Blizzard's "solution" is Battle.net, the service it launched in 1997 to handle its online gaming capabilities.

"If you wanna play online on Battle.net with other players you’re going to have to have a legitimate copy," Pardo said in a BlizzCon interview. Battle.net, he says, has "saved us from a lot of the PC piracy that I think hurts a lot of other single-player-only games."

Q&A: Blizzard's Executive Vice President of Game Design Rob Pardo [Game|Life]

The basics: As you play through Diablo III you will come across various runes, which can be slotted into active power slots to enhance their powers. Rather than just increasing the damage or range of an ability, however, the runes radically change the form and function of said abilities, almost creating completely new skills with completely different uses.

During a panel on Diablo III development, Jay went over some of the various examples of how runes interact with powers. By far my favorite example was teleport, an ability the new wizard class receives. By itself, it simply moves the character to a different location on the map. Add a damage rune and suddenly porting into a group of monsters hurts them. Add a multi-attack rune and teleporting splits you into multiple characters for a brief period of time.

Another example was the witch doctor's flaming skull spell, which by default has him filling a skull with fire and tossing it at the enemy. With a power rune attached, the skull leaves behind a damaging pool of fire. With the multi rune, it bounces. Bouncing flaming skulls equals love.

It seems like a ton of work, not only creating each of the skills but determining how they function with runes attached, but Jay assured me it wasn't a problem for Blizzard.

"We have a saying at Blizzard when something looks like too much work. How about we pay you? You can work on it, and every two weeks we'll cut you a check."

I love Jay Wilson, and Jay Wilson loves the Blizzard fans. Not only does he love them, but he also values their input. At the end of our far too brief interview, he urged me to urge fans to come up with their own rune / power combinations and send them in. Who knows, if you put in a lot of work, maybe one day they'll pay you.

Sure, the core concepts remain exactly the same as they did in the original game. You play a character that clicks their way through levels, hacking, slashing, and spellcasting your way through hordes of enemies. You still upgrade your equipment, quaff potions, and identify magic items along the way. In essence it is the same game we've been playing and loving since the very start, only updated to the point where we can look at it on today's systems and still go "Damn, this is an amazing game."

The demo starts off by allowing me to select a class. Currently available are male and female versions of both the Witch Doctor and Barbarian, as well as the female Wizard, with the currently incomplete male unable to be selected. I went with the Wizard, partly because of my affinity with the mage class but mostly because I like to play as girls.

I begin in a burnt out village of Tristam, overrun with undead. Entering the village proper the first sight I see is a person trying to crawl out of a cellar doorway. Approaching them causes them to be yanked inside with a scream that continues as blood splashes out of the opening onto the ground. Oh yes, things are pretty fucked up round here.

Soon you come across your first enemies, your basic zombies. The power mapping is pretty simple. You have a standard hotbar numbered 1-9, a left button power, and a right button power that can be swapped on the fly with the tab key. I had an electrical melee attack on my left button and magic missile on the right, at least until I got the awesome disintegration ray at level 2.

I come across a wounded soldier laying near an open crypt who warns me....somehow the fires have awoken him - The Skeleton King lives again. Feeling uppity, I plunge into the depths of the dungeon, ready to click some ass.

The monsters come in waves, dying with that characteristically satisfying feel of all Diablo games. They do an excellent job of making you feel like you're causing the damage directly. These aren't spell effects and death animations - these are beams of magical energy shooting from your hands, committing your enemies to nothingness. As I fight through hordes of skeletons, they drop reddish heart containers, and running over them replenishes my heath. There are still potions in the game of course...the pickups just add to the action a bit.

Eventually I get my first rune. The rune system in Diablo III allows you to slot stones you find into powers in order to increase their effects in specific ways. The minor power rune I pickup adds a bit more damage to my disintegration ray, whereas a multi-hit rune might very well split the beam into multiples. The developers have not only had to create the powers for each class, but determine how each rune you can pick up effects said powers. Each run has a cosmetic as well as functional effect on each power. It's a very ambitious system that I cannot wait to see more of.

At know point during my 3-level dungeon descent do I worry about the bright colors ruining my experience. It's still moody and pretty dark. The spell effects, on the other hand, are vibrant and colorful, and the death animations for the creatures I kill seem to vary depending on the power I use. Disintegrate actually disintegrates my enemies. No caned death animations here.

