Next-Gen MMO by Blizzard in development

[kudos]

Originally Posted by Mist

That's still not really a world. It would be extremely difficult to turn Diablo into a seemless outdoor world like most AAA MMO titles, you'd have to make it a completely different game from the first two Diablos, and at that point why call it Diablo if the core gameplay isn't going to be similar?

You mean like how WoW is a totally different game from Warcraft 3?

I could think of an MMO world based on Diablo 2 alone that could occupy half of the size of Azeroth and that's just off the top of my head.

[Jait]

Originally Posted by TKarrde

The "world" in Diablo was the environment. The grit. The feeling of near helplessness. The downtrodden masses doing their best to merely survive. Their hopes, goals, and dreams revolved around just making it through another day. Not flourishing into some grand empire, with peace and equality. Just survival.

The Diablo world is not the Rogue Encampment, Lut Gholein, Kurast, Pandemonium Fortress, or Harrogath. The Diablo world is not Tristram. It is the environment of pure corruption, with the few left living merely trying to eek out a most base existence.

If you don't think that is a suitable world for an MMO, I don't understand you in the slightest.

Imagination /jazzhands

This man speaks the truth. (btw sorry, but your avatar did look like Guy Fieri). I'd take back the point, but alas.. And Kudos listed plenty of spots to expand upon. The lore is there, now they can fill it in. Those lucky bastards, to have such a great template.

There's enough background in Diablo to fill 190 books. Because it's already been done, Milton, Dante, Lovecraft, the entire Catholic Church. People *love* evil, they love demons, they love Hell. They romanticize it constantly, it's easy money.

Blizzard took this concept, gave it their own unique spin, and turned it into the biggest multiplayer venture anyone had ever seen. With that xp under their belt they released the biggest MMO, far beyond anyone's anticipation. But to think well fuck they don't want any more money, who would pay for Diablo? You'd have to be very ignorant to miss it.

[Mist]

Originally Posted by TKarrde

The "world" in Diablo was the environment. The grit. The feeling of near helplessness. The downtrodden masses doing their best to merely survive. Their hopes, goals, and dreams revolved around just making it through another day. Not flourishing into some grand empire, with peace and equality. Just survival.

The Diablo world is not the Rogue Encampment, Lut Gholein, Kurast, Pandemonium Fortress, or Harrogath. The Diablo world is not Tristram. It is the environment of pure corruption, with the few left living merely trying to eek out a most base existence.

THAT is an amazing world for an MMO. It is dark. It is gritty. It is not some grand crusade to stem the tide of a growing enemy force, with heroes from all over coming together and uniting for a feel good victory. It is the rough and rugged survivors banding together to do their best just to live.

If you don't think that is a suitable world for an MMO, I don't understand you in the slightest.

Arguably its not a suitable one. An MMO should be set in a world that people want to live in, because they're going to be spending a decent amount of time there over a long period of subscription time. A handful of oasis between long stretches of burning wasteland does not make a good MMO. All of the most successful MMOs, both in terms of player acclaim and subscription numbers for their eras have all had fairly large open, vibrant worlds.

[Mist]

Originally Posted by Jait

Blizzard took this concept, gave it their own unique spin, and turned it into the biggest multiplayer venture anyone had ever seen. With that xp under their belt they released the biggest MMO, far beyond anyone's anticipation. But to think well fuck they don't want any more money, who would pay for Diablo? You'd have to be very ignorant to miss it.

Except WoW was designed by hardly anyone from either Diablo team.

[kudos]

Originally Posted by Mist

Arguably its not a suitable one. An MMO should be set in a world that people want to live in, because they're going to be spending a decent amount of time there over a long period of subscription time.

So it should be all cartoons and rainbows? No, I want death and destruction with demons killing people all over the place. I want an atmosphere that scares me to leave town, which hasn't happened since Kithicor in EQ.

[Agraza]

Originally Posted by Mist

Except WoW was designed by hardly anyone from either Diablo team.

