Fallout 3 Producer Disappointed With Diablo III And Starcraft II

While Fallout 3 producer Ashley Cheng (not pictured) was impressed with the Diablo III gameplay footage, he was also "disappointed." And not only with Diablo III, but also the new Starcraft. That would make his feelings, say, sadly bittersweet? On his personal blog, Cheng blogged his personal feelings about:

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:

By Lesley Smith

So the first day of Blizzard’s Worldwide Invitational is over: Diablo III is official and fans stream out into the streets of Paris to rejoice. Of course the Opening Ceremony wasn’t the end of the event; merely the beginning.

The ceremony itself took place on the main stage which was jam-packed with over 3,500 people and many more standing. Attended by press from all around the world as well as several special guests such as the VPs of Global Finance and Human Resources (yep, we were all humbled too). Hosted by pop star China and stand up comedian and film star Anthony Kavangh, the event saw Blizzard co-founder Mike Morhaime take to the stage and congratulate the gamers of Europe as well as reminding all those present that this is the first time an invitational has been held outside of Korea. He took us on a trip back in time to last year’s event in Seoul – a movie which includes a classic sound bite in the making from a teenaged Korean fan: “It’s fun because Blizzard made it.” Morhaime also commented on the Activision-Blizzard merger, provoking laughter when he said they’d ‘leveled up’.

by Lesley Smith

If last year’s BlizzCon is anything to go by, it won’t be too long before the goodies (and the bag itself) given to attendees at this year’s WWI start appearing in auction sites. Sad but true, some people will just put the swag straight on eBay in order to make a quick buck or two. But how much should all this swag set this back and is it worth the £55/€70 ticket or the even bigger sum you might end up paying via an auction site?

Fortunately, as Blizzard have a shop selling many of these exclusive goodies, we can tell you.

Internode Games Network reports that Blizzard brass hat Rob Pardo (tell us what we've won!) in his Worldwide Invitational presentation, has slammed teh door on rumors Starcraft II drops December 3. Saith Internode:

Speaking about the game's development, he explained that they were "about a third of the way through" the campaign, and were concentrating on story structure and cinematics at this point - commenting that by the end of the year, Blizzard should have something very impressive to show off.

That said, Mac gamers can expect a simultaneous release of this title, too — whenever it arrives.

StarCraft II — Not Happening in 2008 [Internode Games Network]

by Lesley Smith

As is expected with Blizzard events, company employees were handing out the much-prized (and instantly eBayable) Goody Bags. The swish mini backpack emblazoned with the WWI logo includes a host of loot, including an in-game pet (which we’ve not yet been able to redeem in Booty Bay), the Beta key, a programme, a figure from the Upper Deck miniature game, a notebook and a mousemat sporting the event’s banner featuring Arthas as well as characters from Diablo and Starcraft II.

We’ll let you know what the pet is as soon as Landro Longshot makes nice and starts talking about the WWI.

Looks like that image you folks were pouring into our tips email all day was indeed a fan-made fake! This is the latest Blizzard splash page, ice5andahalf.jpg, indicating that ice6.jpg is on its way, more than likely to coincide with this morning's opening ceremonies of the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Paris. The runes are all aglow now in their pentagram-like configuration, and the eyes more intense than ever before.

What else has changed? The increased details around the eye area seem to rule out the Death Knight...the shape of the nose piece is wrong and there are no etched runes there. In fact, the whole thing feels more biological than anything, despite the straight line to the right where the cheek would be. Leaning towards Protoss now more than ever, though I wouldn't put it past Blizzard making a new Diablo image that coincided with the traits of the other two, just to throw us off.

We'll know for sure in a few hours! Until then we can only ponder the secrets the new winking smiley-face rune holds within. It's almost over folks!

Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: Counting Down

By Lesley Smith

While the rest of Kotaku are puzzling over that ever changing Blizzard splash screen and the recently revealed purple penguin, I’m sitting in a hotel overlooking the Eiffel Tower and stroking my press pass into this weekend’s Worldwide Invitational. Upon arriving this afternoon, a perky Blizzard employee thrust the nice folder you see above into my hands along with said press pass.

While I’d love to report the folder contains the secrets of the universe, all it happened to hold was shuttle information to the event and – of all things – a walking guide to Paris and a map.

Okay ….

However the event itinerary has been released on the official WWI site; it all kicks off tomorrow morning with the opening ceremony and there’s a press conference right after. Hmmm what could that mean? Whether it’s Diablo 3, a release date for Wrath of the Lich King and Starcraft II, a new IP or all of the above, we’ll be bringing you the news as it happens.