Along with the requisite zombies and skeletons I run into a few bigger creatures, like giant, bloated, headless bodies that explode in a cascade of maggots as they die, with several groups of the worms attacking you, perhaps a bit miffed that you destroyed their home.

Eventually I descend to the final level, where the skeleton king rises in spectacular fashion. Gates all around him open, the area is flooded with undead, and my disintegrate ray quickly runs out of mana, leaving me relatively defenseless and definitely dead. Oh well.

When I first saw Diablo III in action, my initial thought was, "How is this different?" Now, having played the game I realize that it isn't all that different, and it doesn't really have to be. It's got upgraded graphics, a new leveling system, and some new classes, but this is still Diablo, and that has never been a bad thing. If it was the sort of game we got a new installment of every year than it would certainly be less impressive, but with it being seven years since we've entered this world, familiarity is definitely a good thing.

The shirt is of course a direct response to the fans who cried out that Diablo III was too bright and colorful for a Diablo game. I'm a little sad that this isn't the real logo myself.

Jay said that if there was a huge outpouring of demand thaqt these shirts might one day be offered to people for sale, so you might wanna start outpouring now. I need one of these. I briefly considered taking Jay's, but he seems like a rather tough fellow and I'd rather not take any chances. Outpour!

Personality-wise the wizard is a bit of a rebel. Ambitious, perhaps even power hungry, the wizard is the kind of person who pays no attention at all in class yet still manages to ace her magic exams. Everybody expects her to fail, but she's got the power and desire to come out on top.

What powers? Hit the jump for a few hit the jump for a few of the tricks she's got up her sleeves.

Magic Missiles: Was an important skill choice. Fireballs, ice bolts would have set her up to be an elementailist. The higher the level the more missiles.

Electrocute: Part of the Wizard's weather control discipline. Controlling weather feels epic.

Slow Time: Part of the reality control kit for the wizard. RPG games don't generally manipulate time. It's a slow time bubble, for multiplayer use.

Disintegrate: The real face melter. Nothing like it has been in a Diablo game before, but it feels very Diablo. Hold down the mouse and a beam shoots out. So awesome. IT originally started as a charged swing for the Barbarian class that you'd have to hold down the mouse to charge and the release when finally charged. Teammates would kill the monsters, leaving you alone, and you'd still be waiting for the power to go off. Now you hold down the beam and it comes grows in power as a monster is hit.

So that's what we have on the wizard so far. She's a glass cannon class, basically. Over-powered yet severely under armored. My kinda girl.

Wizard Trailer [ via Diablo III Website]

Speaking at Blizzcon, Blizzard's Mike Morhaime offered the following slim olive branch.

"Every game we have the discussion about which platforms make the most sense," said Morhaime "As Diablo 3 takes shape, I think we'll do an evaluation."

Diablo 3 May Hit Consoles [Shacknews]

Highlights of the bag include the inflatable Frostmourne sword, the Diablo III stress ball, Padaren Brewmaster beer cozy and bottle opener, and of course the card containing the codes for the polar bear mount and Starcraft II beta. My personal favorite? A small box of tissues labeled "QQ nOOb." Awwwwwww.

Don't Miss... Diablo III Gameplay Stations: Venture deep into Tristram Cathedral to face the Skeleton King.

Along with the hands on sessions, there will also be a Diablo III Class Design panel that promises to delve deeper into the design of the previously announced barbarian and witch doctor, "and a new champion who has emerged to defend the mortal world."

The panel kicks off tomorrow at noon following the opening ceremonies, so be sure to check back tomorrow afternoon to see who joins the line up!

It's not all about WoW though, of course! I'm expecting interesting news from both StarCraft II and Diablo III, so stay tuned over the next couple of days as I delve into this new, dark world. In the meantime, if you folks have any questions you'd like answered about Wrath of the Lich King, or the other two, non-WoW titles, drop them in the comments section! Who knows, I might be just lazy enough to skip coming up with my own questions in favor of yours!