Why is that relevant? Didn't some of those folks shit out Hellgate?

[Sharmai]

Originally Posted by Mist

Arguably its not a suitable one. An MMO should be set in a world that people want to live in, because they're going to be spending a decent amount of time there over a long period of subscription time. A handful of oasis between long stretches of burning wasteland does not make a good MMO. All of the most successful MMOs, both in terms of player acclaim and subscription numbers for their eras have all had fairly large open, vibrant worlds.

This doesn't make sense. Are you saying that WoD wouldn't have major cities? Large outposts?

[TKarrde]

Originally Posted by Mist

Arguably its not a suitable one. An MMO should be set in a world that people want to live in, because they're going to be spending a decent amount of time there over a long period of subscription time. A handful of oasis between long stretches of burning wasteland does not make a good MMO. All of the most successful MMOs, both in terms of player acclaim and subscription numbers for their eras have all had fairly large open, vibrant worlds.

Plenty of games have done dark, and done it well. Most MMOs suck. They are not fun. Period. Many of the ones that are fun have vibrant happy worlds. This does not mean that you cannot have a dark unhappy world, and have a good MMO.

[Jait]

Originally Posted by Agraza

Why is that relevant? Didn't some of those folks shit out Hellgate?

It doesn't. Attacking Blizzards track record might be funny if I didn't think they were serious.

[Everlast]

Has anyone speculated that since the new project is codenamed project Hydra (a beast containing multiple heads) that perhaps the announcement will involve multiple games? Dare I say intertwining some of the franchises?

or a game released for all the current consoles, Wii, 360, and PS3? I dunno, I am trying to play up the hydra aspect. SC2 is codenamed medusa btw, so I doubt that this will have much to do with SC2.

[kudos]

Originally Posted by Everlast

Dare I say intertwining some of the franchises?

or genre's.

[Snugglebear]

Originally Posted by Everlast

Has anyone speculated that since the new project is codenamed project Hydra (a beast containing multiple heads) that perhaps the announcement will involve multiple games? Dare I say intertwining some of the franchises?

Warcraft + Starcraft = Starwars?

[Twobit Whore]

Originally Posted by Agraza

Why is that relevant? Didn't some of those folks shit out Hellgate?

I don't think it's the individuals at Blizzard that matter as much as I think it is the process.

Most of the ideas they have are completely generic or outright ripoffs. It's not like they are blowing us away with unheard of things. It's simply the level of playability their games have due to the design process that makes them memorable.

[Mist]

Originally Posted by kudos

So it should be all cartoons and rainbows? No, I want death and destruction with demons killing people all over the place. I want an atmosphere that scares me to leave town, which hasn't happened since Kithicor in EQ.

You're pretty much making my point for me. Yes, a Diablo MMO would have to be like that. But I seriously doubt Blizzard would try to make a game like that, given what they've supposedly learned about MMO design. Therefore any Diablo MMO that they would make wouldn't feel anything like Diablo and hence why I sincerely hope they're not making a Diablo MMO. They'd end up compromising the integrity of what made the Diablo games what they are. If you aren't whirlwinding/frost orbing entire fucking screens of enemies at once it isn't Diablo.

[kudos]

Originally Posted by Mist

You're pretty much making my point for me. Yes, a Diablo MMO would have to be like that. But I seriously doubt Blizzard would try to make a game like that, given what they've supposedly learned about MMO design. Therefore any Diablo MMO that they would make wouldn't feel anything like Diablo and hence why I sincerely hope they're not making a Diablo MMO. They'd end up compromising the integrity of what made the Diablo games what they are. If you aren't whirlwinding/frost orbing entire fucking screens of enemies at once it isn't Diablo.

So if I'm not commanding entire 200 unit armies it isnt Warcraft?

I believe people said WoW would be retarded because a designer mentioned fighting more than one mob at a time and EQ players laughed at him. Seems to have worked out for Blizzard. Who's to say what they can and can't do with gameplay in a Diablo MMO?