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The Soapbox: Diablo III's auction house ruined the game
After his departure from the Diablo III development team, Game Director Jay Wilson released a statement that the introduction of an auction house "really hurt the game." While players predicted doom the moment the Real Money Auction House was announced, Jay argued that the gold auction house was equally to blame for the game's fall from grace following its absolutely stellar launch sales. I don't normally agree with what Jay has to say on Diablo III, but in this case he does have a very valid point. Diablo II was consistently popular for over a decade thanks to its immense replayability. At its core, D2 was a game about building new characters and gearing them up by any means necessary. Every enemy in the game was a loot pinata just waiting to be popped, and players farmed endlessly for a few sought-after unique items. You almost never found an item that was ideal for your particular class and build, but you could usually trade for what you needed via trade channels and forums. Blizzard claimed that the auction house was intended just to streamline this process, but when Diablo III launched, it was clear that the entire game had been designed to make the auction house almost necessary for progress. The fault here lies not just with the concept of an auction house but with the game designers. That's right: I'm here to argue not only that Jay Wilson was right about the auction house ruining Diablo III but also that it was his own damn fault.
Rumor: Titan might be a time-traveling, earthbound MMO
The folks over at Project Titan claim to have a huge leak on Blizzard's upcoming Titan project from a reliable (and unnamed) source. While we are certainly wary of rumors, particularly on this scale, the author says he is "extremely confident" about the leak in particular. So what is Titan, according to this post? Several bullet points sketch a picture of an MMO that is based on Earth, is big into historical mythology (including Greek, Roman, and Viking myths), and involves "a lot" of time travel. The leaks says that Titan will play from a third-person view, has a new game engine, could also be headed to consoles, and has a strong e-sports emphasis. The leak purports that over 150 developers are working on Titan, including Jay Wilson. Apparently we'll be seeing a teaser of Titan at BlizzCon before it goes into friends and family testing in early 2014. So what do you think? Is this too elaborate to be a hoax, too vague to be the real thing, or a possible advance insight into what Titan is? Sound off in the comments! [Thanks to Mynsc for the tip!]
Diablo III's auction house 'really hurt the game'
Diablo III's joint in-game gold and real-money auction house has played a fairly major role in the game since its launch. Remember that one time when a guy used the real-money side of things to bank a cool $10,000? That apparently wasn't really what Blizzard foresaw when creating and implementing the auction house. According to former Diablo III Game Director Jay Wilson, the auction house "really hurt the game." Apparently, Blizzard anticipated that very few players would make use of the auction house and that item prices would limit the number of transactions going on. That, uh, wasn't the case. Nearly every one of Diablo III's roughly 3 million monthly users make use of the auction house, and item trading has "damaged" the item rewards in the game. Without giving up any juicy details, Wilson has mentioned that the team is working on a viable solution to the current problems posed by the auction house.
Diablo 3 Director Jay Wilson: Auction Houses 'really hurt' game
Former Diablo 3 Game Director Jay Wilson admitted during a talk at GDC 2013 in San Francisco that both of Diablo 3's Auction Houses (both the real-money and the in-game gold item auction house) "really hurt the game." Wilson said that before Blizzard launched the game, the company had a few assumptions about how the Auction Houses would work: He thought they would help reduce fraud, that they'd provide a wanted service to players, that only a small percentage of players would use it and that the price of items would limit how many were listed and sold.But he said that once the game went live, Blizzard realized it was completely wrong about those last two points. It turns out that nearly every one of the game's players (of which there are still about 1 million per day, and about 3 million per month, according to Wilson) made use of either house, and that over 50 percent of players used it regularly. That, said Wilson, made money a much higher motivator than the game's original motivation to simply kill Diablo, and "damaged item rewards" in the game. While a lot of the buzz around the game attacked the real money Auction House, "gold does much more damage than the other one does," according to Wilson, because more players use it and prices fluctuate much more."I think we would turn it off if we could," Wilson said during his talk. But the problem is "not as easy as that;" with all of Blizzard's current players, he says the company "has no idea" how many players like the system or hate it. Blizzard, Wilson said, doesn't want to remove a feature that lots of players will be unhappy to see go. But he did say that the team is working on a viable solution, without giving any other details about what that would be like.
