Possible New Game Annoucement from Blizzard

[Figrin D'an]

If you've been following gaming news recently, then you probably know that Blizzard is, in typical Blizzard fashion, building the hype up this week to a pending "big announcement" at the World Wide Invitational this weekend in Paris. They have a new <A HREF="http://www.blizzard.com">splash screen</A> that loads on their main site (and most of their subsidiary sites) that has been updated each day, akin to an icy/crystalline structure that is slowly cracking away to reveal something about what is to be announced.

Of course, speculation is running rampant about what the announcement could be. Some are saying it will merely be the release date for the next WoW expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. Some say it will be related to StarCraft II, which was first announced last year. However, there is a lot of evidence and sources saying that it will, in fact, be...

Diablo 3

<A HREF="http://www.diabloii.net/n/667423/diablo-3-announcement-at-wwi">Link</A>

Nothing has been 100% confirmed, but, at this point, signs are pointing in this direction.

I guess we'll find out on Saturday. If it is indeed what is being speculated, Blizzard is going to have a lot of work ahead of them development-wise over the next couple of years.

[Darth Callidus]

My guess would be that it has to do with WotLK, since that is set in the 'frozen north'. It would be cool if it was Diablo 3 though!

[Park Kraken]

How would they make Diablo 3?

Would it be like a WoW style gameplay, because what I remember from playing Diablo 2, I think it would make a great MMORPG style game, just with less focus on economy and asides and more focus on lvling and gear making and stuff like that, with massive battles.

[Crusader]

I would be happy about a Diablo 3 MMOG anouncement since I always considered Diablo's lore much more rich and dark compared to the warcraft lore. WOW's comic style moved the narrativ pretty far away from the atmosphere the Warcraft cinematics conveyed while the Diablo franchise always tried to keep true to its "You are going to Hell atmosphere".
So I hope if Blizzard really decides to make Diablo 3 they should go for a mature rating like Age of Conan or at least they should try to let the game look like its predecessor.
I think the breaking crystal is a hint for the broken world crystal at the end of Lord of Destruction

[Dasquian Belargic]

I just noticed something about the splash screen image... there are two little eyes in the middle there, in the space where there is no ice. Looks like Lich King Arthas.

[Park Kraken]

I just ran a close up comparison of Lich King Arthas poster for WoW and the splash screen image, and I'm 90% certain that it is Lich King Arthas on the splash screen.

[Dasquian Belargic]

They updated the splash image. You can even see part of his helmet now.

[Shawn]

http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/5592/diablo3eq3.jpg

[Dasquian Belargic]

Wow, it is Diablo 3. The splash has been updated again. I'm surprised, it really did look like Arthas.

[Lady Vader]

Oh thank the maker! I don't have to hide the secret anymore! :x

You will not be disappointed. (http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/index.xml) >D

[Crusader]

Honestly I am not impressed. The game does not look like WOW but it looks pretty close to it's art design. It is certainly not as colorfull as WoW but it does not look like they would be sticking to the choice of colors Blizzard North used to have. The character models have a pretty low polycount for 2008. The game looks like NWN2 and NWN2 is 2 years old.
I hope that they will improve the lighting, the polycount and the level of detail for the textures.
I hope the new quests and the story will be as great as they used to be.

Oh and btw the gore effects are nice!

[Figrin D'an]

The character models have a pretty low polycount for 2008. The game looks like NWN2 and NWN2 is 2 years old.
I hope that they will improve the lighting, the polycount and the level of detail for the textures.



Diablo II was not on the cutting edge of visualization either for when it was released, and was definitely behind the curve when the expansion came out, but was ridiculously successful because of the gameplay. It was simple, intuitive, yet could be very dynamic in the hands of a skilled player. I see a lot of that similar design philosophy in the new gameplay trailer.

It's likely that the game will be in development for quite a while yet, so there's plenty of time for enhancing character/mob models and such. For a first glimpse of the game, though, I like what I see.

[Khendon Sevon]

The engine looks like they grabbed WoW's repo, sliced it up, revised it, and started from there.

The lighting is not impressive, the shadows are second rate, the animations are last generation. Honestly, it would've been impressive two years ago.

Guess what, though? It doesn't matter how it looks right now. If there's something I've learned, it's that getting new, spiffy graphics in is relatively easy. There are so many amazing white papers right now out there that implementing things like _censored due to my NDA_ and _also censored due to my NDA_ are relatively easy.

[Dr. Giger]

Honestly I am not impressed. The game does not look like WOW but...

Oh and btw the gore effects are nice!

