The Barbarian is the only Diablo/Diablo II class to make their way to Diablo III with the others ditched. The Necromancer for example was "a victim of his own success." Blizzard isn't ruling out a return of the classes at some point but they won't be included in the retail release. Fans will likely be incensed at this revelation.
In a special "Worldwide Invitational wrap-up edition" of Blizzard's online podcast, Jay Wilson reveals Diablo 3's Act One getting refined. He says that most of the art team has begun working on the second act as the whole team has become "really production focused", churning out loot and such.
Well it was inevitable that ravenous fans and journalist-types would begin to dissect as much as they could from BlizzCon about Diablo III. Even the majestic talent tree of the Wizard has been raided to reveal the three branch types, Storm, Arcane and Conjure. Obviously Blizzard is likely to prune here and there.
One confirmed thing is that the demo showcased by the development team at BlizzCon won't be making it to the virtual seas, sorry guys. The only place they were going to show it was at BlizzCon but that doesn't mean they won't whip something up for future events in demo form again.
In an interview with Wired, Rob Pardo has explained that while some may feel the game is polished and 'ready', they've really only just begun. "I don't know how far out it is," he stated. He couldn't even formulate a vague idea when fans can get to rip open their Diablo 3 boxes. Mechanics maybe in but story isn't.
A new creature has been added to Blizzard's Diablo III bestiary; The Unburied. These foul and large lumbering, "slobbering" monsters have arrived. The dev team have included a little back-story, some screenshots and an animated model to really flesh out the Unburied's "bloated parts from many fetid, rotting corpses". Thanks Blizz.
Posting on the official Battle.net forums, Blizzard has announced they want gamers to post their single most desired Diablo II patch note of all. While not promising to "make every change mentioned" the team does hope it will help them prioritize and "cover as much as possible." Well, what are you waiting for? You've been drafted!
Ex-Blizzard man Bill Roper has said he "liked the darker, grittier" palette to Diablo, that for him developer Irvine's visual approach doesn't "ring with Diablo." He's adamant he didn't "look at it and go" that's horrible, Roper said it "looks like Blizzard," the guys at Irvine's "interpretation of it." Blizzard has already publically refused to alter the art style.
A futuristic post-apocalyptic Earth is coming our way in Living After War (L.A.W.), with the game completing its first alpha test recently. It's designed by former Diablo II lead artist and Diablo designer Jang Wook Lee, and "a famous director" from Star Wars fame. It's got vehicles, towers, plundering and babes, maybe.
From the burnt rubble of Flagship Studios came Runic Games, which has now revealed they're working on an action-MMO called Torchlight. The co-founders of Runic, the Schaefer brothers, were also the co-founders of Blizzard North. Diablo I and II composer Matt Uelmen has joined the MMO's development team also.
Blizzard has just announced a new class for Diablo III, the Monk. Gameplay footage has been shown at BlizzCon, which shows that the Monk is capable of defeating multiple monsters when surrounded. Diablo III is playable at GamesCom, but the Monk character won't be available to play, so you might have to wait longer for more details on this.
Last year Blizzard caused a bit of a stir when they mentioned the upcoming Diablo III close to the word 'console', and refused to conclude it would never happen. Now, according to GameTrailers man Geoff Keighley's twitter, they still "haven't ruled out" a console release and are in fact "currently talking" with the first parties. Can Blizz pull it off?
Blizzard man Jay Wilson, lead designer for Diablo III, has said they'll be making every effort to launch the game in conservative regions like Germany, Australia and China. The blood has to change for Germans and Aussies "if we're going to sell", and the studio "don't really have a problem" editing it to match standards. China has "a lengthy list" though.
In an Interview with Strategy Informer, Gearbox Software President, CEO and co-founder Randy Pitchford said that Diablo has a huge influence on its upcoming RPS (Role-playing shooter) Borderlands, but only on the role-playing side of it. "So on that side, it would be Diablo, World of Warcraft but on the shooter side, the core mechanic and the controls, looking down the barrel, things like that, we get that from all the first-person shooters out there." said Pitchford.
Blizzard has broken a billion hearts by confirming, sort of, that Diablo III won't be seeing a glorious 2010 release date. So, 2011 then? Rob Pardo admits they announce their games "too early," and reveals there's no 'finish line' in sight yet. It's a "good time to exhale."
Just because your game is nine years old doesn't mean patches have to stop, that's the moral from developer Blizzard. Diablo II is a beast. It's still going strong all these years, and to reflect that, Blizz has 'done something' to the Hell difficulty; fans are "hereby warned once again".
Developer Blizzard is all about equal opportunity employment, and so they've permitted females to become fanatical monk fighters! Blizzcon unveiled the new Monk class last year, though you won't get to play as one as Diablo III isn't due out until the "next few years".
Diablo developer Blizzard seems to be eyeing up even more additions to the long running franchise, or so they hint in their annual fiscal report. Right now though they've got their Blizz hands full with five major games under development, such as StarCraft II and Diablo III.
Developer Blizzard has come out swinging the mighty banhammer once again, this time targeting big time Warcraft III and Diablo II offenders. The team note these decisions to ban "are final." First timers get their CD keys "suspended for 30 days". They want snitches for their "hacks team".
Using DRM for PC releases to combat piracy is "really a losing battle" says Blizzard, because the community is "always so much larger". Either because they want free stuff, or it's "a curiosity for them," groups of people will break DRM technology. Blizz prefer to stick with 'cool content'.