Diablo III looks fun but...

It looks like a Warcraft game. When you get upclose to the characters they look kind of corny and the animations during conversation (look at the Barbarian in the 20 minute demo video when he is talking to Cain) are EXTREMELY cheesy and just plain horrible. The combat looks like an advanced diablo game, which is good, but when I look at the outdoor environments and characters, I only think about the horrible cartoonyness in Warcraft games. Its true that older games have somewhat darker and gritty graphics because they are older, but I know Blizzard wanted to make Diablo II look serious. I mean come on, the three prime evils are on the verge of uniting and destroying the world! The graphics are pretty, but its just too bright. Maybe that particular stage of the game is set in a somewhat peaceful forest but I would still like it to be less vibrant and more...Diabloish.

I just read over my post and it looks like I am trashing the series and this particular game. I LOVE all of the Diablo games, since the release of the original Diablo, I was hooked. I absolutely adore this series and I'm stoked that they are making Diablo III. I'm just worried that they are going to make it feel more like a warcraft game.

But the game was just announced, so time will tell what the game will be like.

/facepalm

Go blog it if your going to rant. The game has only just been announced.. wait till you see more about the game, then whinge about it.. and while you continue to whinge when its released, we'll all be playing it and enjoying it. Again, the game has only just been ANNOUNCED.. its not like the game is finished and is coming out tomorrow.

/thread

/thread

Baranga

bingo!!! stop complaining, people. diablo's all about brightness!

/facepalm

Go blog it if your going to rant. The game has only just been announced.. wait till you see more about the game, then whinge about it.. and while you continue to whinge when its released, we'll all be playing it and enjoying it. Again, the game has only just been ANNOUNCED.. its not like the game is finished and is coming out tomorrow.

Rattlesnake_8

Geeze, didnt mean to piss you off, a bit harsh, eh?

I actually put in that last part so I dont come off like you described, lol, sorry if I did. Anyway, I just think first impressions are important, and the character animations and such remind of warcraft games (I didnt like the animations and graphics that much) so it got me a bit worried.

I just want Diablo III to feel like a good ole' diablo game, you know?

then the graphics shouldn't even matter, it's the gameplay that counts.

2 gameplay videos. Thats all we've seen.

It is way, way, too early to judge.

2 gameplay videos. Thats all we've seen.

It is way, way, too early to judge.

biggest_loser

exactly, plus it looks nice anyway :D

Lets all remember what StarCraft originally looked like: D3 is still in development and probably won't be released for another two years. To think that the game that you're going to get, is the exact same one that you see now, requires a certain level of ignorance.ProudLarry

Uhh, when did the flame wars start?

I'm just worried they might push the cartoony art style a bit too far with this one...just speculation, I know there is plenty of time for charge and things will be very different by the time it is released.

Lets all remember what StarCraft originally looked like: D3 is still in development and probably won't be released for another two years. To think that the game that you're going to get, is the exact same one that you see now, requires a certain level of ignorance.ProudLarry

That looks horrible.

http://www.petitiononline.com/d3art/petition.html

Says it all.

I think it is nice that they turn up the light in Diablo 3. In the old Diablo games I always had to turn of all lights in the room and roll down the curtains to even have chance of seeing what was going on on screen, because they had made so dark. I think it is still possible to get the same spooky feeling from the old games, with a brighter game.TheFreeloader

Well said. Darkness was one of the biggest strengths and weakness of the Diablo games.

http://www.petitiononline.com/d3art/petition.html

Says it all.

GbeTech

37,245 signatures... out of millions. So, that leaves what? Like millions that aint complaining? But its allright, maybe some complainers havent seen the petition. Go ahead and add 100,0.. no 200,000 more. Still no where close as to how many people arent complaining.

The game has just been announced....it will be a lot better, rest assured. rohver

/thread

Baranga

Hey dont dis on that game it was good at the time lol.

I know the art dev was rambling about the old series being bright and yadda yadda, but I honestly think he was trying to convince himself as much as the audience. I'm playing through D2 again right now and I will tell you that picture above is the exception. Yes, there are moments of bright colours, I understand that, but the majority of the environments and characters are drab colours. The first act environments consist of: dirt brown and drab green, gray and blood red, gray and darker gray. While the second Act is brighter, it is mostly beige and gray. Yes, the originals had colour, but from the SMALL sample of D3 I've seen so far, the use of so many different colours at once seems to be coming at the expense of the Diablo series mood.

