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A Brief History Of Diablo


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#1 IMG News

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Posted 17 March 2009 - 07:10 AM

Hellforge has published an article examining the history of Diablo, the first title in Blizzard Entertainment's popular action RPG franchise. The article, entitled The Great Wait for Diablo III: Series Origins, covers the game's beginnings and the gameplay foundations which made it a hit.

Diablo was never a complicated game. Originally intended to play as a very simple turn-based RPG during its development at Condor Studios (which would later become Blizzard North), Diablo evolved into what would become the first action RPG. One of Blizzard's and the gaming industry's greatest success stories with over 18.5 million copies of the franchise sold worldwide, Diablo was to eventually become a pivotal influence on many games since its release in early 1997.

The brainchild of David Brevik (who later left Blizzard for Flagship Studios), the gameplay of Diablo was heavily influenced by rogue-likes and dungeon crawlers alike, but the one key feature that would truly set it apart from all the rest would be its implementation of real-time combat. Only a minimal amount of player interaction was ever required-playing the game was a simply a matter of pointing and clicking and watching your character perform actions in real time. Though simple, the direct feedback would prove to be a draw. Each of the player's clicks felt purposeful and driven-the click of a mouse button was equivalent to the swing of an axe that cleaved a monster in twain. Visceral could only be one of many terms to describe the experience.

As an RPG, Diablo lacked in complexity, but its simplicity was also its greatest asset. Generally speaking, role-playing games aren't well known for their low barrier of entry. Burdened by pages upon pages of statistics and numbers, games that belonged to the genre prior to Diablo's popularity and subsequent influence were among the most inaccessible titles. Diablo was to be the paradigm shift in the development of the genre. It took the RPG back to its roots with the introduction of four very basic character stats that governed the rest of the character's strengths and weaknesses and built the rest of the game upon this strong, but basic foundation. Its successor and sequel would continue to build upon this foundation with the implementation of skills, customizable items and distinct character classes with unique looks and abilities, where previously the Diablo's classes were mere templates for a base character. of its writing, to lend the memory of playing it a sense of nostalgia.
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#2 the Battle Cat

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Posted 17 March 2009 - 08:59 AM

Huh.  They forgot to mention how I kicked the popped snizzle out of Diablo in the first game.  I thought it was a big deal, but we heroes are soon forgotten when the next big thing comes around.
Gary Simmons
the Battle Cat