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Blizzard’s released version of Diablo 3 was a huge departure from Diablo 2, changing the series’ art style and switching its gameplay to a more fast-food, instant gratification style of ARPG. However, in the early 2000s, the team behind the original Diablo games were working on their own version of Diablo 3, and fans might have had similar issues.
In an upcoming episode of the VideoGamer Podcast, Diablo creator David Brevik explained that the plan for the original Diablo 3 would’ve been more similar to today’s “live-service” games as the team aimed to fuse the series with Blizzard’s MMO prestige. But would the creator make those decisions today?
What was the original Diablo 3?
Brevik’s original plan for his cancelled version of Diablo 3 shares some DNA with the current version of Diablo 4, albeit with a focus on a slower, more tactical version of ARPG combat that Brevik prefers. However, the game would’ve also been more in-tune with MMO gameplay that took some of the best ideas from World of Warcraft and fused them with the series.
“It wasn’t just an MMO,” Brevik told VideoGamer. “It was gonna be an ARPG with the same perspective and all of those kind of things, but just an MMO in terms of people in the world, and you’re running around the world and you see other people kind of thing, and you could group up and you were on a Shard and there were dungeons and things like that. It was much more like a cross between sort of like a World of Warcraft, but Diablo mix or whatever.”
Brevik explained that these ideas were inspired by early EverQuest and World of Warcraft and would have focused on a “constantly evolving world” that would frequently see “new challenges” and bits of content drop for players to enjoy.
“It was a little bit of taking kind of that BattleNet interface and putting it into the game and making it a more immersive experience,” Brevik explained. “There were dangers out in the real world and events and all sorts of stuff. So there was kind of this mix of a, you know, an ARPG and kind of the MMO experience of other people in this world having an effect on it.”
“I would have made different decisions than they made.”
DAVID BREVIK ON DIABLO 4
Like Diablo 4, but not?
In the interview, Brevik explained that his original version of Diablo 3 did share some DNA with what Blizzard would eventually do with Diablo 4, but the creator would have made a lot of changes. Similar to Diablo 2, his version would have been more focused on characters and bring over a lot of the itemisation found in older games.
“It ends up being different, like, I would have made different decisions than they made.” the game designer told us. “Like, I think a lot comes down to the way that they did, they do itemization or the way that they do their characters and things like that were kind of different directions than I think that I was focused on.
I wanted more of… I think that one of the things that is most important about a particular MMO are the social aspects. And I think that focusing more on the social aspects of the MMO are things that from a game design perspective, encouraging social interactions is something that I think that I would have really leaned into.”
When asked if Brevik would have made that version of today, the answer was a simple “no”. After Hellgate, Marvel Rivals and more, the Diablo creator is now working on smaller titles with indie developers at his new publishing company Skystone Games, releasing awesome new titles like Tyrant’s Realm, Hellcard and Brevik’s own ARPG It Lurks Below.
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