The Diablo 3 team is made up of people who love Diablo 1 and Diablo 2. The Diablo franchise
is one of the first games that I have ever played
that made me really identify as a gamer. I remember playing the game
until late hours in the night and getting yelled at to go to bed. Diablo was a game
that sort of changed gaming overall. To think back on that legacy
and to have an opportunity to make something special we wanted to do a big event
that honored that history. And we had only that idea
to do some music in town at first but everyone on the team was really passionate about doing more. So this is the 20th anniversary of Diablo and we decided to do
a big homage to that game and so we made this whole dungeon that basically is all of Diablo 1 made with Diablo 3 assets. All 16 levels of the original Diablo game. Diablo was a game
that sort of changed Blizzard and changed gaming overall The year it came out was a year that RPGs were declared to be dead. PC-gamings death
had been declared multiple times and Blizzard was a company
that sort of always proofed that wrong. So our goal for
the Darkening of Tristram event is to give our community an opportunity to go back to the game that started it all to the dungeon that started it all. So during the month of January cultists will be appearing
all over sanctuary. The cultist that were loyal to Adria are trying to resurrect her work. They know that the Nephalem is the only one that can stop them. So their plan is to ambush you while you go about your day. When you slay the cultists you have the opportunity
to loot one of their missives and these are communications between different cultists. And they are all centered
around the town of old Tristram And when you go there,
near the fountain in the center of town is this magical portal. When you enter it,
you enter the world of Diablo 1. And you enter it in style
in something that we call glorious retro vision. You get a pixelated filter
that overlays the whole screen. The camera is moved
and your animations have changed. The player, the monsters,
everyone is locked to 8 degrees of rotation. Your character walks everywhere,
just like old times. And notice
that the sound is a little bit tinnier the sounds repeat more often which was a classic thing in 90s games. We really wanted to capture the feeling that we all remember from playing Diablo Bringing the bosses from Diablo 1
into Diablo 3 was an interesting challenge because in many ways they are simpler but there are certain iconic abilities were really important to capture The speed that the soldier charges you
when you open his door. His overhand attacks and his swings He is really hard, he is really fast he hits you
and he kills you really quickly and that is exactly how I felt the first time that I ran into the butcher
in Diablo 1. Even though we have the butcher model
in Diablo 3 he is a different butcher
with many details. We actually made a more Diablo 1 version
of the butcher. When you start
the Darkening of Tristram event make sure to poke around
and click on everything there. Talk to everybody you can talk to,
look at your objects and you are going to find
some unusual references to the Diablo 1 game in there. The other thing that I like to do is start with a fresh character and play through it from level 1 to really get that Diablo 1 feeling. When Diablo 1 was created
there was very little documentation. So when we went to re-create the dungeon we did not know exactly what the intend of the original designers were we did not know exactly
what all the monsters did. But you know who had put this together over the last 20 years, was the community. We actually started referencing
community made wikis and guides for more information on this and it was very very helpful
and very thorough. We started to burrow
some of that collective memory so that we together
could form this experience that most closely matched
that of Diablo 1. One thing we decided we could not do we just did not have time to re-do
the user interface. It was out of scope we did not have time. But a group of artists,
led by one of our artists a guy named Josh Manning decided that they are going to do it
in their own time. So we came in one day and the UI was done. And that I think just shows the passion that the team has
for Diablo 1 and this opportunity to honor a 20th anniversary
of this game that we love so much.
Its definitely a blast to the past. I love the Diablo series and still want more! Is it too much to ask for more expansions or even a Diablo 4?
Still waiting for some real content.
Awesome 🙂
Well… It's nice and all, but why make it seasonal? You worked on it, we want it, so why not just leave it in game?
what a way to kill a franchise, bravo activision|blizzard, way to go.
Haters are gonna hate, but D2 was the best of the series.
OMG this is how I wanted diablo 3 to look! I would wish the game was all asymmetrical like this!
WTB this. For WoW 20th Anniversary 😀
diablo 3 multiplayer isn't working after the patch. it just errors at hero selection screen. so far, re-install and ps4 initializing isn't fixing the problem.
It's a shame.
THIS IS HOW DIABLO 3 SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE LIKE!
This game was the DISTRACTION for me when it was first released!
My gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/user/Akerhon
It honestly seems like Blizzard wasn't doing anything for Diablo's 20th anniversary and a couple of employees had an idea with good intentions. Doing a little throw back for the fans in their own time. It's not the two employees who threw this together over the weekend in their own time off the clock fault that this isn't well received. Blame the higher ups at Blizzard headquarters for not producing quality content instead and stop giving them money people, seriously.
