To Devour

The origin and definition of words is utterly fascinating to me. As I reflect back on my time with the DIABLO IV demo at BlizzCon 2019 and playing the demo over 10 times, the only word that seems to fit my rabid consumption of said demo would be devour. A few of the meanings are as follows:

1. to swallow or eat up hungrily, voraciously, or ravenously.

2. to consume destructively, recklessly, or wantonly:

Along with my original thoughts immediately after BlizzCon, I’ve been able to digest my experience and wanted to express my hopes and fears for the game in a constructive way. By way of context, my experiences overall with the Diablo IV demo were extremely positive so my hopes are bright and clear but there are some fears that remain. I played the demo over 10 times and completed every quest, played every class, completed every dungeon and explored every inch of the map. Now that I have been able to truly process, discuss and ponder on the experience, I want to express in a concise, list based form that’s easy to consume.

I know that design preferences and opinons vary greatly in the Diablo community but one thing I think we can all agree on is this: The more options you provide in the game, the bigger player base you have and more successful the next entry can truly be, not only in a financial sense but the community loving and supporting this game for very long time. While realizing this is not a complete list, let’s dive in and at least get started while experience is still fresh!

Hopes

• Dark and Gritty - The “Return to Darkness” campaign the Devs have announced, I’m pleased to say, is working. It’s what the fans what, It’s what they’ve been expressing for years. Things are looking good in this area overall. I hope this theme is continued with and not watered down for any reason. I think it’s also of note that dark and gritty doesn’t specifically mean edgy or gore for the sake of gore either. Dark is also a mood.. a feeling.. atmosphere. More on that below in the audio section.

• Game Engine - Wow. What a beautiful new engine! Details were crisp, lighting effects gorgeous and performance felt smooth. I hope the engine is continued to be optimized and improved as so far, it’s fantastic. Lighting for spells is extremely important, or “The Light Show” as I’ve heard it called.

• Detail in Characters and Loot - Praise Tyrael! Finally, in a Diablo game, we have extremely detailed, close up character models with a ton of care put in not only the character models themselves but the weapons and armor they have equipped. This make a HUGE difference in Role Playing and building a fantasy world. I hope the team continues down this road and does not scrimp on details that were so sumptuous in the demo. One could hope for a true character creator in Diablo IV.

• Runes and Throwbacks to Diablo II - One could say, the more customization we have, the better. Also, the more old school feel, the better as well. I was so excited to see Runes back in the game and along with gems, charms, and anything else that can be thrown in, that’s a huge win. More options are always better.

• Combat Feel - There are several ARPGs out there that look great but their combat is lacking. Every class in the Diablo IV demo felt awesome to play. From the scorching Sorceress’ Fireball to the slams of the Barbarian, it felt powerful, meaty and satisfying. I can only hope the other classes feel this good. The combat feels legit and heavy at this point. Huge props to the team on this feel.

• Open World and MP - This item is a bit of an unknown this early but from the demo, I loved the open world and MP aspects of the game. Taking down Ashava with a large group of other players was fun and satisfying for sure.

• Variety of Activities - There was a ton of things to do in this early demo but was there, was gratifying. The mix between random world events, main quests, side quests and dungeons was a great balance. My hope is that this variety sticks through development without sacrificing a gripping main story line.

• Sound Effects - My hats off to the audio team at Blizzard as the sound effects were extremely robust and powerful, especially in combat. Smacks, sizzles, ice cracks, etc were all fantastic. My hope is that the classic Diablo sounds make in it though as well (The potion sounds dropping, gold drops, life restored, etc)

• Character Select Screen - It may sound small and insignificant to some but the beauty, mood, and simplicity of the character screen was perfect. It was dark, mysterious and a perfect feel to the world. THAT is atmosphere. THAT is Diablo.

Fears

• Itemization/Loot - If there is one thing that concerns me the most after my playtime and definitely the most important in this genre and the Diablo series, is the itemization/loot system. During all my sessions, I found some cool Legendaries but they didn’t really make me feel any more different or powerful. Also, I found a ton of rare/yellow items that I basically just tossed. I become The Dreaded Yellow Trash Compactor which was also a phase of Diablo III. We need variety in all loot, not just legendaries. Named loot is always more exciting than a Sword of Random Increased Stat. A yellow item should also feel powerful and unique, not just up or down in defense or attack. Also, I don’t want to feel overpowered in the first hour of gameplay, a la Diablo III at it’s current stage. Users should feel a natural progression to power.
  
  Take a look at these items below from Diablo II: LoD,. dropped in Act I. Magic find is always a blast to build but all the other stats, I want to be able to analyze to see which piece of loot is best, not just a simple red or green arrow. Loot is what makes games like this last long. Loot is also what can kill a game faster than it came. If it only planned to hunt for Legendaries in the end, we will become Legendary trash compactors.

• Oversimplified Design and Gameplay - Diablo players are generally, smart and capable gamers I’ve come to findd. They like complexity in stats, in builds and in options. They don’t need global cooldowns (this is an ARPG, not a MOBA) and simplified stats or categories of loot or skills. Also, there shouldn’t need to be a lot of hand holding in navigation, tutorials (make them optional) or gameplay. I’d fear that action will over take RPG in this ARPG.
  
  Also, with an open world game, give gamers a reason to explore. Hide treasure in the open world, hard to find/randomized caves and pits; something that truly rewards the mighty explorer and not be forced down narrow pathways.
  

• Music and Audio Atmosphere - Despite Blizzard having some extremely talented composers, let’s just say it: Matt Uelmen is a huge part of the Diablo series identity. His audio cues, atmosphere and music is near unmatched. If Blizzard can’t get Matt back, we need someone who can compose dark, haunting themes (Trent Reznor/Howard Shore?), not just orchestral themes that fade into the background and out of the memories of Diablo IV players minds. If you want dark and gritty, the audio and music needs to be front and center, moody and brooding but with clear notes.

• Forced Multiplayer - As I mentioned, I liked taking down world bosses with other players during the demo. That being said, I don’t want to see groups of DiabloPlayer#13485 running around my screen either. MP should be completely optional within the world. I fear it’s going to be forced. There should be three options: Completely solo, private co-op or open co-op.

• Diablo/Exocet Font - Needs to b used on all items, text, and markers. It’s also a huge part of Diablo’s identity, especially on PC. Arial vs Exocet should never be a question on PC. Console, maybe. At least give an option would be my recommendation. It’s the little touches that make Diablo… Diablo.

• Release Date - “Not Even Blizzard Soon” broke my Geek heart after playing the demo so much. The WoW content team is pushing out expansion after expansion at record pace, I fear that if DIV if 3-5 years out, too many things will change in that time. We need a clear road map and content cycles, not just Seasons as well. Keep our hopes alive!

• Shadows and Darkness - Not only in content, but atmosphere and lack of lighting. There is a lot more light/shadow/darkness in play in DIV vs DIII but I fear light radius won’t be a thing. Does the DIV dev team dare to go this dark? :-)