All the barbarian players are delighted and all the necromancers hate us. I understand, I don't begrudge them that. I would hate me too! But what I would say is that when we announce the next class, which is quite similar to a previous class, then all those players will hate us too. You can't make everybody happy, but I think when the game finally come out players will find there's a good class for them, one they will love as much as the ones that came before. And if they don't, I absolutely promise that in the expansions we'll consider bringing back old classes.

You'd best stand by that promise, Jay. The Agonast does not abide character class tinkering.

Next Diablo 3 class will make players hate Blizzard [Videogamer]

Mr. (or Mrs.) Source says StarCraft 2's dev team is comprised of "a minuscule amount of people" compared to the current Diablo III team. Pretty clear which baby was gonna get its milk first all along, I'd figure. Blizzard hasn't said anything officially about the rumor. Sounds like a good rumor, doesn't really defy reasonable expectations. While it doesn't exactly fix a release date for you, it does let StarCraft players know not to hold their breath waiting.

Diablo 3 Release Date Before StarCraft 2 [Battleforums]

Diablo III will have its own unique needs in terms of what Battle.Net provides.

To the point. The engineers working on the upgrade will also be working integrally with the StarCraft II team and the Diablo III team. As they should be!

Diablo III will have “its own unique needs” for the new Battle.Net [VG247]

Yeah, it's iTunes and you'll be downloading an .M4P file, but factor "free" into your whining about that — and be thankful you're not downloading that old Blizzard downloader thing! Thanks to all who tipped us on the free music news.

Diablo III Overture [iTunes Store]

We got one of those non-answers that was very telling. "We haven't announced anything about what will be playable at Blizzcon," a Blizzard rep told us. Inconclusive, yes, but delivered with one of those smiles that one frustratingly can't print.

It sure sounds like Blizzard is working to bring a playable copy of Diablo III to BlizzCon this year, but we realize that things can change at the last minute. However, if you're going to the 'Con in Anaheim this year, don't be surprised if you're knee deep in hellspawn and rainbows all weekend.

Diablo III lead designer Jay Wilson says the reason is simple. The Barbarian in Diablo II could've been better. He was a bit more diplomatic in his dissing, saying that the brute force attack class had "room for improvement."

There's one class that definitely won't be coming back for another appearance in Diablo III. And Wilson says that it was because that class was just shy of perfectly designed.

The Necromancer, he said, was simply a victim of his own success. He was just too well crafted as a character, something that Wilson's Blizzard design cohorts, current and former, likely don't mind hearing. Necro fans on the other hand, probably won't be too thrilled to learn of his disappearance, despite the Witch Doctor class's similarities.

Wilson says that there are absolutely no plans to bring back any other classes in the initial release, but, given that Blizzard wasn't breaking any news at Games Convention, wouldn't dish any details on what the remaining three classes will be.

We have a sneaking suspicion that Blizzard will take advantage of its own event, BlizzCon, to make such an announcement. (C'mon, Bard! We really want to serenade Diablo's minions to death.)

The good news is that Blizzard plans to unveil the opening cinematic movie for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King at the big show. They also will be hosting a Q&A session following the airing on Thursday. Blizzard also plans to have more hands on time with StarCraft II and Lich King as well as other Q&A sessions with members of the StarCraft II and Diablo III teams.

Make sure to check back here starting Wednesday for our in-depth and live coverage of the biggest and best public gaming show in Europe (personally, i think the world).

While you might think developer panels are dry stuff, the descriptions indicate otherwise. One Diablo III panel, for example, hints strongly that we'll get a look at new classes beyond the Barbarian and Witch Doctor.

The Diablo III Game Design session promises "new and exciting features the upcoming sequel", which we find attractive because new and exciting things are what we live for, and one StarCraft II panel is listed as hosting a developer led live demo. A similar session last year spelled out a host of new features and unit details.

On the World of Warcraft side, BlizzCon will give players a peek into "current and future plans" for WoW PvP in one panel, a "unique opportunity to glimpse future dungeons currently in development" in another.

Here's the full list, so you can pick and choose which sessions you'd like to attend, you lucky ticket holder, you.

