Diablo 3: Point of View

[Menzer]

I was thinking about how I would want the PoV to be in Diablo 3, either a very omniscient 3rd person as in D1 / D2, 3rd person as in WoW, a close-up 3rd person as in Gears of War, or 1st person. I think each option has its ups and downs, and I kind of expect a similar PoV to the previous games, but take a minute to think about what the series would be like in a First person perspective...

Imagine that first time you played Diablo 2 on single player, getting into the Catacombs and seeing this huge ***** Andariel. Seeing her in first person (obviously with better graphics nowadays) would have scared me out of my seat more than my first encounter with her did already.

Duriel on the other hand, you get into his tiny chamber not really knowing what to expect. You've spent hours getting the staff so that you can finally get to Act 3, and this huge beast with enormous blades for arms, much like the executioner in 300 (when he disciplines the General), coming right at you, freezing you in place, and soundly destroying you in three hits.

Or how about Mephisto. You've spent your time going through the council just to find an enormous skeleton with a seemingly Meditation aura surrounding himself throwing lightning and frost balls all up in your grill. Walking up to him to find yourself standing at approximately his aura.

What about walking into the portal to get into Act 4? You walk down a short, narrow bridge that looks to be falling into lava, and embed yourself into a bright red portal, wondering where its taking you.

Obviously, all of Act 4 would have been epic, but put yourself in back in the days when you were first playing, your first experience with Diablo. You beat all the minions, you cleared the Sanctuary, cast your TP so you can get back, and you summoned the king. My heart races to imagine myself in first person walking up to Diablo himself, the Hero from the first game that sacrificed himself to save Tristram, the soul stone still blazing in his forehead.

I can't help but think about how awesome the first time playing through Diablo 2 was, and how incredible it would have been in first person. I'm not saying I dislike the PoV it was, nor do I think it should definitely change, but what about you guys?

Just my $.02

[Angel_of_Wrath]

You make it sound pretty cool.

Just wondering if you had a chance to play Hellgate:London? It was made by the people who left Blizzard North and was meant to be a spiritual successor to Diablo. While they have both succeeded and failed in their endeavor - plagued with bugs and a premature release - it does give you a feel of what it would be like. They also said areas like the maggot lair just couldn't be done in top down view and give you the same feeling of constraint that they intended.

I found a couple problems with it though: the 'randomization' of 3d environments seems to be more difficult to seem random or like a labyrinth, and the 3d view requires lots of PC horsepower to render nicely. Also, teleport doesn't work the same.

It would be a hard thing to do right but, IMO, the diablo series wouldn't feel the same if it wasn't in isometric view.

[Menzer]

I never really got into Hellgate. I didn't like the concept or the story line of the game, so I was never impressed or left hanging with that game, though I know the point of view was altered from what Diablo was.

[Mestre Crjspim]

I strongly believe that if Diablo III has a first-person PoV, it will be much like Oblivion, although I expect an even more darkened aura. If the gothic magnitude of the game is negleted, all is lost... maybe some sort of DOOM 3 influence would be welcomed (I just played the demo).

I have also tried to picture it in a third-person PoV. If this is the case, I aspect something like a fast paced action, probably filled with combos in a Prince of Persia style or in a Severance: Blade of Darkness style. This last game has no really fast paced fighting style, but has some awsome combos with really cool weapon skins.

If Diablo maintains it's original PoV with new graphic conception, I belive it could keep a superb attractive aura for us fans. Diablo, like Final Fantasy ou The Elder Scrolls, has it's own features that make it unic.

Either way, I hope that the freedom of movement and action as well as a largely interactive environnement become important features of the game.

[Dorfoumous]

yeah, I'm afraid if it was First Person, it would look A LOT like oblivion. Which would be fine,until you get to Diablo and start twacking at the knees.

<mumbling> I do think there is a Oblivion mod out there that is diablo related </mumbling>

I honestly would love to see the current PoV and just way better graphics at 1024x768 resoultion.

[Nimbostratus]

I don't think first-person would be ideal for some skills (i.e. whirlwind).

Though why can't there be options for it? Have buttons to toggle between the usual Diablo view and a free-moving 3rd person view. Maybe another button to go into first person if you're a <zon equivalent> that needs good aim for something.

And why does everybody think there would be a huge problem with teleporting if the game is in 3D? All that would be needed is for the game to think "is this a floor?" and allow teleportation if it is, or disallow teleportation if it isn't. If you'd need to teleport up or down a floor, I guess just holding Shift and clicking above or below your character would work. The only thing difficult would be teleporting into open air, but why would you want to do that anyway? o_O;

[Angel_of_Wrath]

Originally Posted by Nimbostratus

And why does everybody think there would be a huge problem with teleporting if the game is in 3D? All that would be needed is for the game to think "is this a floor?" and allow teleportation if it is, or disallow teleportation if it isn't. If you'd need to teleport up or down a floor, I guess just holding Shift and clicking above or below your character would work. The only thing difficult would be teleporting into open air, but why would you want to do that anyway? o_O;

It's not so much '3d' as it is first person perspective. How do you teleport backwards in a first person view (or over the shoulder cam) without turning around? It's not the same as looking top down and teleporting to whatever x,y location you want.

[Mestre Crjspim]

Different point of views mean, in my opinion, different styles of combat. For example, I find it really hard - if not impossible - to have a Prince of Persia combat system in a first-person PoV game. If Diablo keeps it's point 'n click style, leaving the combat system focused in the use of skills, different PoV's would definitly be a "must have".

[mjkittredge]

I think the current Diablo POV, with zoom in/out and rotate function would be great. Leave it at default and be fine, or pick your ideal angle with the controls.

For an idea how this would work, check out Darkstone on PS1 (decent Diablo clone btw). That game offers great camera control.

Another is Titan Quest. Zooming in close or further out can be fun and beneficial.

[Menzer]

Let me remark that I'm not actually *For* a first person view, I just wanted to run through what it would have been like had it been in first person. Personally, I'd like to see the classic Diablo PoV to remain.