In an attempt to steer Blizzard into a darker world for Diablo 3, gamers have done some Photoshoping on Diablo 3 screenshots. The new screenshots are darker, the colors are less saturated.
I must say I’m impressed with the result (see below). Not Blizzard though. Jay Wilson, designer for Diablo 3 speaks out:
Now in terms of the actual texturing, this texturing, where they grayed out everything and it’s very flat and the monsters are all kind of a similar tone — that does not play well. It’s very boring to run through more than a couple of times, and it’s very difficult to tell creatures apart and pop them out of the environment. So those things don’t really work for us. A lot of the lighting stuff I think is very cool, but it’s also not very doable for us.
Let me know what you think. I understand these shadows can be tough to do in a 3D engine but let’s not forget Diablo 3 is supposed to be gothic horror, not cartoon-like fantasy like WoW!
I really like what the gamers did with the screen shots and i fully support this suggestion, it’s sad that blizzard refuses to back down ..i guess this is a scheme to attract more players of d3 in the wow universe, which is sad since wow sucks( i played a lot of wow so i can say that it sucks – the endgame is weak if you can get past the addiction to complete sets from end bosses that drop very rare, and the pvp system is really unbalanced) i just hope they will fix at lest the lighting, since the part with the textures is understandable!
I actually do not care for the photoshopped version. It looks like you are working by flashlight. I don’t disagree with good use of darkness, but that just feels like overkill. I think there should be some kind of happy medium between the originals and the photoshopped versions.
Hi all!
vote for your opinion on this here:
http://www.pollsb.com/polls/poll/2035654/which-version-of-art-style
i thought about posting it to Blizzard after we’ll get enough votes.
I would much rather have the orginial than the photoshopped. Orginial looks better by far.
If you want it to be darker, then just adjust gamma and brightness. Simple.
Hi, how many players are there goning to be in Diablo 3
from a a-some fan
the darker ones
deffinitely
According to “official” statements by Blizzard, there will be up to 5 players when playing a multiplayer.
However, when discussing artwork, a designer mentioned that when they played with 8 (!) players, the dark versions will get messy. So my guess is there’s no limit as of right now but their intention is to limit it to 5 eventually.
I agree, afterall, as I’ve said Blizzard drank tooo much cool-aid from and EA ..
Its us gamers who know what we want … cool photshop …
yeah no. blizz is doing a fine job with what they do. dont tell them what to do. and come on people. its just a fucking brightness texture. when you get the game you tight jean emo faggots. press ESC click “options” and set the BRIGHTNESS down. jesus dont be fucking retards.
i think both look like crap. the official doesn’t look all cartoony like wow, it does remind me of neverwinter nights and D2 (ie: lacking the whole gothic creepy feeling). and the ’shopped version is quite dull. seriously? what happened to the pastel technicolor nightmare colors of the original diablo?
I think both are good, they just need a brightness option. Blizzard will do good on this game. They did on the first 2 games.
No one wants WoW, if they did theyd play it.
Hell If you all like darkness so much play with your monitor turned off
fuckin morons hehe
The photoshopped one certainly looks better, not like the original, which is more like baby fairy tale style… And what will be with “Light radius” parameter, if you can see anything anyway? As from beginning, Diablo 3 also should have dark and heavy aura, not like for WoW sissies!
Blizzard make fantastic games, I still to this day play D2, SC1 and WC3 because they have phenomenal playability.
The graphics they have come up with are breathtaking and the physics are going to be insanely lifelike but with all blizzard games, it’s not about the graphics… it’s about the epic gameplay they always manage to create.
People who cling to the minority and take pot-shots at blizzard for their art direction obviously have not experienced the unblemished track record of blizzard games… Diablo III will be unbelievable, let Blizzard do their job…
This is a distraction.
what I wanna know is if the game is gonna play like D2 – so playable, absorbing, wants you coming back for more….
Some re-makes lose the plot along the way by focusing on small issues like lighting, get over it!