- Diablo III Class Design
- Diablo III Game Design
- Diablo III – Lore and Art
- StarCraft II Gameplay
- StarCraft Lore
- StarCraft II Art
- World of Warcraft Class Design
- World of Warcraft PvP
- World of Warcraft Art
- World of Warcraft Dungeons & Raids
- World of Warcraft UI and Mods
- Blizzard Cinematics
- Blizzard Sound and Music

Panels [BlizzCon 2008]

Last night they released a final batch of tickets around 11:00 PM Eastern, and I once again had the tickets in my cart before the website timed out, coming back minutes later to let me know the items in my shopping cart were now sold out, causing me to wake the neighbors with the very loud shouting of a word that rhymes with duck.

To say the ticket launch was handled badly is an understatement. While I can understand how a game with so many millions of players is going to stress a system when only 14,000 or so tickets go on sale, but this was completely ridiculous. Thousands of people spent Monday refreshing the website, hoping that their sale would go through, putting tickets into your shopping cart didn't reserve tickets for you for even a minute, customer service reps at the Blizzard phone support line were telling fans on Tuesday that tickets were being released in batches, which didn't seem to be the case...it was just a total mess.

Meanwhile the forums are filled with players threatening to leave the game (they won't), trolls making fun of the people complaining, and the odd person gloating that they actually received one of the coveted tickets. Don't even get me started about the assholes on eBay.

The whole situation stinks, and while I am still planning on attending, most of the people I was going to catch up with while I was there won't be. Perhaps next year Blizzard could hold some sort of lottery, giving random players a chance to purchase tickets, rather than expose their inability to properly handle a flood of website traffic.

We’re not saying this is the end of the ‘Diablo’ universe, but we are trying to bring this story line to a close. It’s not just Diablo III -— we’ve got plans beyond.

Is anyone really surprised? Anyone? No?

Designer: ‘Diablo III’ Rounds Out Trilogy, But Not The End Of ‘Diablo’ [Multiplayer]

Likewise, if a chap wants to master the power of sorcery then that chap shouldn't feel as though wearing a revealing dress is his only option.

Good news, then, that Blizzard has decided to move the Diablo franchise into the 21st century and make any Diablo III character class playable by either sex. Granted, it just means doubling the number of character models but it is stiill a nice gesture towards sort-of-realism.

For my money, though, it doesn't go far enough. Where are all the transgendered Necromancers? Don't oppress us, Blizzard!

Designer: ‘Diablo III’ Gender Choice A ‘Big Debate’ [MTV Multiplayer]

I'd urge everyone to keep trying, but that's not what I really want. I need everyone to stop trying for about 15 minutes so I can get a pair of tickets, and then continue your regularly scheduled Blizzard store onslaught.

Order Your BlizzCon 2008 Tickets Here [Blizzard Store]

Regarding Brian, he recently resigned to form a startup company "outside the game industry", which is why we posted about the open position. That change won't impact the game...we're really pleased with the look and feel that Brian helped create for Diablo III, and the new person we bring aboard will work with other artists on the team to maintain the art style moving forward.

So don't worry - Diablo III isn't going to go all goth on us.

Art Director
Blizzard Entertainment is currently looking for a talented, motivated, and experienced art director to lead the Diablo III art team. For this position, you must be highly organized with outstanding communication skills and proven experience in management. We're looking for a proven track record of shipping AAA products in an art director role. Experience modeling and texturing assets for a diverse visual range of environments and a solid grasp of form, color, and light for both 2D and 3D art assets are also essential. You must be experienced at mentoring a team, able to work well in an environment of artists who are passionate about making great games, skilled in another art task (illustration, modeling, texturing, animation, or concept drawing), and well-versed in related tools (Maya, Photoshop, etc.).

The fact that the position, which hit the site on Tuesday, is specifically Art Director and that it spells out that the person will be leading and mentoring the Diablo III art team leads me to believe that perhaps something's up with Brian Morrisroe, who last we heard was the game's art director. Of course it could be that he just lay the ground work for the game and they want to bring someone else in to wrap things up. It could also mean that they're taking a new direction, but given how adamant Blizzard's been about not changing the game's look, that seems like a pretty slim bet.

We've contacted Blizzard to see if Morrisroe is still the art director for Diablo III and whether he is still at Blizzard. We're also trying to nail down whether this new job listing means the game's art direction is undergoing a change. I'll be sure to update once we hear back.