How about Diablo 4?
So much time put into a limited timed event, why not leave it in the game, even if you remove the achievements?
I loved the little event… and I rather wait a few years for an AWESOME D4 game than a lame and rushed D4 game… just sayin'. Those are my hopes IF they are working for a new game among all the seasons in D3.
"The Diablo 3 team is made out of people who love Diablo 1 and Diablo 2"
I stopped playing when they nerfed the Invoker set, and the Arachyr Set could not be played with Spider Queen rune as the main attack. These patches just to play season and get an extra slot for storage is lame. Maybe if they start buffing my fav sets and stop nerfing everything due to meta builds, and just consider that over 90% of players play solo, maybe they will revive the franchise again.
kek
my god please do diablo 2 !
Ok so is this a 1-month limited "Event", or something D3 owners will get to enjoy long-term as a new game asset?? Unclear…
Building a 20th anniversary of the saga only on nostalgia…. You're so lazy Blizzard. Disapointed.
I whant more of this content its amazing the sound the sfeer everyting whe whant more
Is this content available for the PS3 version?
@valve watch and learn. thats passion for their OWN game
You're still fired
Man, I'm so excited.
thanks for that i hope you gather information when you code D4 as well cant say it enough D3 is a great game but at the same time its the worst diablo ive ever played
worst update ever
Why they refuse to remake/remaster their older games baffles me. So much untapped money potential.
So there's really not a single D1 designer in Blizz anymore?
they should make the entire game this way
And some people are away on trips etc.. at this time. How about actually releasing the remake? Playing Diablo 1 is a problem these days too.
i DON"T like the pixelated filter " retro vision " or how u call it
Too bad this is only an event, a remastered diablo 1 is what I've always wanted!
It'll never feel like Diablo, you ruined the game…
The most important thing is the atmosphere which is the music! If the Diablo I music is absent, you failed – It's as simple as that… Diablo I's Atmosphere is unmatched to this day… All hail Matt Uelmen!
This event is sooo meh, 1 day with doubble gobs would get me more exited.
Well, they spent a lot of time to make something that nobody wanted and that is basically just a Rift dungeon that you can finish in an hour or so… This ISNT diablo 1 cause the skills and characters are still diablo 3, so in short, i are just playing a poor version of diablo 3 to get ABSOLUTELY no usefull reward.
Now, why spent so much time on this uselessness instead of new content?
Back in the days there were only a few good H&S games most of them Korean plus for most of D1 or D2 was our first game. Nowadays there are so many games that we get spoiled and our appreciation of a good game is way higher then 15-20 years ago.
d3, fukd this awsome game, to late your name is mud now….thanks activison
Yay, nostalgia… Let's also watch movies in black and white and write mails on paper. Make the world great again…
imho its horrible 🙁
STILL SUCKS!
TEAM IS MADE UP OF PEOPLE WHO LIKE DIABLO and DIABLO 2.
Lies.
That's very sad , Diablo anniversary looks like a unfunny joke. I think many fans are disappointed.
I'd like to see Diablo II: Remastered in the future!
Sure. Leave a lot of us ps3 players still saving up for a ps4 hanging.
I havent gotten the chance to play the old diablo games but this gave me a big nostalgia feeling, i used to watch friends play them so i liked this alot 🙂 and any news on the necromancer class? im really excited and i just wanna know the month D:
All we want is Diablo 4 we don't care if the "story ended".
Well, you didn't capture "the feeling that we all remember from Diablo 1". Also, I almost missed Butcher's charging speed, missed most of his attacks and that bit about him hitting really hard… really? Skip to 14:46 and have a look: https://youtu.be/cL2jXJv8X2g?t=884
I'll stream again after the season starts on "hardcore" expert or master, but I doubt the missing paragon levels will make much of a difference…
I'm guessing the animation restrictions are there to stay, but I would really appreciate an on/off switch for the pixelated filter – if it is just a filter…
ok plz make D4 simillar to D1&2 KTHX!
@Diablo How do i get my hands on one of those red shirts that the guy is wearing in this interview with the classic diablo 1 look?
Instead of voicing my disappointment I will instead go and play Grim Dawn.
There almost no way you can hate this. like they even went as far as to add some of the OG weapons and armor in the game. My only thing is that i wish we could use them as a transmog. other than that its awesome.
run diablo 4 , diablo 2 is the best
will the update be for ps3/xbox 360?
