Diablo 3 Lead Designer Jay Wilson sat down with Multiplayer Blog to explain how the health system works in Diablo 3 and how it differs from Diablo 2. In short, you can’t add a new feature without removing an old one, in this case we’re talking about health potions.
The goal is to broaden the Diablo audience to more than just the hardcore fans. Lets be honest with ourselves, the health potion system was way too far out of control (broken?) By mid-game or earlier, half the character inventory was full of potions and you might have just purchased shares in the potion selling company with all the spending you’ve done there. The health potion system created the infinitely powerful character, in essence, by making them immortal.
Activision Blizzard has learned a bit about their success with broad audiences in games like World of Warcraft, which has surpassed game sales over Diablo 2, their most successful game title. What they’ve decided to do in this release of Diablo is to limit the characters ability to heal and make them “mortal” again, requiring the player to use strategy, tactics and skills to defeat enemies. Rather than charging forward pressing “1” then “2” then “3” and the other hot keys for potions, you’ll be forced to back away during strong stomp attacks, mind your enemies special attacks and defend yourself.
“One of the things that happened in ‘Diablo II’,” Wilson continued, “was the player was faster than most of the monsters and had pretty much infinite health because they would just pop as many potions as they wanted. So when you have a player who has more mobility, more health and endless power, essentially the only thing you can really do to challenge [the players] is to kill them… by just spiking the difficulty.” (multiplayer blog)
Gating the users ability to heal is a classic RPG/Adventure game mechanism for changing the playing field in terms of difficulty. You can make a game with weaker enemies in abundance and still cause you harm, take a look back at Gauntlet in the arcade for an example of this method. You can build challenging enemy styles and dungeon traps to cause the player to mind their step, look at the classic Zelda series and some of their crazy enemies. A great example is the Darknuts from The Legend of Zelda, it was a small knight that could only be attacked from behind but had a sharp little dagger if you bumped them from the front. You had to use tactics to wipe out a full room of Darknuts.
Activision Blizzard will now have the option to create some fancy enemies with challenging special abilities that do not involve insta-kill upon contact battle tactics. You control a super hero character, not an immortal; there should be some challenge besides hacking and slashing through mobs of enemies. Wilson went on to say, “We can make a monster that affects your mobility, we can make a monster that has different kinds of attacks that are dangerous to you and that you actually have to avoid. And so it makes the combat a lot more interesting.”
One of the criticisms to the Diablo franchise has always been the “click fest” of battle. You sit still and click on enemies until everyone is dead. Perhaps, without having infinite potions you’ll be challenged to use your brain on occasion, like a real RPG and have more creative use of your money rather than investing a half-billion into the potion vendors.
Where does that lead the hardcore Diablo fans? Activision Blizzard hopes they’ll see a title with a lot more depth, a new style of challenge and a long term appeal.
New Guitar Hero Game a
@Domains for Mad Max videogames registered by Warner Bros.
Dunno. What’s the difference between those possible future games and Rage? I expect the gameplay to be the same, ok, story a tad different.
So, the future games receive a ‘meh’ from me. For now.
@Report: Xbox 720 not always online
This makes sense. Sure, Microsoft is greedy, but they made good decisions in the past regarding the availability of software for their platforms.
Jordan, I also unwrap my games. Still, Serious Sam 3 is still on hold, Amnesia is on hold, Penumbra games – just made it to the mine thinggie. Plenty of stuff to play.
QOTW:
Favourite? Gosh … Here’s the thing: QUake 3 – FPS. Doom 3 – FPS. STALKER, Fallout 3?! – FPS RPG? C&C Renegade, Red Alert: A Path Beyond?! – FPS RTS?!
So, I’ll split it in two: perspective – first person. Game mechanics – RPG took first place. That doesn’t mean I’m going to pass on a good classic RTS.
I hope I’m not late this week…
@xbox720
There was no doubt in my mind that those rumors would turn out false. There are too many people who use the current gen consoles that do not have access to broadband or do not want to be connected all the time. Microsoft would have to change their general marketing and development approach if they chose to have an always-on device.