[Thanks Sedako]

Update: Morrisroe did indeed quit.

‘Diablo III’ Designer Turns Tables, Judges Fans’ Screenshots [MTV]

“Your ‘WoW’ score would be just one factor that will go into your Blizzard Level. And rather than call it a ’score,’ we just wanted it to be like you’re leveling up on Blizzard games… You’ll have this Blizzard identity, and you’ll be able to see things like ‘Oh, this guy was great at Diablo III, but he never played Starcraft and he was mediocre in WoW. That sort of thing.”

It's an interesting system from a community standpoint, but simply brilliant from a sales point-of-view. We already know the gamer score thing helps move crappy 360 games. A WoW gamer who isn't a big RTS fan might have skipped out on StarCraft II, but if it were tied into an overall Blizzard level system? Fantastic.

Blizzard Plans To Track Gamer Achievements Across ‘WoW,’ ‘Starcraft’ And ‘Diablo’ [MTV Multiplayer]

I didn't need to say any more, of course, because Wilson already knew about the fan-fit I was referring to. "It's a complex issue," he said. "It's been a big issue online, but for the most part, the response we've gotten has been very positive. We've got petitions, a few people on forums [who are] very loud, but it's really more of the 'squeaky wheel' syndrome."

"Certainly, internally there's no doubt. I would tell people who don't like the art style that probably, getting the art style was the hardest thing."

But there's a careful method to all of it, Wilson explained:

Wilson said that what we see now is the third iteration on the Diablo III design. As with many of the decisions the developer makes, much of the art design issue was based in gameplay principles.

"Diablo is a game you play for, hopefully, hundreds of hours, and one of the rewards is a variety of different-looking environments." People looking back on old Diablo, he said, may have a selective memory. "People remember the Act I dungeons... but they kind of conveniently forget the green fields of Act I, and all of Act II... and it's palaces, its bright deserts."

Actually, Wilson said the team originally shot for a "very desaturated, very dark" gameworld. "We had all kinds of problems with identification of units... combat wasn't very good, and the worlds got homogeneous very quickly. As we played through it, we didn't like it, or think it was very much fun."

Diablo II, said Wilson, was actually "very saturated, very bright."

What about the complaint, then, that Diablo III may be "too much like WoW" in style and vibe?

"There's a philosophy that goes across all of our games, and that philosophy stays true from game to game... so it probably draws some comparisons," Wilson said. "One philosophy is that our artists feel like if they're just using photorealism, not creating a unique look for the game, not stylizing so that it's uniquely Blizzard, then they're not doing their jobs."

Color choices, he said, promote telling units apart and telling players apart from monsters, philosophies that cross all of Blizzard's titles. "If you do follow those rules, there's going to be some similarities."

And what's so bad about drawing some comparisons to the hugely-successful WoW, anyway? "We definitely learn from all our games," said Wilson. "We don't say, 'oh, we don't want to do anything those games did' — it's all Blizzard, we're all a family. WoW pulled stuff from Diablo II... if we think it's a smart choice, we try to pull stuff from them. We don't really worry about whether it's different. What matters is, does it make the gameplay better? That always wins."

There are some cases, though, where the sharing of art philosophy doesn't always work — WoW game director Jeffrey Kaplan said that the team takes care not to make the gravestones in WoW's pivotal cemeteries too Gothic-looking — those tombstones belong in Diablo.

"Diablo can do a lot of things WoW can't even do," Kaplan said. "We can't do the level of violence that they can do in Diablo III; we would lose our rating if we do the things that Diablo III does. They have a much darker vibe."

In other words, said Wilson, the Blizzard team won't pass over a good idea just because it's not brand-new. "If we're actually making the game worse with no other reason than to be different from WoW, then it's a bad choice. We don't think, when people play, that they'll have any problem telling that it's a different game."

The preliminary art we've seen so far, Wilson said, is from early on in the game. "We want to generate the feeling of everything getting worse... it's part of our narrative. It makes the more gloomy part of the game a place where the stakes get higher."

"If you start out at the apocalypse, and then move to more apocalypse, it's not going to have much of an impression on players."