Thats it, right there. It's not happy-go-lucky, rainbow-coloured WoW. It's dark, dangerous, bloody, vicious Diablo. Now that's not to say I don't like WoW's visual style - I love it. But this is one of three very distinct IP's Blizzard have - certainly the grimmest of the three (Starcraft may be at least on par when you look at whats involved with the Zerg)

I haven't been able to check out the video yet so I can't fully and honestly make any comments on it, but I'd be very disappointed if it resembled WoW in terms of style, simply because when I go to play Diablo I expect to feel a sense of hopelessness given the setting. I don't even feel that in WoW when I'm in somewhere like Desolace or the plaguelands.

With WoW, the settting is colourful and alive and bustling with activity, where you play one of many in an epic crusade against a horde of badness, and if you fall, there are countless others to tally-ho and press on in the name of whoever it is they are fighting for.

With Diablo, the setting is dark, it's desperate, the fields are quiet and desolate save for the howling of hordes of beasts and demons crying out for the blood of the one single hero who risks it all to save the world - the player. You're on your own and you feel it. Your path is crossed by various inert allies but ultimately it is down to you and you alone to stop the Prime Evils and if you fail, then everything ends...

...so yeah, very different.

To quote 'The Quiet Man'...

Mary Kate Danaher (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000058/): Could you use a little water in your whiskey?
Michaleen Flynn (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0280178/): When I drink whiskey, I drink whiskey; and when I drink water, I drink water.

[Morgan Evanar]

Someone changed the gamma and contrast on some screens and added a little grain, it looked damn near perfect.

I like the gameplay elements, those look intact along with the randomly generated maps.

Yay :D

Diablo is my favorite Blizzard IP.

[Crusader]

Diablo is one of my favorite IPs too but I somehow expected it to look more like a Prey or Doom 3 instead of a Halo in terms of dark atmosphere. In the world of Diablo angels look more scary than the so called "monsters" in other games that says a lot about the atmosphere you expect from a new installement in the Diablo series.

[Peter McCoy]

I just noticed something intriguing.

http://www.blizzard.com/us/jobopp/

Aside from several openings for the Diablo 3, Starcraft 2 and World of Warcraft projects, there are several openings for yet another top secret project, which according to the entry is a next-gen MMO.

Apparently the openings have been there since 2007 but I only just noticed them, curiosity leading me to the jobs page rather than actual employment prospects.

The speculations have been that it is Starcraft Online, Diablo Online or a new IP. Given that D3 has only just been announced my money is on Starcraft Online. The impending wrapping up and release of Starcraft 2 would allow Blizzard to tie up the plot in a similar fashion that Warcraft 3 did, allowing for the right situation to host an MMO in. Some websites have mentioned that Blizzard have expressed interest in unshelving Starcraft: Ghost, and some speculate it may be a console-based MMO. I hope to God that's not the case.

[Crusader]

Hehe 10 years ago Blizzard had always only 2 projects in the pipeline one at Blizzard and one at Blizzard North. Now Blizzard North has been closed, most of the people that were responisble for Blizzard's first big hits have their own companies and Blizzard is working on 3 anounced projects while having one on ice (SC:Ghost) and one unanounced.

Oh and 10 years ago we were all making fun of Diablo 2's, Star Craft's and DNF's release date...so it has not that much changed in 10 years.

[Morgan Evanar]

Ghost was being worked on by an external studio but was put down because it just wasn't good enough. It probably was a solid game, but solid doesn't fly at Bliz.

[Yog]

The speculations have been that it is Starcraft Online, Diablo Online or a new IP. Given that D3 has only just been announced my money is on Starcraft Online.

I used to think it was Diablo Online, but now I am leaning more towards Starcraft Online, since Diablo III was just announced, and a sci fi setting would would duo with their Warcraft MMO better. Two competely different stylistic directions and settings. Besides, the market is already oversaturated with sword and sorcery type of MMO's.

[Morgan Evanar]

I've been hearing rumors that they're doing something TOTALLY new.

Which would be really good news.

[Peter McCoy]

World of WarDiabloCraftStar!

And the expansion - Tides of the Brood Lord's Destruction.

A new Blizz IP would be very cool. I get all giddy just wondering what it might be. And the mega thing is it's an MMO according to the Blizzard Jobs Page.

[Figrin D'an]

Clearly, because of the merger with Activision, it's going to be World of Guitar Hero. ;)

In all seriousness, a new IP from Blizzard would be very cool. It amazes me how much they have on their plate right now though... WotLK, Starcraft II, Diablo III and this new mystery MMO. The next 5 years are going to be fun for PC gamers, just because of Blizzard's projects.

[Khendon Sevon]

I met a producer at Blizzard a few weeks ago. Cool guy.

The thing about Blizzard: They have a great reputation of releasing wonderful titles! They also have immense pressure to make sure each product they release is AMAZING.

That's really difficult. In fact, very few companies can operate that way. No "new" studio will be able to do that and few established studios would want to.

It's interesting. We'll see what happens.