to me. What I'm interested in is the game play. If the story can be engaging, the characters interesting, and the replay value high then it's on my list of games to get.
If/when we get more info about the game and we find out that Arthas is behind all the trouble in Diablo III, then we will have reason to be worried.
PlasmaTorture
19-07-2008, 05:57
If/when we get more info about the game and we find out that Arthas is behind all the trouble in Diablo III, then we will have reason to be worried.
But until then not a single complaint about Diablo III is valid?
What weak controversy.. I could understand the hysteria.. if they had painted dungeon walls HOT Pink.. but.. a bluish/green tinge?!? MY GOODNESS!! Shocking!!
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