What the fuck are your problems with the lighting. The texture in the lighter one are much better than the darker(modified) one. I would rather prefer the lighter one for graphics and combat capability. If you want your game darker just turn your gamma lower and your problems are solved, IDIOTS!! I hope you are happy that the art director left, now we’re gonna wait longer.
While I’m not angered or upset over the general direction the art team has taken towards Diablo 3, it really doesn’t remind me of Diablo all that much. I don’t see why they [D3 Devs] are saying that the grim/gothic look of the previous Diablo games have made monsters hard to see. The color direction right now just seems too much like a fantasy game rather than a horror game. It does remind me a little of WoW I can see how they have drawn inspiration from that game (although I never liked that game). But I think they should come to a point in between these two screens. I definately think that the photoshopped image is entirely too dark, but the original is too dreamy-looking. It’s supposed to look scary, and it doesn’t…
But they can use a rendering option like in FarCry that adjusts the color palette and it doesn’t require any overhaulting. Just simple DirectX rendering techniques.
I don’t understand what the fuss is about… D2 was not 100% dark and gothic either, walking around on the sunny sands of Lut Gohlen was bright and colorful, only when you entered into certain dungeons did it get darker. I’m sure D3 will be exactly the same, in-fact Blizzard even said they will have really dark, eerie dungeons when it is called for. Having a variety of colors mixes it up a bit so its not so mundane and uniform.
Very disappointing that after Blizzard’s outstanding and untarnished record/history, fans continue to be negative toward their art direction. I stand by them regardless of others opinions as I know this will be an phenomenal game that I will play for years and years after the release date
-Simon
Not to be rude but that is a gayness graphic design (original screenshot), what people want is darkish, bloody and creepy design. Yah yah yah i know let blizzard do their work.
so what it is bright it will still be a gothic horror as long as there are undead, demons, magic and bloodshed!
I personally have played every single Blizzard game to date, and anyone who is trying to turn their new style of design and art direction to exactly how the community wants… if the cry babies who don’t even buy the game they use their mothers visa, should not be trying to have a say, about probably one of the most breath taking games to date… Really they should focus harder on their homework.
I’m not here to troll or beef or stir the pot
I just hope blizzard understands that not the whole community is trying to tell them what to do, just the idiots.
Now I am only here cuz i recieve update emails… more or less so i know when the game comes out, not so i can flame blizzard non stop and try to have a game my way..
I quote Simon
Simon Aug 11th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Blizzard make fantastic games, I still to this day play D2, SC1 and WC3 because they have phenomenal playability.
The graphics they have come up with are breathtaking and the physics are going to be insanely lifelike but with all blizzard games, it’s not about the graphics… it’s about the epic gameplay they always manage to create.
People who cling to the minority and take pot-shots at blizzard for their art direction obviously have not experienced the unblemished track record of blizzard games… Diablo III will be unbelievable, let Blizzard do their job…
——————————————— end of quote
Last words, let blizzard do their job, and if it bothers you after your partents buy it for you, hit escape and adjust gammma and brightness…. or if u wanna make it real hard.. play in a window with ur back to the sun… bitches
remember at the end of of the expansion that the world stone was destroyed that it would change the world and notice that in each Diablo
game started in the middle when things started getting bad. this startswhen things i think were peaceful until the meteor and big deal its not darker they r trying to make the graphics better.
Those who are whining are probably the ones who’ll disrespect the game and hack it first.
I dislike the new “wow style” cartoony art direction… In diablo 2 i could run into a stone building and see and see something cool like a burning pentagram in the middle of the room. It seems they’ve replaced that with a raindow next to a waterfall. It is simply no longer scary, intense, and fun. Its just a cartoony, colorful piece of sh/t. Obviously, the photoshopped versions are not perfect, but the get the idea of what diablo games are supposed to look like.
im with Prozac on this one! i think that the new art direction is very beautiful, while mystic and gothic all at the same time!! i would have to say that people should let Blizzard work their magic, they havent let us down before, right?
