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Bill Roper prefer darker and grittier Diablo 3 art style

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Stoney Mason

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Series' architect 'prefers dark and gritty', but reckons new art style 'makes complete sense'.

Bill Roper, one of the chief architects behind the Diablo series, has revealed to VideoGamer.com what he thinks of the hotly-anticipated Diablo III.

Blizzard caused an internet storm when it released the first screenshots and gameplay footage of the game in June last year. The game has a brighter, more cartoon-esque art style than previous iterations, similar to that of Blizzard's hugely successful Craft games, World of Warcraft and StarCraft.

Following the reveal fans launched an online petition calling for a "darker, more realistic" look. At the time of writing the petition has 59285 signatories.

Roper, ex-vice president of Blizzard North, the now defunct Blizzard satellite studio that was responsible for the Diablo games, told VideoGamer.com in an interview to be published later this week, that while he "didn't look at it (the released Diablo III gameplay footage) and go, oh my God that's horrible", "as a player it just didn't really ring with Diablo".

He said: "One of the things I always enjoyed about that separation between Blizzard and Blizzard North was that the Diablo games had a very distinct art style. They had different art directors, they had different people working on it, they had a different sensibility about them. Diablo was I think grittier and darker and a little more leaning towards the photo realistic. Whereas the Craft games that were being built down in Irvine were bigger and broader in scope, brighter colours, just different pallets and different presentation. Both of those were very strong from that visual standpoint, for example.

"But it makes complete sense to me where they went because they basically took the Diablo universe and then approached it from the Blizzard Ivine stance for the visuals. That's the way they approach things. It wasn't that I looked at it and went, oh my God that looks terrible. I was like, that looks like Blizzard. The guys in Irvine. That's what it looks like to me. Their interpretation of it."

When asked if he was disappointed or pleased with Diablo's new art style, Roper, who is now design director and executive producer of Atari-owned Cryptic Studios, and in charge of Champions Online, a superhero MMO due out on PC this spring, said: "You know, I liked the darker grittier. I liked the differences in art style, to be honest. So, I think I would personally from a player standpoint prefer that.

"I think that one of the things that we always tried to get across was that Diablo was Gothic fantasy and I think there was just a need that was put in there from the visuals that I didn't necessarily get. I got it from the architecture and to a degree from the character design but not the feeling of the world. I can't say that I dislike it. I didn't look at it and go, oh my God that's horrible. But I looked at it and went, it's not really... to me as a player it just didn't really ring with Diablo."

Diablo III is currently without a release date.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the first part of our mammoth interview with PC gaming legend Bill Roper.
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http://www.videogamer.com/news/diablo_3_what_bill_roper_thinks.html
 
i can see how they would want it to fit in a little better with the Blizzard brand identity but i still side with him in preferring darker and grittier.

im just glad that D3 will support higher than 800x600..... right? ......guys? .....it will, RIGHT?!?
 
Needs more controversy. Roper was downright reasonable. Disgusting.
 
Stoney Mason said:
I created this thread to re-ignite the color wars. A calm post like that isn't going to get the job done...
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My new anti flame war agenda includes a section on my "Strike first strike indifferent" philosophy. A key point in dowsing the early signs of an internet flame war.
 
someone needs to inject some vitriol here. Couldn't you have spiced up the quote a little? nobody clicks links if the OP quote is raging enough. this is your fault. >:(
 
sprsk said:
My new anti flame war agenda includes a section on my "Strike first strike indifferent" philosophy. A key point in dowsing the early signs of an internet flame war.
Click to expand...

Didn't there used to be a 0 in your name?
 
Brobzoid said:
someone needs to inject some vitriol here. Couldn't you have spiced up the quote a little? nobody clicks links if the OP quote is raging enough. this is your fault. >:(
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My original thread title was Bill Roper sides with fans in war with Blizzard but I just couldn't click the submit button on that...
 
Was Bill Roper still there at Blizzard North when they turned out the Diablo 3 prototype with all the hellish, infernal penises and crap that they had to throw out and completely rework from scratch?
 
Not that shit again....

Actually I don't want to hear Bill Roper if it's not about the return of Mythos.
 
He really doesn't say anything unreasonable. This shouldn't spark much debate, but I am sure it can be stretched a few pages by dedicated gaffers.
 
LaneDS said:
He really doesn't say anything unreasonable.
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"Hey, I don't have shit to do with Diablo 3 design but here's my two cent : yada yada yada"

I'd rather have people shut the fuck up and rail on the game when it's out than listen to backseat graphic designers bullshit. Diablo 3 art direction is under the responsibility of Diablo 3 art design team. Full stop.

EDIT : I want Mythos back.
 
Mistouze said:
"Hey, I don't have shit to do with Diablo 3 design but here's my two cent : yada yada yada"

I'd rather have people shut the fuck up and rail on the game when it's out than listen to backseat graphic designers bullshit. Diablo 3 art direction is under the responsibility of Diablo 3 art design team. Full stop.
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"Clearly this guy doesn't know anything about game des... oh."
 
Mistouze said:
"Hey, I don't have shit to do with Diablo 3 design but here's my two cent : yada yada yada"

I'd rather have people shut the fuck up and rail on the game when it's out than listen to backseat graphic designers bullshit. Diablo 3 art direction is under the responsibility of Diablo 3 art design team. Full stop.
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n we is ooff laddiez n gentz
 
woxel1 said:
"Clearly this guy doesn't know anything about game des... oh."
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That's not what I'm saying. But some people are making it out as if the game looked like ""teh kiddez". Let them do their stuff, judge the game when it's done. Remember Fallout 3?