I played through it yesterday, and remember the 16 levels being MUCH bigger in D1. Maybe adjust the scope of the level design? Also, I want a tileset to match levels 9 – 12 (caves with LAVA), and 13 -16 (a "hellish" temple). 😛 Please and thanks. Also, bring my Druid back, you already got the Necro. 😛
I'm sorry Diablo guys, but I think you wasted your time with this event. It's quite underwhelming and it is definitely not what people (myself included) expected to get.
Boring. Please accept that this game is dead.
I just played it and stopped after 10 minutes. It feels nothing like diablo 1… The graphics are the biggest thing you've boasted remind you of Diablo and they barely do. The gameplay is nothing like Diablo besides terrible movement, something people hate when they think about Diablo.
Decent idea… JUST decent; Terrible execution.
People loved diablo and diablo 2 for it's hardcore, gothic, RPG experience. You've taken away the gothic feel, and the hardcore character building side in an effort to streamline the game for a wide audience and you ended up alienating your core audience.
But you made a quick buck, so hey. I guess that's a win in your book, right?
All they could do is implement some more pvp content ( like few arenas and team teatch match ) instead of this stupid patch that nobody cares about
Though I was hoping for an HD remake of D1, I will check this out. Thanks, Blizzard 🙂
If the devs loved Diablo and Diablo II so much, then why does Diablo III suck so much? Why was Diablo III nothing like it's predecessors? For those crying about the negativity, if someone makes a sequel to a great game series, and that sequel is terrible, I'm going to let them know it's terrible.
16 level rift with a filter available once a year for one month..
Now I just might go and rebuy it just to play this.
Diablo I is the best game in the series IMO.
D1 and D2 were amazing D3 they pulled all skill from the game by roving talent trees just like WoW I can't play a game where they dumb it down in such a way.
I put so much money in this company since day one. every game in my collection. but for what?
they milking the good old games down to the last drops. they are like the parents of these disney kids. the energized children from that time become the junkies of today. Ugly and disturbed, just behind the money.
this is what blizzard does to his games.
"a company has to make a profit" yeah you can say that. but there is a difference between profit and greed.
They have forgotten those who once made them great. us…
Sorry but this will never be as good, scary and epic as Diablo 1 and 2.
i want to play now
Sorry to talk about it,but the old Blizzard which we loved for years no exist anymore.New Blizzard is like EA.
Cool. Love new options. But it's still broken and have to play in 32 bit version trololol Blizzard, good one…
Is this available on PS3? I haven't touched my copy of Diablo 3 in like 2 years and I really want to try it, but I only own it on PS3. Did it get patched in to that version as well?
Hey where is the necromancer
Is this really the best you could do?
ironically, many devs haven't even played Diablo 1/2.
Can anyone tell me how long the game will be on sale?
I really enjoyed the event, especially the Path of the Blind section. It gave a very eery and dark feeling.
lost ark online…. end of story
"I love the Diablo franchise!"
>proceeds to give it a slow shameful death
EPICC
Please just make Diablo 4 and forget Diablo 3 ever happened.
cuándo saldrá para la PS3
I still got my original disc for diablo 1!
ROFL "came in one day and the UI was done" –> proceeds to show a 99% identical UI to diablo 3
I find it very cool to have this patch, since Diablo I was one the the first PC games I've played and the one I've probably played the most during my childhood, so thank you, Blizzard! I just don't get the reason why this has to be a limited time event instead of being a permanent part of the game… :/
if they're so great at this diablo team, how come they fked up diablo 3 so hard since release.. ? no one plays it anymore because its so stupidly easy.
I would love to see the first two Diablo games ported over to mobile platforms. I know that's not for everyone but personally, I would love it.
So now I missed the event. I have to wait a full year in order to play it..? -____-
DIABLO 3 = BROKEN
VERYYYYY BAD GAME
FEELS LIKE A WASTE OF PRECIOUS TIME
Too bad I missed this event just got back into this game after a 3+ year break, did not even play ROS because it was not out yet lol.
Not a fan of the crappy animations and and retro low res-filter, still sad I missed this event.
Not gothic enough. That's the problem.
Also all documentation with due effort can be found just by asking the original team who were the devs. We have credits rolling and their names… It's 2017 and there's email, LinkedIn and stuff… Ridiculous….
WTF Blizzard, why not release the game permanently!!
Meanwhile I see the players migrating to the path of exile.
So you can go in as a lvl one and progress through it?? Thats pretty fun
I hope you guys learned from all the noob mistakes you did with D3. I hope you guys will create a D4 that is much much closer to D2-LOD, and coupled with the decent polish and responsiveness of D3.
20 years down the toilet gratz
When I build my time machine I will remove D3 from history.