What do you call WoW, Mizzatt, if not a letdown? Hell, its practically a curse upon the otherwise perfect track record of Blizzard.
I’m not here to moan and bitch about the art schemes, however. While I won’t like that I am a bit dissapointed with the sincere lack of darkness to the game, I can also say that I don’t care in the slightest about the colour schemes so long as the game is good.
I agree with the ‘haters’ completely in the view that Diablo is meant to be, and should be, a dark and gruesome game. But, I’ve stuck by Blizzard through every game save WoW (curse it to hell), and I trust them to still create an amazing bit of gameplay nomatter what it looks like. Regardless of how it looks, if it holds true to the diablo legacy, I will play it.
That being set aside, I would like to say that I think the game should be made a bit more.. Gothic. I don’t mind the colours, persay, but as Race said, what happened to the crumbling archways and burning pentagrams? The overall lack of a sense of overwhelming evil is what is ruining my idea of the game so far. If there is no darkness, then what in the world will we need a light radius for? What will happen to the shadows that used to be cast about by the flaming designs and bodies upon the floors of the dungeons? I can only sit and pray that Blizzard wont give me another LET DOWN like WoW was, and that they have better dungeons and enviornments simply hidden away, yet to be seen.
While I don’t play WoW anymore I think the approximate 10 million current players will disagree that it was a “dissapointment”…
For some stupid reason, people think the entire game will be as bright as the game-play trailer. Remember of course that we only got a sneak peak of ONE dungeon which I personally thought was gruesome and gritty enough and of course ONE outdoor setting that was supposed to be bright and sunny!
Blizzard have even said themselves that there will be dark and spooky dungeons, horrific areas and disturbing scenarios. Give them time to make the game already and I will be buying this game regardless of the art direction.
~Simon
Like the game just as it is, just slide the brightness down and it will look perfect!xD
)
I think dark version limits the games features.. Like enviroment details.. U see the”abyss” near the platform it looks great and gothic style will cut it’s details so it willnot be more then a single darkness which willnot make the atmosphere dark.. And definately i believe this doesnt looks like WoW.. Completely different.. Playing in a black area? or playing a normal colored area with shows every great detail and has cloudy atmosphere? I will choose the 2nd one.. Well If u want to see a Diablo 2 like game, go and play Diablo 2.. This is a new game and it must have differences.. And we are bored to play in dark dark dark dark….. Btw we have seen only 2 types of maps and 2nd one was sunny day in first and when it got rainy whole atmosphere changed so better to leave arguments and wait what Diablo 3 offers us. I think blizzard knows what to do and I believe they tought these kind of stuff 1000 times more then we do, so they must have a good reason for that difference.. My advice, wait and see.. I started playin diablo when i was 7 years old (1997) but being conservative is useless i think.. If that game would be like diablo 2, it willnot give fun to all of us believe me!
And want to add something.. I downloaded the trailer to my pc and got good news for gothic lovers:D game looks alot darker in that really high quality video(+800 mb for 20 minutes video imagine how high quality). It lookes darker and gives all quality like bright one. I think it looks more shiny in the web because of lower quality but believe me, it is alot darker in video. Download it and see what i am meaning^^
It has nothing to do with WoW or trying to look like WoW. The photo shopped screen shot looks horrible in comparison. It looks like it’s in 16-bit color for god sakes, it’s almost like people want to play this game in black & white. More colors = clearer graphics, end of story. The game still looks plenty dark and gothic enough, if it really bothers you when you get it, turn the brightness and color on your monitor down.
Also, are any of you forgetting act 2 deserts or act 3 jungles or especially act5 outdoor snow levels? They were all bright, especially the snow in act 5.
“The color direction right now just seems too much like a fantasy game rather than a horror game”
…Could this be because it is a fantasy game..? I mean, c’mon.Seriously. A horror game..? No. Just no.
I like the new colour direction. You can actually see where you’re going. You want it darker? Brightness. Down. Problem solved. Or better yet, go experience fucking sunlight. Honestly.
“Ohh…waa..waa it should be all goffix”
No.
