In response to some harsh criticisms of the recently previewed Diablo 3, Bashiok posted on the Battle.net forums to pose his argument against the quick-to-judge mentality that some fans have concerning the upcoming Diablo 3.
The thread was started by a fan who believed there were too many similarities between World of Warcraft, Diablo 2 and Diablo 3, and that Blizzard has not done quite enough to set D3 apart from those games. Bashiok used a rather effective analogy in his retort…
Quote from Bashiok
Well I think it’s kind of easy to look at changes and advancements in the RPG genre as a whole and narrow them down to any number of sources to fit each use.
To make a car analogy (my favorite!) it would be like having issues with the newest version of the mustang because its body styling takes into account things like passenger safety and aerodynamics, and being upset by this because these are features also found in the ford focus. A clearly inferior car in the eyes of the mustang enthusiast.
These types of ideas could never have been thought of or would ever be included in the mustang, of course, had not both cars been manufactured by ford.
It’s just all a bit silly. What I do think is interesting is the differentiation between the hardcore Diablo II players (most of y’all) and the majority of the rest of the game buying public. From our showing at BlizzCon and PAX a lot of the articles and off-site (non fansite) discussions are saying that Diablo III may not be doing enough to change itself from Diablo II.
If those people read some of the posts here you’d think we were putting a Diablo sticker on a WoW box and calling it a day. So it’s just an interesting difference between the audiences and how level of dedication changes perceptions and expectation.
And I don’t mean to lump everyone together, I’d say aside from the trolls the majority of posters here are actually level headed and logical. At least able to take multiple things into consideration. Reasonable thought process and understanding that the game is a work in progress, and not someone that sees a character with a slight hunch and makes a leap of logic that we must be using model/animation assets from a different game.
That’s still my favorite. Cause of it bein’ so stupid ‘n all.
But anyway I guess what I’m getting at is… I’d really like to read something new and original. These posts are getting tired. (Source)
There’s no doubt that expectations are going to be high for the upcoming sequel to Blizzard’s incredibly popular Diablo series. It’s going on nearly ten years since the release of Diablo 2. As one poster had put it, there’s no way that Diablo 3 is going to please the entire Diablo fan base, because everyone is going to have their own interpretations of how the game should look, feel and “play”.
A lot has happened in the near-decade since Diablo 2’s release. Not only have there been huge advancements in gaming, but Blizzard has hit a home run with their wildly successful World of Warcraft MMORPG. Although many die-hard fans of the Diablo series would disagree, Blizz would probably be foolish not to borrow from proven success when developing their upcoming Diablo sequel.
One thing’s certain… Diablo fans are passionate. So far the game appears to follow the winning formula of a balance between role-playing adventure, and hack and slash action and violence. Although some players have expressed their disdain for the game’s apparent lack of originality and the fact that it seems to borrow too much from its predecessors, I predict they’ll change their tune once Diablo 3 hits shelves.
No matter how familiar the graphics and game mechanics may seem, there’s no denying the unique and highly enjoyable style of game play that Diablo offers. These critics will be lining up on release date and camping out on Battle.net just as the rest of us will be doing. 😉
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