That said, I'm going to wait to see more environments before I worry about that aspect. Not to mention...wait until the game is actually released when I'm 40.

I know the art dev was rambling about the old series being bright and yadda yadda, but I honestly think he was trying to convince himself as much as the audience. I'm playing through D2 again right now and I will tell you that picture above is the exception. Yes, there are moments of bright colours, I understand that, but the majority of the environments and characters are drab colours. The first act environments consist of: dirt brown and drab green, gray and blood red, gray and darker gray. While the second Act is brighter, it is mostly beige and gray. Yes, the originals had colour, but from the SMALL sample of D3 I've seen so far, the use of so many different colours at once seems to be coming at the expense of the Diablo series mood.

That said, I'm going to wait to see more environments before I worry about that aspect. Not to mention...wait until the game is actually released when I'm 40.

PuRe_CaNaDiaN_

You said it yourself. D2 had color and drab/dark environments.Diablo wouldnt be dark and dreary if EVERYTHING was the same color. It's like eating nothing but candy; pretty soon you can't appriciate the sweetness of them anymore.

Everyone is going all crazy because one area in a stage demo was bright. Well, big deal? I know diablo is a dark series but in order to really appriciate the dark evil dungeonsthere needs to be contrast.

I like the direction Diablo 3 took, but we really need to see more before bringing out the pitchforks. This is the first time i've heard of a game being critisized for being too colorful. Resident Evil 4 was plenty bright and colorful and it was also one of the scariest games i've ever played. Colors can be scary too!

/thread

Baranga

"Q: The game is still under development, it's on pre alpha stage, we only saw the first act, much can change.

A: True, the game is still under development but the artistic direction isnt since it's one of the first steps in the development of a game, until you have a fully developed artistic direction and concept you cant easily move on with the development of the game, the artistic direction will tell the artists (modelers, texture artists, etc) how the game elements shall look and feel. Since this artistic direction is already fully and happily developed (words from Blizzard) this cartoon'ish and colorful feel will be present in the whole game."

Exactly. The dungeons are too colorful and cartoonish, and simply making the Light Radius present again will make huge differences. When you get up close and look at the characters and textures, it looks EXACTLY like World of Warcraft (ick).

Although the game takes place several decades after Diablo II, and the evil is gone, in Diablo I the world wasnt all perfect and happy and cartoony before the evil was unleashed.

The armor and weapons are oversized and the glow effects on them are bigger than your character, making it look even more like a warcraft game, and even like some anime cartoon.

There are some simple things blizzard can do to make the graphics feel more like the diablo universe. Diablo III will be poorly recieved if it tries to convey the dark and hellish diablo story in some cartoony feel. The game will be a lot better if they decide to change the art feel and make it a real diablo game.

[QUOTE="Baranga"]

/thread

F1_2004

well, your picture proves nothing (since it's already agreed that there are sections of diablo series that are dark), while his picture proves that the tc is overreacting to the brightness of diablo 3.

Thanks for the pic F1. It's actually a decent representation of the general D2 look. Notice that the colourful parts are skill effects, with the exception of the fire. Compare that to the colourful environment presented in the trailer. Once again, this is just my current worry, and I realize I need to play the game before I can make a proper opinion. I do however still believe the art dev has spent a lot of time convincing himself the art direction of D3 is similar to that of the earlier games.

Thanks for the pic F1. It's actually a decent representation of the general D2 look. Notice that the colourful parts are skill effects, with the exception of the fire. Compare that to the colourful environment presented in the trailer. Once again, this is just my current worry, and I realize I need to play the game before I can make a proper opinion. I do however still believe the art dev has spent a lot of time convincing himself the art direction of D3 is similar to that of the earlier games.

PuRe_CaNaDiaN_

OMG COLOR! AHHHHH!

Hisss! Color....get that color away from here! hissssssssssss!!!!!

His picture proves nothing, since that screenshot is one of the few instances where Diablo 2 is that colorful and bright. My picture is more of the norm in D2. Get it right.F1_2004

oh, so you're saying all those desert levels are dark? and all the green grass? i think it's about 50/50; that sounds about right to me.

and your picture proves nothing, because the clip was just 20 minutes long. EVEN IF diablo series in the past were mainly dark, there were SOME brightly-colored areas, so that 20 minutes of gameplay clip that we saw might be one of the FEW areas that is going to be brightly-colored. so your picture proves ****, while his makes a valid point - there were areas in diablo series that were brightly lit, so getting all upset that this gameplay clip is brightly-colored is a bit premature.