Also, it looks NOTHING LIKE WOW. WOW had blood, and the such like? No. Didn’t think so.
Whod’ve thunk that such a petty thing such as lighting could affect a game. What happened to that gameplay thing that used to matter, where’d that go?
I would like to state to all the people who say that Blizzard has never let us down before with their previous titles, those people who made those previous titles like the first diablo no longer are with Blizzard but different game designers. It is not a game company that makes good games it is the individual people who develope the game. I am not trying to say diablo 3 will be a bad game, it will be great and I will purchae it and like it, i just wanted to make this point as everyone seems to not see this. Also, why have I never heard anyone complain over diablo 2? its no where near as the first diablo, in fact most poepl seem to like Diablo 2 much more then its prequel, and now everyone is criticizing diablo 3 when in fact it looks like it does a better job then the 2nd one did at being like the very first diablo, but could be better. Thanks for reading my post.
Are we all serious on this forum. This is just ridiculous… I just have one question to all of those who think the darker one is “scarier”, Do you sleep with the lights on? And as previously stated, Simon, from Aug 11th, 2008 at 5:52 pm said it right.
i reckon d3 will be awesome- i’m happy if there will be dark, spooky places as well as brighter places, a range is always good.
Alright I have alot to say unfortunately for those reading…
The original screencap has a very WoW feel indeed, this is Blizzard confirming and claiming that they are progressing with graphical stylization and drawing from WoW.
-Pro: Keeping with the times which is important for marketing and also the standard of quality today with games.
-Con: Recycling the WRONG material, Warcraft always was brighter and more cartoonish than the world of Diablo was (refer back to the originals of both).
The edit of the screencap definitely draws out a more Diablo feeling however with the color stylization.
-Pro: Screenshot compromises the cartoony for the gloomy.
-Con: It just simply doesn’t work with the environment shown in the photo.
I am 100% on the side of the people disappointed in the new graphical changes presented to us. I used to think it was because it had a WoW feel and not a Diablo, but being fair I simply do not think this will be the Diablo game to make everything feel complete and faithful to the series. The jump from Diablo to Diablo 2 was indeed a great one, but retained all previous elements from the 1st. This doesn’t.
If it’s not the lack of (obvious) gloom shown in the screens or footage, it looks to be the gameplay mechanics that frustrate me. In Diablo you didn’t need to knock down a wall to save your ass or do something different. Hack and Slash gameplay is about progression through repetition: you improve your gear and keep doing what you’re doing and in the end it’s the minor but constant progression that is the reward that makes it fun. The Havok engine is really not needed to bolster gameplay; it complicates the game at a disadvantage to those with the mindset of a Diablo world. And no need for potions? Why, I know it’s inconvenient to scrounge in the heat of battle, but I can safely say that the element of slow (or rarely instant) healing was a beautiful tactical style to fight around. This is another WoW-ish touch (as you really don’t need potions because you generally have a healer doing the job in the background) that I think overshadows familiar gameplay.
I hate the rants even though mine is lengthy enough…I just hope the new product has enough cohesive elements to be a new and enjoyable experience as it will not capture the vintage gameplay I loved initially…
I honestly have NO problem with how the game looks, its the simple fact that it DOES NOT have the D2 feel. Those of you that played or play D2 know exactly what im talking about.
And those retards saying turn down your gamma, and all that crap, The photoshopped version looks (to me) exactly how D3 should look, its more correct on how the previous games had it set. So screw you, turn your gamma up.
for diablo 3 they could have kept the graphics similar to the first one where the characters and the enviroment had a 3d look but really were 2-d and just added in brand new heroes and quests and improved ideas to enhance gameplay and remove the bad, and that would be an eceleent 3rd installment into the series and i think that most players if not all would agree with me. and keep the gothic feel from the frist!! Blizzard! whats the matter just becasue we will buy it and enjoy it that doesnt mean you should turn it into WoW like i read someone say if we wanted to play WoW we’d buy the game and play it. over all d3 looks like it greatly increases the gameplay experience compared to d1 and d2. I AM exicted for it to come out.
