The formal release of Diablo IV is still far away, but progress in development continues to move forwards. Game Director Luis Barriga released a quarterly update on what the team has been doing, and there is quite a bit to discuss.

Milestones And Blockouts

Via: news.blizzard.com

A major part of development in Diablo IV requires the team to have access to methods of quickly and easily testing designs in game to see if they work, or if they need to be scrapped entirely. To do this, blocking out, or “grayboxing” levels lets the team create areas with only the most basic of visual components to try out their ideas.

Via: news.blizzard.com

This is important to keep in mind because the images that are being touted in progress both in the development blogs, past and present, are likely to change when compared to the final product. With that in mind, Barriga also pointed out that whenever they release screenshots of areas that look highly polished, there are few reasons to consider a change unless something unexpected comes up.

Storytelling – A Shift From Diablo 3

So far, it appears that methods of storytelling in Diablo IV will be more streamlined and made to naturally flow with gameplay using two primary methods: automatic camera zooming when conversing with NPCs, and real-time cutscenes (RTCs).

The first is meant to work for simple interactions to focus on what they are saying, but still retaining the feel of an isometric game. When conversations are more complex, likely during the development of the main story content, the team will rely creating more hand-crafted gestures and movements. This will make specific story moments feel more genuine and complex.

Via: news.blizzard.com

RTCs meanwhile feel like a bit of a gamble. Barriga describes this as having the player’s camera grabbed and the perspective shifting towards feeling like a film, and this will only be used for the most important story moments. If this is true and the technique is used sparingly, reception to this should be overall positive. If, however the team overuses the effect, the game might feel choppy and disjointed, much like Resident Evil 6 did due to its overuse of breaking from gameplay to cutscene too often.

Open World and Multiplayer

Another major shift from previous games in the Diablo series is how players will interact with the map, with a larger focus on open-world exploration and permanent changes that happen once an area has been cleared of opponents. Barriga describes the design of the world as filled with content driven by the main story but also much that can be discovered along the way through exploration. Breaking away from only doing the main story will allow players to check out new areas, to develop their crafting, or to PvP. While the crafting system has not been detailed much so far, we are excited to see how it plays into the long-term progression of the game.

diablo 4 open world
Via: news.blizzard.com

Camps are another feature of the open world that will permanently change how players access and develop the environment. These locations can be important for a broad range of reasons but are overrun by enemies when first discovered. Players will need to clear out these areas completely, and only when cleaned will they become friendly outposts with NPCs and waypoint locations for fast travel. This should be a great storytelling device to show the gradual reclaiming of Sanctuary from the forces of evil, though it is not yet clear how this will be impactful for endgame content.

Whether working on the main story or some side content, the incorporation of multiplayer design remains a challenge for the team. Barriga states that, “Fine tuning the right approach to multiplayer in Diablo IV has been challenging…without the game ever feeling like it’s veering into massively multiplayer territory.” This means that main story moments and specific dungeons will always remain private affairs, but most of the open world, including established camps, hubs, and along the roads between locations it will be easy to see other players frequently.

Via: news.blizzard.com

While this means that players will have the opportunity to join groups frequently, there is also no obligation to do so, as Barriga says, “It’s worth calling out that while some coordination is helpful during these events, you are never forced to join a party.” Players will be able to join an event in progress if they so choose, claim their reward, and continue their way in a way that should feel seamless, if the developers succeed in their goal.

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Itemization And Progression

For the most part, little new information has been made available with regards to gear drops and progression throughout the game. The items featured during the brief demo at BlizzCon in 2019 remain all that we have for information, and that begs the question that most players are still eagerly awaiting for Blizzard to answer: what will the endgame of Diablo IV look like?

Via: news.blizzard.com

While the idea of zooming in the camera and RTCs for story telling sound great, the story of Diablo is not what will carry the game for long-term play. Diablo II and Diablo III still have players logging in often at the start of each new season for ranked progression on each respective ladder system, but few would say they are drawn back by a captivating story. Without any clear indication of what the end game will look like for Diablo IV, it is difficult to be too excited about what has been covered in this quarterly update. Will cleansing an area and reclaiming it for a camp to spawn NPCs be something meaningful for pushing our character progression, or a one-time event we grind out and never see reference to again?

For now, it is all speculation, but in the meantime, we can certainly see that the team is clearly hard at work to make Diablo IV the best it can be.

Source: news.blizzard.com

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