Blizzard's Rob Pardo asks players to direct Diablo III blame to him
When Jay Wilson announced that he was leaving his position as director of Diablo III, the forums were filled with responses. To the surprise of absolutely no one who has visited any forum in the history of the Internet, many of those responses were some variety of blaming Wilson for every issue the game might have or claiming that the game is clearly being abandoned completely. That didn't sit well with executive producer Rob Pardo, who took to the forums to tell players that if they want someone to blame, blame him. Pardo explains that he's extremely proud of the game and that everyone remains dedicated to making it the best it can be. At the same time, he stresses that he was responsible for hiring and overseeing Wilson's work, and he takes full responsibility for the game as a whole. The odds of this actually defusing forum vitriol are still roughly nil, but it does ensure that at least in Pardo's eyes it will be directed in a more deserving direction, and it's a classy move no matter what you think of the game.
Diablo 3 director Jay Wilson moves on to new Blizzard project
Jay Wilson, who has been directing Diablo 3 for seven years, has decided to move on to other projects within Blizzard. Writing on the Blizzard forums, Wilson says that while working on Diablo 3 has "been one of the most challenging and rewarding periods of my life, I've reached a point creatively where I'm looking forward to working on something new." Wilson promises fans that support for Diablo 3 will continue and that he will aid the team as Blizzard finds a new director.Wilson makes note of Diablo 3's bumpy launch and its subsequent woes. The development team doesn't always make "the right decisions" he admitted, "but if we made a mistake then I feel we've made an exceptional effort to correct it." That effort includes scads of additional items and changes to drop rates, as well as the Monster Power and Paragon systems.As for what project Wilson will take on next, we'll just have to wait and see.
Diablo III's Jay Wilson steps down as game director
It's hard to imagine working on the same game for seven years, but for Diablo III's Jay Wilson, that was his reality. The game director won't be making it eight, however, as Wilson is stepping down to move to another position in Blizzard. "While it's been one of the most challenging and rewarding periods of my life, I've reached a point creatively where I'm looking forward to working on something new," Wilson wrote in his farewell letter. "The powers that be at Blizzard have been gracious enough to give me that opportunity." Wilson stressed that the ongoing development of Diablo III will "carry forward as normal" and that he'll remain available to the team for consultation and advice. He discusses the creation, launch, and development of the action RPG, ending with a sentimental wave to fans: "You are the most passionate, dedicated group of gamers a designer could hope to have. I wish you all the best, and want to thank you for making this an amazing experience for me."
Blizzard scraps Diablo III PvP mode, starts over
You want the bad news first? Here it is: Blizzard has decided that the long-in-production Team Deathmatch mode for PvP in Diablo III isn't living up to its standards and has scrapped the entire system. Lead Designer Jay Wilson wrote a dev diary in which he explained the concept of PvP in Diablo III and why Team Deathmatch wasn't working. He said that arena combat put too much of a focus on class balance that the team doesn't want, that there wasn't enough incentive to fight more than a couple matches, and that feedback from players was mixed. You still waiting for the good news? Here you go: Wilson said that the team is implementing dueling in the new year and has started work on a completely new form of PvP for the game. This new mode will focus more on objectives and "possibly even integrate PvE elements and rewards."
Diablo 3 'Team Deathmatch' goes back to the drawing board, 'dueling' coming in the new year
Diablo 3's Team Deathmatch mode has been a long-promised addition for players of the loot-hunting dungeon crawler since it first launched seven months ago. Though the mode is up and running at Blizzard, a blog post from Blizzard's Jay Wilson says the Player vs. Player-focused mode "isn't yet where we want it to be," and thus won't be released in its current form.One reason the mode has eluded release is its lack of depth. "Simply fighting each other with no other objectives or choices to make gets old relatively quickly. We've brought a lot of people in to try out Team Deathmatch and, while some found it entertaining, most of our testers didn't feel like it was something they'd want to do beyond a few hours," Wilson wrote. The mode requires more varied objectives and lucrative rewards to compel players to keep playing over time, Diablo 3's lead designer added.Another issue is class balance in a game designed with Player vs. Environment scenarios in mind. "In a casual PvP mode, something equivalent to a WoW Battleground, this would be fine, but Team Deathmatch felt very hardcore, and it put a laser focus on class balance in a way that we didn't think would be good for the game as a whole." Because of these issues, Blizzard has decided to go "back to the drawing board on a new replacement for Team Deathmatch." Whatever the mode ends up evolving into will indeed be free, Wilson noted.Wilson adds Blizzard will add "Dueling" soon, due to fan demand. "First and foremost, if our original goal was to support dueling, then we're not achieving that goal very well if we don't actually give players a way to duel in-game," he wrote. Dueling will be added to Diablo 3 in patch 1.0.7., set to arrive after the new year.
