For the past week we’ve been talking to a number of the “ex-Northers,” guys who worked on D1/D2/D2X, who are no longer with Blizzard, and therefore not involved in the production of Diablo III, to get their reactions to the Diablo III announcement.They’ve all had a lot to say, but unfortunately it’s all been off the record. Aside from Max Schaefer’s brief note, there’s been no public comment about Diablo III from anyone who worked on the earlier games in the series. Until now.
Artist Ben Boos worked on D2 and D2X before moving to Flagship Studios. He’s now self employed and doing very well as an author/illustrator, and he was kind (and brave) enough to answer our 7 questions about the Diablo III announcement. Here’s a quote, and you can read the whole interview here.
Diii.net: What do you think of the look of D3? Is it similar in tone/mood/theme to the game you envisioned and worked on at Blizzard North? There has been quite a bit of debate about the graphics, with many players complaining that it’s too bright cartoon/rainbow-colored.
Ben Boos: I thought Diablo 3 looked fantastic at the WWI announcement.
As for the tone: A comparison of D1 to D2 comes to mind. I remember plowing ahead and making those green pastures and meadows in D2, and thinking after the fact� �oops! The original Diablo was so dark and moody; did I screw up the atmosphere?� Then I went and made the bright desert wasteland, and the same potential problems cropped up. But it all worked out in my opinion, because we were able to take the player underground, and to various darker environments. Therefore, I think you can�t judge the atmosphere of D3 from a short demo. Who knows what incredible sights await the player of Diablo 3?