Once again Blizzard completely screws with my sleep schedule! After a day of cursing under my breath at all of the people sending in photoshatted pictures of the damned Diablo II box art superimposed over yesterday's splash, the latest splash image gives me the satisfaction of knowing all of it was in vain. This, my friends, is not the Diablo II box art. Between the eyes and the small bit between them, it is one of two things. A Protoss from Starcraft, or the Death Knight from Wrath of the Lich King.

Hit the jump for comparison pictures and decide for yourself, and get a look at the full secret pic revealed!

Great, now you folks have me wide awake at 3 in the morning my time, hunting for clues like an over-the-hill Encyclopedia Brown. The Blizzard splash page has updated once again, revealing what certainly look like a pair of glowing eyes peering through the broken ice. Is it Diablo? Arthas? Or is it Hurley? The reason I ask is because the latest secret image has appeared in the CSS of the page, bearing the number 16. That makes the sequence so far 4, 15, 23, 16. Fans of the television show Lost know those numbers, along with the numbers 8 and 42, as the numbers that keep popping up throughout the show on lottery tickets, prescription bottles, etc. Will the next two numbers follow suit, or is Blizzard throwing us another curve? If it is the Lost numbers, what does it mean?

And where did those Vikings get off to? I cannot seem to find them anywhere?

Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun SPLASH! *boom* Ah-ah! He'll save every one of us! It's day three of staring at Blizzard's slowly evolving splash page and fighting over whether or not they're going to announce Diablo III, and while it certainly could still be the return of old shard-head, several popular theories have now been blown out of the ice water. The new rune there on the bottom? That's the Protosss symbol from StarCraft, leading me to believe that they are going a similiar route to last year's showcasing of the various properties over the years before revealing the new one, which would mean all the speculation based on the symbols means absolutely nothing now.

They've also uploaded another portion of the puzzle-piece picture, this time numbered 23. With 'W' being the 23rd letter of the alphabet, the popular theory that the picture numbers would end up spelling out Diablo 3 is also shot, unless they've got Barbara Walters announcing it. “Ladies and gentlemen, I present you with Diobwo 3!”

StarCraft II Dated?

No, Blizzard hasn't yet applied an official date to Starcraft II, but that hasn't stopped a trio of retailers from pegging its release. That'd be December 3. Of this year. According to Best Buy, Circuit City, and Gamestop, via Joystiq, the long awaited RTS sequel will make it in time for Christmas. We've contacted Blizzard to get comment, but won't be surprised if they remind us that the Worldwide Invitational is going down this weekend and to hold onto our butts.

Update: We got word from Blizzard, who say, unsurprisingly "There is no official release date for StarCraft II. The game will ship when it’s done." Good thing we didn't start holding our breath!

Rumor: Retail chains showing December 3 release date for Starcraft II [Joystiq]

The more I see of these Starcraft 2 screens, the more I'm convinced this is going to be the almost the exact same game I played ten years ago. Just with greener greens and purpler purples. And you know, for 99% of games, that would be a criticism. But for Starcraft? It gets a free pass.

Those Aren't The Starcraft II System Specs You're Looking For

Those supposed Starcraft II system requirements? Lies. All lies. More like speculation really, as Blizzard was kind enough to let us know that the gang at Micromania "pulled their numbers straight out of thin air." We would suggest resting assured tonight that, when ready, and not a minute before, Blizzard will be telling you the exact minimum and recommended system requirements in an official capacity. That will most likely be, I'm guessing, after the company gives us a ship date and come in handy FAQ form.

These Are Supposed To Be Starcraft 2's System Specs

The relatively annual celebration of all things Blizzard returns this year as the company announces BlizzCon 2008. Perhaps to help avoid the August event crush that occurred last year, which saw BlizzCon, SOE Fan Faire, and Quake Con all taking place over the same weekend, Blizzard has moved the convention back to October, which is when the 2005 original took place. The show will run from the 10th to the 11th at the Anaheim Convention center in California, where fans will be able to get hands-on time with upcoming releases, attend panels, play in tournaments, collect as-of-yet-unannounced spacial, limited edition merchandise, and see hideously inappropriate women dressed up as elves, both Blood and Night varieties. Joy!

Tickets will go on sale within the coming weeks for $100 a pop. Maybe this year I'll actually make it out there. I needs me some free murloc-themed goodness.

Listen To StarCraft 2 Producer, Look At StarCraft 2