Jay Wilson and other Diablo 3 developers answer (almost) everything
Three Diablo III developers stopped onto Reddit tonight for an AMAA -- "Ask Me Almost Anything" -- where they answered questions from all over the internet. Most of the questions were gameplay-related, given that these guys are developers and not dudes involved in the creative aspects of the game (story, etc). There are a lot of great answers in here: fixes coming for common complaints, overall design goals for the future, and more. Check out the full transcript after the break, but here are a few interesting points: Non-trash white items like potions and pages will have different item colors in a later patch, and an option to filter out trash white items completely is also being considered. An "auto-skip cutscenes" option is being considered. Bosses will drop rares the first time you kill them on any difficulty, not just normal, in a future patch. Legendary items are getting a big buff to be more attractive and unique. Auctions can be canceled in patch 1.0.3.
Blizzard explains why it's hiring for console Diablo, but not making console Diablo
The situation around the potential console release of Diablo 3 has been strangely half-secret. Blizzard has openly hired for console development, and company representatives have said that they are "investigating" and "exploring" console Diablo projects. They've talked about console controllers and their advantages. But it never got to the point of actually announcing anything."Yeah. We haven't officially announced it, because we're not 'experimenting,'" Diablo 3 director Jay Wilson told Gamasutra. "We tell people that basically we're experimenting, because it helps us hire people. The better people we hire, the better chance we have to actually make it." In other words, there's no concrete plan, but Blizzard is bringing in people to try things to see if they will work – which, yes, sounds a lot like experimenting. "That's why we haven't kept it super secret, but we also haven't confirmed it, because we're not sure yet whether we think it will work, and whether we think we have the resources to do it," Wilson said.This bit comes at the end of a lengthy interview, during which Wilson also provides a lot of background on the development process – like how a PowerPoint presentation substituted for a design document.
Rumor: Diablo III releasing April 17th
The rumor mill is churning fast and furious today as heavy speculation is swirling about a possible release date for Diablo III: April 17th. This comes from Italian website mmorpgitalia, which reports that retailers are clearing space for their shelves on the 17th after a tip from Activision Italy. Blizzard, of course, is declining to comment on the rumor, although Game Director Jay Wilson says that an "all-important announcement" -- most likely the release date -- is imminent. When asked on Twitter how soon the announcement would arrive (on a scale of 1-10), Wilson replied with a simple "9." Tomorrow begins the CeBIT 2012 trade show in Europe, and Blizzard will be present to show off the Diablo III beta. If an announcement is to be made, this event might make a good a platform as any from which to tell the gaming world which day it's going to need to take off from work.
Blizzard clarifies Bashiok's statements about Diablo III and hints at release announcement
The most recent tempest in a Diablo III-shaped teapot has been community manager Bashiok making a statement to fans urging them to lower their expectations for the game. Director Jay Wilson decided that this was worth a direct reply and stated in a recent open letter to the community that Bashiok's statements were "obviously sarcastic" and that the team does want fan expectations to remain high. The letter stresses that the development staff is quite happy with the game as it continues development and the current internally tested build in a better state than the beta. Wilson goes on to claim that fans can expect a release date announcement in the near future, avoiding the dreaded Blizzard incarnation of "soon." Given his appraisal of the beta state, we suspect that the game will be heading for a retail edition before too long, at which point players will be able to decide for themselves whether or not their expectations were met.
