Diablo 3 - It's Official!

[Jon]

Diablo 3



Diablo III is an action role-playing game currently in development and the third installment of Blizzard's Diablo franchise. It was unveiled on June 28, 2008 at the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational in Paris, France.[2]

Diablo III is an action role-playing game similar in style to its predecessor, Diablo II. The proprietary engine will incorporate Havok physics and feature destructible environments with an in-game damage effect. The developers are aiming to make the game run on a wide range of systems, and have stated that DirectX 10 will not be required.[3] Diablo III will use a custom 3D game engine[4] in order to present an overhead view to the player, in a somewhat similar way to the isometric view used in previous games in the series.[3] Enemies will utilize the 3D environment as well, in ways such as crawling up the side of a wall from the depths into the combat area.[5]


Diablo III will retain a feel similar to that found in earlier games in the series, including the familiar Isometric Projection style camera.[3]

As in Diablo II, multiplayer games will be possible using Blizzard's Battle.net service,[6] with many of the new features being developed for StarCraft II also available in Diablo III.[3] Players will be able to drop in and out of sessions of co-operative play with others. Blizzard has stated that Diablo III is first and foremost a multi-player game, implying that players may still play solo, but will be better off playing with others in group situations.[7]

An enhanced quest system, a random level generator, and a random encounter generator are slated for use in order to ensure the game provides different experiences when replayed.[2] Overall, the game will include both static and randomly generated levels.[7] Additionally, there will be class-specific quests to go along with the main storyline quests.

The game takes place in Sanctuary, the dark fantasy world of the Diablo series. This world was saved twenty years prior by a handful of unnamed heroes in Diablo II. Warriors that survived the onslaught of the armies of the Burning Hells have gone mad from their ordeals, and it is up to a new generation of heroes to face the forces of evil threatening the world of Sanctuary. Players will have the opportunity to explore familiar settings such as Tristram.[4]

The only confirmed NPC is Deckard Cain,[5] who has appeared in both of the previous games. Cain's journal on the official site brings players up to speed on the events of the first two games.[8]

Development on Diablo III began some time in 2005 when Blizzard North was still in operation. The original artistic design differed from that shown at Blizzard Worldwide Invitational 2008 demonstration, and had undergone three revisions before reaching the standards felt necessary by the team behind Diablo III. The development teams comprise fifty people. Most of the game mechanics and physics are complete and undergoing minor revisions. Most of the current and remaining development will focus on adding game content.[9]

Diablo III's lead designer is Jay Wilson, a former Relic Entertainment designer credited with work on Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War and Company of Heroes. Its lead world designer is Leonard Boyarsky, one of the six co-creators of Fallout.[10]

The game is being planned for a simultaneous release on both Windows and Mac OS X platforms, with no current plans for release on video game consoles.[7]

Thanks to Wikipedia for the info!

[Luminous]

It looks alright, but, my friends are saying it looks stupid. I don't see why.

[seovb]

I'm going to check it out. I was a fan of the original diablo so hopefully this is just as fun.

[Jon]

I've always been a fan of the Diablo Series, but I'm worried (just like your friends) that D3 doesn't seem like the same game that we're used to (although that could be a good thing).

[Fratal]

Now that Diablo 3 is coming, is there any need to buy & play Diablo II? These two kids in my class always talk about Diablo II, and I was thinking about playing it myself. But seeing as D3 is coming out, should I spend my time playing D2?

[Jon]

I love going back to D2 every so often with a new character and playing through the storyline (I even have my gf playing now), definitely worth it!

[Noodles]

I'm looking forward to Diablo 3 and losing another month of my life to playing through the game (like D2).

I find it strange that Blizzard flat out denied that there would even be a D3 for ages then sprung it on us. I guess they like surprises.