Another day, and another Diablo III story, or in this case, two stories, one pretty absurd and the other sure to be popular here at Co-Optimus.
First off is an article at MTV's multiplayer blog. Apparently, about 14,000 Diablo fans are upset about the art direction of the upcoming sequel. So great is their despair, they started an online petition (which is practically a guarantee to get something done). Their impression of the recently released gameplay trailer was that it was more akin to the Care Bears than Diablo. Cartoonish characters and "vivid colors, beautiful forests with colorful vegetation, shiny and beautiful waterfalls where even rainbows take place" are more like World of Warcraft than Diablo, in these fans' opinion. Obviously, the art style is changed somewhat, but I was so busy watching a wall of zombies and exploding angels that I guess I missed the rainbows. In any event, it just goes to show you that you can't please them all, even if you are the game company with the best track record, ever.
Of more importance to Co-Optimus readers is a recent post on the WoW forums by a Blizzard rep, Bashiok. Joystiq reports that the focus of multiplayer in Diablo III will be on co-op, not on PvP.
We have a large focus on cooperative play for Diablo III, and the mechanics and design decisions related to multiplayer are likely going to be based on supporting and encouraging it as much as possible, and not breaking it down.
You can almost hear the wail of thousands of griefers across the world, can't you? Rainbows were bad enough, but now we all have to work together for a common goal? Hmm. Maybe this is Care Bears, after all. (Possible Barbarian skill: Care Bear Stare?) All kidding aside, we really think Diablo III is shaping up nicely, and that makes the wait until we can get our hands on it even worse.