What Ex-Diablo Developers Making A Diablo-Like Game Say About Diablo III

5 Comments Posted October 13, 2009 - By Patrick Klepek

Blizzard Could Deliver Two Games In 2010, Not Necessarily Diablo III

When I spoke with Runic Games about the company's soon-to-be-released action RPG Torchlight over the phone last week, Diablo came up. A lot. Many staff members of Runic Games (formerly the Seattle branch of Flagship Studios) once worked at Blizzard North and helped work on the celebrated Diablo and Diablo II. But Schaefer doesn't shy away from Diablo.

"I don't think we want to distance ourselves really at all," laughed CEO Max Schaefer over the phone with me last week. "It was a great time making the Diablo games and working at Blizzard."

"We're still friends with all those guys, so we cheer for their success for sure," he continued. "And certainly with the style of game we're making, we're going to get questions about Diablo III. It's a similar looking game and it is that style of action RPG. And with it kind of looming out there, it's something we get questions about all the time, so we may as well talk about it and embrace it."

At one point, Runic Games was considering a gothic, Diablo-esque look for Torchlight, but after Diablo III was unveiled, the team stepped back from it.

"We tried to experiment with a few things out [and] by a tiny coincidence, the D3 [Diablo III] stuff came out and we said 'well, we can't go that route,'" said art director Jason Beck. "We never really seriously pursued the ultra-realistic, dark and gothic [look] just because we knew the game was much more adventure."

Torchlight

Runic Games could actually see the Diablo III booth from its own area during Penny Arcade Expo back in August and the teams werefriendly with one another. Diablo III team members came and checked out Torchlight and vice versa. But Schaefer does not envy the amount of pressure Diablo fans are inevitably putting on the Diablo III team.

"I kind of sympathize with the guys making Diablo III because the expectations are so high and the community of fans of Diablo are so specific in what they want and will tolerate," he said. "It's kind of nice to be able to what we're doing, where no one's really watching or no one has any expectation so what it's supposed to be like."

And there's one very good reason to embrace the Diablo connection.

"If we can get half the people waiting for Diablo III to come out and buy our single-player game in the interim, we'll be in great shape!" joked Schaefer.

Read more about Torchlight in my extensive interview with Schaefer.

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Tags: PC Gaming, Videogames

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aPoLiS117

when is Diablo 3 coming out again? 2010? there is no reason why diablo style game fans can't buy both. this should also help people to stop counting the seconds till diablo 3 and give them something to do. even if this game is good or bad it will make going to diablo 3 that much better.

Posted: October 13, 2009 7:15 PM | Reply | Report

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Bookshelf

Another game with the Diablo feel would be nice. I'm getting pretty tired of replaying diablo II over and over...

Posted: October 13, 2009 8:31 PM | Reply | Report

+4 thumbs up thumbs down

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BertSaxby

Well for you guys that have never played it, Sacred is a great game.
What held it back were bugs, but if you pick it up now you can get it
patched up to a high standard. Visually it is quite impressive and every bit
as fun as the Diablo series. I haven't tried Sacred 2 so I can't comment on
whether it is any good or not, but grab Sacred if you want to get your Diablo fix
on before D3 releases.

Posted: October 14, 2009 9:42 AM | Reply | Report

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BertSaxby

Here's a link to a review of Sacred...Lot's of pics http://pc.ign.com/articles/506 /506015p1.html

Posted: October 14, 2009 10:06 AM | Reply | Report

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BertSaxby

Hmm. If you cut and paste the link watch for a space that appears after '506', otherwise you'll get a broken link.

Posted: October 14, 2009 10:08 AM | Reply | Report

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