ACTUALLY, i just went back to watch the clip, and 70% of the ****ing clip is set in a dark dungeon! only when they introduce the witch doctor does it get more colorful, and even then because it's raining half the time, it has a bit of a dark feel to it overall. i just don't understand what exactly people are complaining about. :roll:

[QUOTE="PuRe_CaNaDiaN_"]

Thanks for the pic F1. It's actually a decent representation of the general D2 look. Notice that the colourful parts are skill effects, with the exception of the fire. Compare that to the colourful environment presented in the trailer. Once again, this is just my current worry, and I realize I need to play the game before I can make a proper opinion. I do however still believe the art dev has spent a lot of time convincing himself the art direction of D3 is similar to that of the earlier games.

TeamR

OMG COLOR! AHHHHH!

Hisss! Color....get that color away from here! hissssssssssss!!!!!

I think you're missing my point a bit here. I'm by no means opposed to bright colours in the game. I'm opposed to the bright and colourful environments that could deter from the mood that Diablo series is known for. I'd still like to see the spells and skills be colourful displays.

oh, so you're saying all those desert levels are dark? and all the green grass? i think it's about 50/50; that sounds about right to me.

fireandcloud

I just want to point out that the colours in those environments are still gritty and washed. Although not 'dark' they still convey a horror mood. I'm actually playing through the game at the moment and noting these things. The most notable bright colour in any environment so far has been the orange/yellow from torches. Going with your comments on contrast of environments highlighting the darker areas, I would say that was the purpose of the torch lights.

The recall the dungeon set still had lots of colour in the form of purple and blues, but, I only watched that section once, so I'll go back and check it out.

[QUOTE="fireandcloud"]

oh, so you're saying all those desert levels are dark? and all the green grass? i think it's about 50/50; that sounds about right to me.

PuRe_CaNaDiaN_

I just want to point out that the colours in those environments are still gritty and washed. Although not 'dark' they still convey a horror mood. I'm actually playing through the game at the moment and noting these things. The most notable bright colour in any environment so far has been the orange/yellow from torches. Going with your comments on contrast of environments highlighting the darker areas, I would say that was the purpose of the torch lights.

The recall the dungeon set still had lots of colour in the form of purple and blues, but, I only watched that section once, so I'll go back and check it out.

if it's bright colors, it's bright colors. i've never seen bright colors that are gritty and washed, unless by gritty you mean grainy, in which case there's an obvious reason why it appears grainy. in any case, i really don't see a valid argument - the world of diablo was always somewhat colorful (it had both brightly-colored areas and darker areas), and the only reason i can see why the overall feel was dark and grim was because of all the blood and gore and dark themes. which i see no reason that diablo 3 won't get right.

anyway, i haven't played it much recently, so my memory of the game isn't exactly fresh. i'd go back and check diablo 2 by playing it again, but i have too many games to play, so i won't. anyway, i think it's wise to wait and see; the devs at blizzard aren't going to change the art style at this point of development JUST BECAUSE some of the fans are complaining, so complaining seems pretty pointless. let's just see how it turns out.

I just mean the green isn't happy fun time green...but a washed forest green. And yes, we'll have to wait until the game is in a final released state before any really conclusions can be made. Still, it is fun to debate the directions that the devs seem to be going in ;)PuRe_CaNaDiaN_

agreed. :)

oh, and the dungeon area is a bit greenish, more so than grayish, so it's not as dark as that picture the guy posted (which looks a bit too dark from what i remember), but it's not exactly the four seasons. i think we'll see some darker (in both color and theme) areas throughout the game.

Lets all remember what StarCraft originally looked like: D3 is still in development and probably won't be released for another two years. To think that the game that you're going to get, is the exact same one that you see now, requires a certain level of ignorance.ProudLarry

Oh jeez... it's like finding out that your hot wife used to be an ugly kid.

Oh jeez... it's like finding out that your hot wife used to be an ugly kid.

flipin_jackass

lol. or waking up one day and finding out that your hot wife has aged 30 years.