@Zeschuk
I don’t think I agree with the statement about nothing new happening in the game industry. Some developers are working on new IPs and, although most of the mechanics remain the same, I think gamers are still waiting for new releases with excitement. There are plenty of choices right now. Some games are free-to-play, there are subscription-based games and single player only IPs. To me it seems that gamers are not yet jaded and everyone can find something just right for them. I don’t understand what kind of revolution Mr Zeschuk would like to see. Admittedly, he knows more about the inside workings of the industry than me, but I side with Paul in that it’s rather the global economy state that forces people to buy less rather than the state of the gaming industry itself.
Most casual gamers would rather spend the $60 on a new CoD than a new IP. They know what to expect, they know they will have fun, so why risk the hard-earned money on something unknown? This situation will change when people will have more disposable income, if that ever happens again 😉
@Death of handhelds
I wonder if the cultural differences play a role in how we see the situation. Granted, most of the people in Poland own an Android or iOS smartphone but the tablet market is not as full as it is in western Europe and the States. To be fair, I haven’t seen many Vitas, PSPs or 3DS’ either. To me, it’s not a matter of competition between my phone and the Vita. My Samsung won’t run Little Big Planet or Wipeout. If I need a quick game, I play some Zen Pinball, which also won’t run on my phone.
Another thing. I’m not sure how many TVs a statistical American household has. There’s one TV in my wife’s and mine apartment and if she wants to watch something I can’t use my PS3 so I play my Vita. That’s another situation where handhelds are a good solution although they still need to compete with other devices, as per your argument.
With the recent PSVita firmware upgrade I sorted my games into folders. It’s easy for me to count that I now have more than 15 games installed there. This includes some PSN games, some old Final Fantasies and one demo but there’s still plenty for me to play and there are no other portable devices that compete for my time. Well, unless you count Words with Friends on my phone…
Oh, QOTW…
I looove old-timey point-and-click adventure games. I still think the Broken Sword series is one of the best series ever made. Then there’s Syberia 1 and 2, Leisure Suit Larry, Monkey Island. Where did all those games go? Deep Silver has been publishing some adventure games recently but that’s it. The hand-drawn 2D graphics, witty humor, nice puzzles, some of which are incredibly frustrating but once you get over them you feel a sense of accomplishment. Yeah, that’s the stuff. I’d put Quantic Dreams games in the category as well, sort of… It’s a more cinematic experience but you still get an extremely interesting story and they require some brain usage.
@Batman Beyond help
As far as I remember, there was a Batman Beyond game on Xbox. It was an utter turd. In fact, up until Batman: Arkham Asylum all of the contemporary Batman games released were absolute garbage. Except for Batman Begins, which was a cross between Splinter Cell and Burnout. It’s good to see him returning to quality he deserves.
@Incredible Mad Max: The Second Revenge of Mad Max and his Amazing Friends (copyright of Warner Brothers which is a trademark of Warner Bros which is a Warner company)
Never watched any of the films. So to me it’s like Max Payne. Probably gonna tank too. Especially since it’s a movie tie in. “Hey Max, jump onto the platforms to collect yellow bolts to build a Maxmobile. Que a racing mini-game chasing trucks which are throwing barrels and occasional power up. Turn your car blue by buying Mad Points using your dads hard earned currency”
@Xbox 720 is coming out eventually so shut up
I am absolutely indifferent to the rumors about next Xbox. I am patiently waiting for E3 when it is properly announced.
@Xbox 360 launch titles
Kameo was an Xbox game that was held back and released on Xbox 360 launch. Didn’t do so well.
@Death of the Handheld market
Difficult to dispute. At the beginning I thought an iPhone was just a crappy overpriced piece of junk that would bring hipsters together over a cup of Starbucks via Instagram. And it is. However, if it can run GTA: Vice City, it is a formidable gaming-capable machine on par with Xbox and PS2. It is far superior to a DS or PSP, which just specialise in games. And as far as I know, iPhone games are designed to be short and n00b friendly. Biggest problem is that smartphones are big in Asia. Chinese, Japanese and Koreans adore iPhones. And as we all know, nowadays if something is big in Asia it will be targeted by developers (i.e. Chinese only MMOs). And that is possibly the biggest problem for handhelds. The 3rd party support they enjoyed in the past has moved on to a simpler and cheaper development industry.
@QOTW
Free-roaming action RPGs. Elder Scrolls. Deus Ex. Borderlands. I love the freedom of exploration coupled together with a character that you can develop and personalize. And a fighting mechanic where I can actively dodge and attack using my personal skill.