It's safe to assume we'll be getting many little updates like this as Blizzard struggles to appease the fans who sit in their chairs hitting F5 all day long.

Console Diablo "theoretically possible" [Eurogamer]

I want one. Strike that, I need one. My soul cries out for it, but not so badly that I am willing to spend more than of $600 to snag one off of eBay. I'll just use the old model-swapping technique. Sure, no one else will see him and he'll make panda noises, but the screenshots will be fantastic.

Tyrael Mini Pet, Blizz Auth, Blue posts [MMO Champion - Thanks Jim!]

“One of the things that we considered when we were working on the visuals for ‘Diablo III’ is the fact that color is your friend. We feel that color actually helps to create a lot of highlights in the game so that there is contrast. A great analogy is like in ‘Lord of the Rings’ — not everything is dark. It allows you to see what a creepy dungeon can be like but if everything is dark it doesn’t allow you to have a lot of contrast.”

Lee also explains that they want players excited to enter and explore new areas, rather that simply provide the same dark environments over and over again.

Lee does admit that fan feedback is a major factor in how Blizzard develops titles. It'll be interesting to see what impact - if any - the petition has on the development of the game.

‘Diablo III’ Producer Justifies Controversial Art Direction: ‘Color Is Your Friend’ [MTV Multiplayer]

The pet itself will be a miniature version of the Archangel Tyrael of Diablo 2 fame who will travel with you on all your grand adventures in Azeroth! Pictures of this amazing new pet will be available on the official website soon for everybody to check out.

That's right, Archangel Tyrael from Diablo II, who now graces the main page of the Diablo III website. I need him, if only to counteract the evil forces of my Collector's Edition mini-Diablo. Sorry Leslie, nothing personal!

Worldwide Invitational In-Game Pet Redemption [WoW Forums via WorldofWar.net]

I must say I am disappointed that Blizzard has stayed on the conservative side in terms of design with their updates to Diablo and Starcraft. Diablo will be interesting since World of Warcraft has a lot of Diablo-like qualities. I have no doubt, however, that they will be incredibly fun, addictive and polished games. Blizzard is the top of the class when it comes to game development - nobody does it better.

Man, why's everyone so down Diablo III? There's that rainbow petition and now this? Blizzard cannot win, like never ever ever. Hit the jump for Cheng's post in full:

Diablo III announced. Nice. It looks pretty amazing, especially the gameplay video. Loved the destructible environments.

I must say I am disappointed that Blizzard has stayed on the conservative side in terms of design with their updates to Diablo and Starcraft. Diablo will be interesting since World of Warcraft has a lot of Diablo-like qualities. I have no doubt, however, that they will be incredibly fun, addictive and polished games. Blizzard is the top of the class when it comes to game development - nobody does it better.

In fact, World of Warcraft is currently banned from any computer I own due to its highly addictive qualities. Its easily one of my favorite RPGs.

I know they are working on another Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game. I hope its World of Starcraft.

UPDATE:
Dear Blizzard,
Please forgive me.

XOXO,
Ash

When the ship runs out of ocean [ash :: the blog via Big Download]

I've been spending my day or so back from vacation reading through all of the coverage that came out of the City of Lights. There's been quite a bit to read. If you missed out over the weekend here's the full run down.

Blizzard Announces Diablo III

Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: Diablo III In-Depth

Diablo III Webpage Filled With Trailers, Screens, Evil

Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: Counting Down

Epic Blizzard Swag Get!

Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: How Much Is Your Goody Bag Worth?

Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: Day One

Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: “There Is No Penguin Level.”

Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: The Blizzard Museum Show Diablo 3 Concept Art

Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain Level Up

The Man Behind Diablo III Talks Plot, Lore and Battle.Net

Outside scenarios with vivid colors, beautiful forests with colorful vegetation, shinny and beautiful waterfalls where even rainbows take place.

They hate rainbows! They can't draw gothic fan art with rainbows in it!

*sigh* It just goes to show you that no matter how hard you try there's just no pleasing some people.

Renewed artistic direction for Diablo 3 [PetetionOnline.com via WorthPlaying]

Kotaku: So, Jay, what can you tell us about the storyline of Diablo III?