I agree with some of the above users that Diablo 3 is supposed to be scary somwwhat. The first Diablo actually gave me nightmares(granted I was 9 instead of 18 but that is besides the point) It is Blizzards game and they can do whatever they want but I still think that gives them no right to COMPLETELY tune out the fans. Besides in one of the original screenshots outside there is a fucking rainbow, I mean jesus christ come on; a rainbow!?
Does anyone think blizzard will add or should add a jester class to diablo since its a mideval setting? The jester could be really quick and do cart wheels to move and attack enemies and he could throw cards that explode like gambit form the x-men.
Lighting in the chopped version is wicked cool.
The monsters in the corners should be hard to see. It’s a gameplay skill to be able to pick them out. And it really improves the mood of the game.
I don’t like the desaturation though, I agree with the blizz dev on that. Why can’t hell can be colorful? There is nothing inherently more creepy/scary about a grey zombie than a green one.
Meanwhile, humans have a natural fear of the dark. Any situation or depiction can be made scarier if you take away our light.
DARK DIABLO III!!!
Please tell me you were stoned when you suggested that Kratos. You’ve got the right idea Mason!
Kratos is never stoned.
I loled:D
it is much better the way the fans did although ill buy it anywayz that way ill enjoy it much more!
DARK DIABLO III!!! FTW
Maybe they will make up for this mistake of making it more colourful in the expansion…..
But hey, remember we as fans have only seen 2!! Levels…. there could be much more to this than meets the eye….
what does everyone reaing my comment think the next three diablo 3 classes will be? Keep in mind blizzard appears to want to increases the speed of combat, so therefore a hit and run archer type warrior is probably out, so give me your opinions, and no cleric/paladin type character I doubt there will be any type of character like that. Also blizzard stated no other characters will be returning, its only the barbarian coming back.
As stated above … To the umpteen sissies crying about the layout of the footage that we’ve seen that is likely the first effing dungeon … You dont know where the plot is at this time … You dont know crap about the game yet … And you’ve seen video prefabbed in parts of the enviroment that are “working” the game isnt going to be out for a year or more … and yet your sure you already dislike the art … What if outside for this Chapter is all fluffy bunnies and butterflies… If its good you’ll still play it … I find it very hard to believe that the depths of the burning hells will be all fluffy … Its a very small part of the game and all the sudden the entire game is too bright and cartoony … Let them show some other dungeons before you start trashing them … Get your heads out of your @$$’s … bunch of friggin crybabies…
The original one is so much better like duh. for those who has problems with the radius, you don’t play diablo enough to know that, the bigger your own radius, the bigger the range the enemies can see you in dark places. means that your radius is small = enemies can’t see you. radius big = enemies can see you. =.= .yeah but seriously, they should just continue to put in the brightness/gamma/contrast shit for those DARK players.
as for the new character thing… hmm… SUPER MEGA KITTEH? or…such-a-big-mouth-you-have-GRANDMA? but seriously though, the main ones who will be in, there will definitely be 1. a paladin- like class, the most.. “balanced” one that is in almost all the mmorpgs, and there will be a heavy melee unit, slightly slower, which is probably taken by the barbidie. and also there will be an archer-like person, and a magical dude. they as “basic”s in about allll of the RPG and those kind of stuff. maybe they’ll put in jedi masters, Super saiyans, Hokages, Gundams, Sonics, Marios, justice league heroes, that-cow-we-saw-in-D2-act-1-in-town, and maybe the chickens too? hmmm probably even a 3 year old kid would be a class. lol.
p.s. most of this post was meant as a joke, and this was in reply to Kratos.
