The future of Diablo
Other games in the genre, like Path of Exile, must be acknowledged to ensure the franchise’s success
Back when Diablo 3 was released, I remember joking with friends saying “Dude, by the time the next Diablo is out we’ll be more than 26 years old”. Now, as we enter a phase where there’s excitement and rumours about Diablo 4, I can only feel concerned of what’s to come. Games like this, that takes more 10 years to come out, need to stick the landing and be good otherwise it’s gonna be a long time until you play another title in the series.
Released back in 2012, Diablo 3 had a lot of problems at launch but was a solid game despite the bad loot system and auction house. When the expansion came out in 2014, Reaper of Souls, the game changed for the better, being a fun game to play anytime. This third instalment was a departure from what the second game was, featuring a lot of different design choices.
Diablo 4 could ignore the past gameplay features and be its own thing, but I hope it takes what has been done into consideration. A good example is a game that came out 2013 and followed the core principles of Diablo 2 and iterated upon them…
Path of Exile
I’ve started playing Path of Exile last month and it has been eye opening to what this genre can offer. This game was developed by a small team and it’s still being supported with new content every 3 months. It’s such a complex game that I’ve clocked 225h and there’s still so much I don’t know about it. Robust mechanics and multiple ways to play the endgame makes me desire these things in a AAA Blizzard game.
PoE have a crazy skill system where the player have complete control, meaning that a character could use any skill if the requirements are met. There’s also the infamous passive skill tree, that will scare any new player (that’s why I’d recommend looking up a build and following it on your first playthrough) but allows deep customisation and the creation of countless unique builds.
A friend of mine keeps creating new characters to try different builds instead of actually playing the endgame. There’re so many possibilities, that he wants to try as many playstyles as he can before sticking to one.
The game’s economy is based on multiple currencies, and trading/selling items is a big part of it. There’s no gold. The games’ website provides a marketplace to buy/sell items, and the cost is regulated by players. Any item has its value, and the exchange rate keeps fluctuating based on offer/demand. All based on player trading and no real money exchange.
Dropping an item, checking the numbers/affixes on it and realising you dropped a super expensive item and you could be rich, adds value to every important drop. Loot means more that just “Will I use it? No. Trash it.”
Regarding the endgame, the team at Grinding Gears Games have been focusing on delivering a different way to approach the grind every new league(season). That includes new ways to craft items, which is something that plays an important role, given the fact that you either craft your high end items or you buy them from other players (and it costs a lot of currency, that is also important for crafting).
All of these characteristics about Path of Exile can’t be overlooked by the development team of Diablo 4. They have to see, or even play, to absorb the good things and refine it. Find out what works and what doesn’t, and apply it to their game in their way. A mistake would be to ignore the competition, like the Anthem team did by ignoring Destiny, and we all know how that game ended up being.
A Diablo game with a robust economy, build customisation, and an ever growing endgame, is the dream. Blizzard has proven themselves capable of delivering great experiences to players, but recently a few things happening in the company worries me a little.
Blizzard
Recently, a few major events in Activision Blizzard has made it seem like the company took a dark turn and its not the Blizzard we all used to know and love. Back in December 2018, the company abruptly announced that it would end the Esports side of Heroes of the Storm and many saw this as a death sentence to the game. In the most recent Blizzcon, an event where fans celebrate Blizzard’s franchises and check out new titles, a new Diablo game for mobile was announced, leaving the crowd as disbelief. But, “You guys all have phones, right?”
The co-founder of Blizzard, Mike Morhaime, stepped down as the company’s CEO last year and stayed as an advisor until April 2019. A change like this is bound to have impacts on the company as a whole. In February 2019, after an all time high financial record, Activision Blizzard laid off 800 employees to restructure.
The future of Diablo is uncertain at best. Enough examples of success are out there, even if past games in the franchise or competitors. It all comes down to to the director’s philosophy for the game, like how are they gonna tackle monetisation or acknowledge the current landscape for a game like this. I hope that in a few years we get a Diablo 4 reveal and it’s everything (or 75%, to be more realistic) of what we were expecting.