Anyway Diablo 3 will probably make all Diablo 2 fans its bitches regardless of its art direction.

Reactivate Mythos, please.
 
Since there is no flaming going on, I think this thread should be about how much we want Mythos to come back.

Who is with me?
 
I dont know just seems to me this whole dark muted colors mature games obsession has gone too far and actually ending up just as juvenile in alot ways as a Dora game.
 
stressboy said:
Since there is no flaming going on, I think this thread should be about how much we want Mythos to come back.

Who is with me?
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I want my Gagdeteer back to have fun with my Tesla bots. Pleeeaaaaase.
 
Mistouze said:
"Hey, I don't have shit to do with Diablo 3 design but here's my two cent : yada yada yada"

I'd rather have people shut the fuck up and rail on the game when it's out than listen to backseat graphic designers bullshit. Diablo 3 art direction is under the responsibility of Diablo 3 art design team. Full stop.

EDIT : I want Mythos back.
Click to expand...

You know how interviews work right? People ask you stuff, and you answer with your thoughts on them? Yeah, that's what transpired here. Highly unreasonable of him!
 
where the HELL are all the "LEAVE OUR GAME ALONE GOTH KIDS, LULZ" people? you're supposed to be preaching that anyone and everyone who wants a darker art style for diablo 3 is a goth kid with baggy pants and eye liner.
 
"What do you think about Diablo 3 artstyle Bill Roper ?"
"Hmm even if people started bitching as soon as they saw the game I think we should let Blizz do their shit. Those guys have to take into account that the graphics need to be "readable" so one can understand what's happening in the actual game. Maybe people need to let the game cook in that Blizzard oven and see how it turns out and stop trying to draw conclusion on a game they've seen little of."

That's clearly not what happened. My nerdy rant stands from my side of the argument, feel free to bitch while I'll sob in a corner because I can't play Mythos anymore.
 
Mistouze said:
"What do you think about Diablo 3 artstyle Bill Roper ?"
"Hmm even if people started bitching as soon as they saw the game I think we should let Blizz do their shit. Those guys have to take into account that the graphics need to be "readable" so one can understand what's happening in the actual game. Maybe people need to let the game cook in that Blizzard oven and see how it turns out and stop trying to draw conclusion on a game they've seen little of."

That's clearly not what happened. My nerdy rant stands from my side of the argument, feel free to bitch while I'll sob in a corner because I can't play Mythos anymore.
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There, there. I miss Mythos too. Let's hug.
 
LaneDS said:
There, there. I miss Mythos too. Let's hug.
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warden280.jpg


*hugs* *sobs* Mythooooos!
 
Is there a good soul among the mods to rename the thread as "Bill Roper prefers darker and grittier Diablo 3 art style, gamers want to play Mythos".

Sorry for the derail Stoney, I appreciate your thread making efforts but this shit needs to be said. For the people who played Mythos and long for it and for the ones that didn't get into the beta and don't know what they're missing out.

BELIEVE.
 
Mistouze said:
Is there a good soul among the mods to rename the thread as "Bill Roper prefers darker and grittier Diablo 3 art style, gamers want to play Mythos".

Sorry for the derail Stoney, I appreciate your thread making efforts but this shit needs to be said. For the people who played Mythos and long for it and for the ones that didn't get into the beta and don't know what they're missing out.

BELIEVE.
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I rather they change the thread to "Diablo 3 something something, why the fuck sp0rks is missing the zero??"
 
I'm with Roper on this one. Half of the charm of the Diablo series for me was the Satanic overtones that gave me a feeling of dread and creepiness throughout the games. Changing to a more cartoony art style really degrades that. I will buy it because the gameplay of the series has been consistently great (and I trust 3 will be as well). It's not simply a "turn down your gamma, lol emo kid" thing. 2 was much brighter and still kept the feel of darkness. I think it's disappointing the approach they are taking.
 
Mistouze said:
Microtransactions to identify your loot. BELIEVE.
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You joke, but the Blizzard that exists today is not the Blizzard that made Diablo 2. In some ways, the design is going to reflect that. Certainly not microtransactions to identify your loot, but it certainly won't be as player-friendly as it used to be.

The talk of monetizing battlenet is a eerie sign of things to come.
 
Lateraleye said:
I'm with Roper on this one. Half of the charm of the Diablo series for me was the Satanic overtones that gave me a feeling of dread and creepiness throughout the games. Changing to a more cartoony art style really degrades that. I will buy it because the gameplay of the series has been consistently great (and I trust 3 will be as well). It's not simply a "turn down your gamma, lol emo kid" thing. 2 was much brighter and still kept the feel of darkness. I think it's disappointing the approach they are taking.
Click to expand...

I'd say that the move from Gothic fantasy to high fantasy is a result of expanding the Diablo universe. If you've read Gothic fantasy, it usually centers around a very small area, usually a town or even a single house, with a single entity behind the mystery.

When they made Diablo 2, they couldn't add a lot of the enemy types and levels if they limited themselves to Gothic fantasy.

However, I felt that a lot of the areas and the enemies in them, such as the Arabian Nights inspired Lut Gholein and zany Kurast, went well beyond the mild silliness and black humor found in the original Diablo.
 
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