Blizzard Reveals More Details Regarding Upcoming 'Diablo IV'
Still at an extremely early stage.
Renowned game developer and publisher Blizzard has recently shared more details about the upcoming fourth installment to the legendary Diablo franchise, giving fans of the series more things to look forward to.
Speaking first about the storytelling aspect of the RPG, Blizzard says that a new dialogue and conversation system has been created for a more immersive experience. Instead of using the speech windows in Diablo III, conversations will now take place directly between your avatar and the NPC, with the isometric camera zoomed in to show a range of gestures and emotive poses. When speaking to the more important characters of the game, the same camera angle will be used but the NPCs will be equipped with less generic animations which have been specifically hand-crafted. Real-time cutscenes — something Blizzard is well-known for — will still be featured in the game for the most important narrative sequences.
Aside from storytelling, the company also built upon the open-world aspect of the game, creating new side-quests and features to give players an extended yet truly Diablo experience. One of the new creations is a mechanic called Camps: “While we have many open-world activities, such as crafting, events, world PvP, and side quests, perhaps the most popular open-world feature was Camps,” Blizzard said. “These are locations of importance that have been overrun by enemies, which once cleansed turn into friendly outposts with NPCs and a waypoint location. While there is a backstory to each camp, most of the storytelling is visual and quests don’t directly send you to them. For example, one of the camps in the zone was a town afflicted by a curse that turned villagers into piles of salt. Another was a crypt, haunted by a spirit that possesses the bodies of various undead—jumping from skeleton to skeleton until you defeat him.”
Finally, Blizzard addressed the multiplayer aspect of the game, which some may remember was an area that plagued much of Diablo III‘s life. Trying to strike the right balance between a single player experience but with a social dimension, the company says that most of the dungeons and quests will be focusing on solo action, while certain areas and hubs such as towns may bring in other players — a similar approach to Destiny. “It’s worth calling out that while some coordination is helpful during these events, you are never forced to join a party,” the developer said. “Solo players can walk in, help complete the event, and claim a reward. We think this seamless approach to multiplayer is working well and look forward to sharing more about this approach with you. In our tests so far, the world feels alive and dynamic without compromising the feel of Diablo. And for players that do want to party up against the minions of Hell, we have new tools available to find a group, whether by activity or proximity in the game world.”
Currently, Blizzard says development for Diablo IV is still at an extremely early stage — not even at alpha yet — and so more details will be announced in the near future. For more information about the game, you can head over to Blizzard’s website.
Elsewhere in gaming, leaked documents suggest that there will be a cheaper version of the Xbox Series X.
