Diablo 3 screens from the Blizzard North era reveal a 'darker' original vision
The screens were posted by former Blizzard North artist Oscar Cuesta.
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Screenshots of Blizzard North's original "Diablo III" emerge
- Thread starter CenturionNami
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TBH, I'm one of those weirdos who thought Diablo 3's art style was really cool and unique. Out of all the action RPGs released in the last generation, Diablo 3 has visually aged the best out of all of them. I don't think the grim-and-gritty look for Diablo is bad, but if it looked like this, I don't think it would've stood the test of time.
That's my kneejerk reaction, anyway.
That's my kneejerk reaction, anyway.
I like the way release D3 looks, and I like the look of this too.
Yeah, it reminds me of the Snowblind engine stuff on PS2 (Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance, Champions of Norrath).
I don't think that's a weird opinion at all, D3 looked great.
Last act is ridiculous. It looks like I'm on a super Mario game...
I love it! I think it gives the game an interesting visual identity, and technology has progressed to the point where physically based materials and global illumination can create scenes that don't age nearly as badly as games from say, 10 years ago and beyond.
It might not be a weird (or rather, uncommon) opinion on this forum, but do remember that Blizzard created an entire area to mock people who said Diablo 3 looked like it was for kids.
I think current D3 looks great. Yeah it is not as Grim Dark as D2, which I think matches the game anyway. D2 is much darker than D3, you are literally killing everyone you played as in D1 and you technically still lose. D3 while Cain dies you are an overwhelming being of power and destruction and the art style matches it.
I've actually seen it and that doesn't look like it. Just going to say that... (might be from a way earlier version, but it did not look like that)
The shots look plain, but it's hard to know how this version of the game would have turned out. I think it's possible to make a great game in either style.
For an early concept, I like it! It reminds me of that era of PC games. Bit of a shame we never got to see it.
outrage at the time was a little unwarranted in volume.
but yeah, i dunno if the mob with pitchforks were necessarily "in the wrong". a hindsight is 20/20 deal
Agreed. I think for the hardware at the time, the art style of D3 helped it look good and age well.
These screenshots just look very bland. Like the many Diablo clones that came out trying to fill a hole that D3 never left.
I'm just going to say that I've never been particularly impressed by Blizzard games artistically, even back in the Warcraft 2 days. Star Craft and the first 2 Diablo games were alright but never really "wowed" me. The original screenshots of Star Craft look beyond hideous though, so they did a good job turning that one around.
But yeah, would have been interesting to see how this version panned out.
But yeah, would have been interesting to see how this version panned out.
Meh. I like what it was. I had no problem with the animation and art. Those were the least of D3's problems.
Yeah, my impression is that these are most likely from an earlier build of the game. Wouldn't mind seeing some material from the last Blizzard North build before it was canceled and the studio was dissolved.
Does Diablo 3 look good even for a game that old? Yes. Does it look like the sequel to visual aesthetic of Diablo and Diablo II? Not so much. That said it would probably have gotten less shit if it wasn't also saddled with the terrible way they decided to tell the story. Act 3 is especially bad with the Saturday morning cartoon villian talking head taunts. The change in tone between Diablo II and Diablo III is very jarring.
Everything about Diablo III's aesethetic and tone is changed, not just the more cartoonish proportions. It really looks, animations, and presents as lightly like its predecessors.
I do think Blizzard fell into the "early 3D" trap though that a lot of older 2D games with more grounded art directions struggle with when translating to 3D, especially 3D aimed at running on a toaster. Detailed assets are generally computationally heavy and that wasn't the game Blizzard were making. They wanted something bright, colourful, with easy readability, and fully 3D in every respect while also scalable to run on the most dated hardware configurations. Their choice to go with more exaggerated animations, proportions, and use of colours is a smart one to assist with presentation and readability on a limited polygonal and texture budget, but yeah. Came at a cost.
I do think Blizzard fell into the "early 3D" trap though that a lot of older 2D games with more grounded art directions struggle with when translating to 3D, especially 3D aimed at running on a toaster. Detailed assets are generally computationally heavy and that wasn't the game Blizzard were making. They wanted something bright, colourful, with easy readability, and fully 3D in every respect while also scalable to run on the most dated hardware configurations. Their choice to go with more exaggerated animations, proportions, and use of colours is a smart one to assist with presentation and readability on a limited polygonal and texture budget, but yeah. Came at a cost.
Nah, no. Nein. That looks nasty and wildly outdated.
Both of the Dark Alliance games and CoN hold up even today. Just unbelievable what was pulled off at 60fps.
I need to know what Mario game you are talking about, unless you are joking.
Same.
I don't like the grim and gritty art style of 4 at all so far.
I think Diablo 3 is definitely a big departure from the original games, but it still felt like Diablo to me. All the gore, grime, and gibs mixed with the vivid color palette gave everything a very gnarly sensation. Reaper of Souls absolutely helped reign in the saturation, though.
I will say nothing of the story beyond it being indefensibly bad.
I feel like a lot of people don't understand that these are images of an unfinished game. These are not what the final visuals would've looked like...
And you and I know that's an exception, not how Mario games are typically like.
For better or worse, they look very close to Diablo 2, unlike 3. Not even a complaint, I always really enjoyed 3's artstyle.
Lmao yeah I was just joking. The original comment was nonsense.
Yeah put me down on Team D3. I really like the art direction that we actually got. Not only the style, but aesthetically it feels so much better to look at due to the legibility of what's happening on screen. It pops. Every model and animation is visually distinct.
