Diablo III Under Fire From Fans
July 2, 2008 13:41
After waiting eight years for a sequel, fans of the wildly popular Diablo franchise finally got what they have been asking for: Diablo III. At the Worldwide Invitational in Paris, Blizzard announced the new title and treated fans to a trailer and narrated gameplay footage. But not everyone was pleased with what they saw.
After the initial shock and awe wore off, some of the die-hard Diablo fans went back to what they do best: complaining. With over several thousand signatures and rising, the the "Renewed artistic direction for Diablo III" on PetitionOnline is causing quite a stir in the community (at press time, the number of signatures was more than 15,0000). The petition argues that the current look of Diablo III is "cartoonish" with too many bright colors and lighting that make the game look more like World of WarCraft than the first two Diablo titles (check out the Diablo III slideshow and judge for yourself).
The petition, which is quite lengthy and detailed, requests that Blizzard bring back a light radius system and a "darker, gothic, cryptic and creepier environment" for Diablo III and embrace a "more realistic art direction" that is independent from World of WarCraft. The petition also includes concept art and altered screenshots from Diablo III that supporters have darkened with shadows and reduced lighting effects.
A Diablo III screenshot and altered concept picture from the petition illustrates what some Diablo fans are hoping to see with the new game.
Fan sites like Diablofans.com as well as Battle.net are also bursting at the seams with debate over the brighter color scheme seen in gameplay video and images, with many criticizing the game for looking too much like World of WarCraft. Blizzard hasn't responded directly to the petition as of yet, but Keith Lee, lead producer for Diablo III, told MTV's Multiplayer Blog during the Worldwide Invitational event that the game's art direction is focused on bringing a variety of both brighter colors and darker environments to the game.
While there are thousands who wish for Diablo III to return to its darker, more gothic roots, many still are waiting on more Diablo III media to emerge before taking a side. Some fans believe the game will transition into a darker state as the game progresses, just like in Diablo II. This is not a stretch of the imagination, especially considering the Diablo III storyline, which starts 20 years after the events of Diablo II. With two decades of relative peace coming before the new storyline, perhaps it shouldn't be such a surprise to see blue skies and rainbows. Then again, we are talking about dungeons here.
Assuming Diablo III takes as long to develop as Starcraft II, Blizzard has ample time to digest feedback from fans, and could decide to change some of the color schemes if the community screams loud enough.
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