Pewpdaddy its very ignorant of you and everyuone else who agrees with your statemjent to say something like that, my reasons being that diablo is meant as seen in the original to have a dark as in gothic and scary feeling, diablo 2 was the first to raun this, but its meant to be like this because the original is the focal point of a games theme. Its not the colours that make it dark or least all becasue of the colours, its the sounds,music,story,characters such as the music is triatram which had a very eiry feeling to it, so much that i had to get a q-tip from my washroom, no just kidding not that kinf of ear. Anyways as i was saying this is i think what the players of diablo are thinking, not neccesarily the colours(iv discovered people dont realize themselves what they are trying to say) So now Mr. Pewpdaddy why dont you go play a song on the piano or read a nice book. Next three character classes will be Spidervine (combination of spiderman and wolverine) the Cootie Monster, and Robo Bobo.
Surely in game you can just lower the gamma, like in any game and it will become darker? most of the time i play on a high gamma setting on games because it makes the colours more vivid and a nicer playing experience, although i understand that diablo is a gothic horror thing and you want to be scared when monsters jump out of the dark corners and claw at you!
DIABLO III is going to be awsomeness. Quit whining bout the lack of darkness. There are so many places in D2 that were as bright as the unaltered pic. Some places are even brighter. I do agree, however, that rainbows should not be in D3. I didn’t notice it myself, but I will have to give that a no go. No rainbows please. But as I was saying, the area you go through after you defeat the Ancients was pretty bright too. Thats supposed to be the last dungeon as well! It was only when you got to the lowest level of that dungeon did the walls turn red and you had to fight Baal’s minions. I think that all of you who whine about the darkness have selective memory. Most of the people who did MF runs would remember mostly dark places because the best places to MF were dark places (like doing Meph runs), but those places were only a small fraction of the game. The same goes for the gameplay demo. That is a very very small fraction of what is to be D3. There is plenty of room for darker dungeons just like there was in D2.
That last bit in my last comment seems contradictory, so I’ll clear it up. What I mean is that the levels in Diablo 2 ranged from being bright to being very dark and that it will be the same with D3.
Now I’m just going to conjecture. The darker levels do tend to be better and a lot more fun to play. Usually, the darker the dungeon, the badder the boss. Maybe that is why they decided not to show a dungeon that was dark. Then they would have to reveal a bada$$ boss. The boss in the second bit of the video was pretty bada$$ enough though. So imagine what you would have to face during the levels in hell! XD
Spot on people, the game is not completed and as such I am SURE there will be darker dungeons.
I simply do not understand how people can say “From the tiny tiny bit of the game I’ve seen I can hereby confirm that the game is crap, is exactly like wow, (and my favorite) will not be fun”
Nice crystal ball, I wish I could predict the future like that…
I hope the next dungeon that Blizzard showcase for fans is the most gritty, dark environment in the game simply to shut the art haters up.
-Simon
Much of the darkness of the original D1 and D2 was in how the theme was expressed. Making the screen too dark to see is amateurish.
The pictures of skills and some of the equipment I thought needed more work as they didn’t evoke or emanate the right feel or worse looked WoW cartoony to a degree. It wasn’t that they used colors but that the art as a whole wasn’t always coming from the right place. Subtle changes might salvage much of it.
I admit I haven’t looked through all of the pictures but I am not unhappy with what the game itself looks like. The gameplay looks more than fine. I don’t think they should go all darkity dark darko throughout as you need contrast. That said, if overall there aren’t enough nasty creepy features, than add some subtle elements. It’s the twisting of trees, the right choice of shading, the subtle underlayers in the music, the little details that combined lead to a cohesive whole.
I thought they lost too much darkness moving from D1 to D2 but a lot of that is as it should be as the environments were different. You were journeying to hell in the first one whereas you were in the surface world (made by man or nature and not hell forged) much of the time in the second. However I did miss restoring my health by drinking from a pool of blood. The game is MA and I’d rather they didn’t pander to the gaming sensibilities of the religious right too much toning down what should be there when representing the Sanctuary and the Realms it is positioned between.
Rainbows are good. It’s a symbol for hope and hope needs protecting.
To give darkness meaning, you need light. Black, white and shades of grey are boring. You need color, intricacy, etc. Beauty gives meaning to ugliness.
However, any resemblance to WoW style cartoonyness needs to be squashed.