Jay Wilson: In the previous two games, Diablo and his two brothers, Mephisto and Baal, were the three Prime Evils of a world called Sanctuary. Where we start off in Diablo III, it’s twenty years later (after Diablo II: Lord of Destruction) and the brothers are gone, they’ve been vanquished. Essentially everyone was kind of geared for Hell to actually invade. At the end of Lord of Destruction, the Worldstone was destroyed, it left a giant crater and everyone was expecting the hordes to come pouring out of it and nothing happened. So, Deckard Cain is one of our main characters from the first two games, he’s spent the last two decades trying to find out where the last two Evils are, what they’re doing and why the invasion didn’t happen. A lot of the rest of the story focuses on Tyrael, the Angel of Justice, and what’s happened to him since that event as he was actually the angel who destroyed the world.

Kotaku: From a lore point of view, the mythology of Diablo seems just as complex as it is for Warcraft or Starcraft, do you think this is important?

Jay Wilson: Yes, absolutely, it’s one of our main focuses of the game. What was funny was that when I gave you the synopsis of the game, it feels so simple! We love the story.

Kotaku: You said earlier that you’d been working on the game for what, four years? Do you think that taking longer over a game improves the final product significantly?

Jay Wilson: Four …. or five, somewhere in that area. I think taking as long as a game needs to take guarantees that it’s a good game. It’s hard to say whether it improves the end product but sometimes it’s necessary. Blizzard only releases great games so if it’s not great we just don’t release it. One of the things I would want to say, especially to our most patient fans – the ones that have been hoping for Diablo III - is that I hope they see it’s a testament of our love for the franchise that we wouldn’t release it before it’s good and ready. We’ve really spent this time trying to make a sequel that was worthy of them.

Kotaku: In the demo you showed during the Opening Ceremony, you gave us a glimpse at the Witch Doctor class which seems to use several spells similar to those found in World of Warcraft. Do you worry that some fans will think you’re just copying aspects of WoW?

Jay Wilson: No. Do I think people will say that? Yes, I think they will. One of the things I like to remind people is that it’s okay to steal from ourselves. A good idea is a good idea and a good skill is a good skill and so when we look across all our games we borrow from each other all of the time. But the really key and important thing is do we play like World of Warcraft? No! We don’t play anything like it, Diablo has a different feel to it and that’s fine. If we look at the history of Blizzard games, at Warcraft I and II, the spell Blizzard appeared, it also appeared in WoW and Diablo II. I almost think it’s more like a signature but as long as a game has enough original stuff that it stands on its own and plays like its own game, that’s what matters.

Kotaku: In that case do you think that this might work in your favour, that WoW players, for example might be persuaded to try Diablo III?

Jay Wilson: Yeah, actually, I do think that. I think players like things that they are familiar with and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with them saying: “Oh, this class is like the warrior in WoW. Cool, I wanna play that!” Especially if it’s going to get them into the game. I think we gain as much as we could lose, people love to see something familiar and the reaction to Whirlwind was a great example.

Kotaku: You only joined Blizzard recently, does your passion for Diablo stretch back further than that?

Jay Wilson: Yes, I am a Blizzard fan. My first Blizzard game was Rock N’ Roll Racing so yeah. Warcraft I, II, StarCraft - I’m a huge StarCraft fan, Diablo I and II; Diablo used to be spoken of in hushed tones in my house because I was so excited and I pretty much played Diablo II since the day it came out. It’s one of those games that’s great to go back to.

Kotaku: Why do you think Diablo has captured so much attention?

Jay Wilson: I think you could pick out a lot of things: the setting’s darker and people like that, especially now. I actually think Diablo II wins on the fun scale. All of the Diablo games, they’re fun to play and that’s important. You could take the most flawed game in the world and as long as it’s fun it’s okay. Diablo II’s super easy to play, you could teach your grandmother to play it in five seconds.

Kotaku: With the popularity of WoW and other online games, Battle.net seems to have nearly disappeared into the background. Do you think Diablo III will breathe new life into the service?

Jay Wilson: I can’t really talk about Battle.net but I will say, Battle.net will not be a background. I’ll be huge, the next version will be absolutely Blizzard’s focus. Everyone is going to be thrilled when they see the kind of stuff we have planned! It feeds into our overall focus of providing a really great service for our players.