Blizzard still tinkering with Diablo 3 systems, highlights new changes
For a game that isn't even out yet, Diablo 3 has undergone many, many system changes. Today, game director Jay Wilson has posted a load of upcoming system adjustments, mostly made to systems that have already been changed. A few prime examples include the complete removal of "identify item" scrolls -- characters handle that with a universal spell now -- a dedicated potion button, and Blizzard deciding to rename the Stone of Recall and "just call it what it is," namely "Town Portal." Another big change, the Nephalem Cube and Cauldron of Jordan (both integral to the crafting system), have been removed from the game outright. According to Blizzard, the two items "detracted from the benefits of returning to town to sell items, salvage, craft, and interact with the townsfolk." It's a lot to take in, especially given how long fans have waited for Diablo 3 but, in Wilson's words, "no one will remember if the game is late, only if it's great." Head over to the Diablo 3 site to read about these changes (and many others) in more detail.
Blizzard continuing to make big mechanical changes to Diablo III
While there's still no release date set for Diablo III, it seems the release may be further off than some players were guessing, judging by the latest round of sweeping system overhauls. A new post by game director Jay Wilson goes over several major changes being made to the game, starting with the fact that Scrolls of Identify are gone. You have a short casting time to identify and item and that's it, with no need to carry around a separate item. The latest changes also remove the Mystic artisan, the Cauldron of Jordan, and the Nephalem Cube. The latter two were removed due to the inclusion of a Town Portal button, making trips back and forth far easier, while the Mystic artisan lacked a sufficiently defined role amidst other item modifications. There's also a major stat overhaul, which reduces the core attributes to Strength, Dexterity, Intellect, and Vitality. They're far-reaching changes, and only time will tell how much their impact might slow the game's release as the team tests the altered systems.
Remember Diablo with new 15 year anniversary website
In celebration of fifteen years of Diablo -– the original came out all the way back in 1996 (!) -– Blizzard has launched a special anniversary website. The site has all kinds of Diablo-related content, from a timeline of the entire series, cutscenes from Diablo 2, video interviews and a lengthy video retrospective. Of particular interest is an interview with Diablo 3 director Jay Wilson, who states, "We're almost done with Diablo 3 and that's a fitting celebration of the 15 year anniversary." He adds, "We'll get it to you as soon as we can." In related news, 2014 is going to be one hell of a year.
Blizzard's Jay Wilson discusses the creation of Diablo III
The big title on Not So Massively's current waiting list is, of course, Diablo III. It may be a bit before we get a solid release date out of Blizzard "Soon" Entertainment, but in the meantime, the company is keeping the hype training running steadily. Today we have a new interview from the folks over at PC Gamer, during which Diablo III's game director, Jay Wilson, talks about the challenges of building a new game based on the Diablo pedigree while also ensuring that the title has a soul of its own. For example, while many have decried the game's "more colorful" environments, Wilson states that "if you make something, you can't just copy. You have to infuse it with your own personality, your own interests, your own opinions, your own desires. If you don't, then it will be soulless." For the full interview, just click on through to PC Gamer.
Blizzard talks console controls for Diablo 3
Blizzard's Diablo 3 developers are on the main stage at BlizzCon 2011 right now, and game director Jay Wilson spoke a little bit about the potential console version of the game. Nothing has changed -- there is no officially announced console version. But Wilson did confirm that Blizzard has hired a team to work on it, and that the company has been iterating on console controls. "The movement actually feels better on the controller," Wilson said, in response to a fan's question. "Targeting is the issue." Most of the schemes the team has come up for choosing what to attack and loot require a reticule, "which we really don't want to do," Wilson said. "Monster distribution and AI also feels a little bit different than it does on the PC version." And Blizzard won't even say that there's a console version coming "because we don't want to announce something until we're sure." Obviously the team is working on it, and obviously Diablo 3 on a console would be extremely popular -- the first game did officially come to the original PlayStation all those years ago. But as Wilson says, the team wants to assure that "if it goes on a console, it doesn't compromise the PC game in any way, and it feels like it was built for the console."
Diablo 3 'feels even better' with console controllers, but support won't be ready for release
Blizzard isn't ready to announce any kind of console version of Diablo 3 -- as in all things, it's taking its sweet damn time -- but game director Jay Wilson is open to discussing the results of the company's console "experiments." Blizzard has been conducting said experiments, Wilson said, because "we feel that the controls and the style of the game lend itself to a console." And the tests have been successful. "With some of our early experiments in putting a direct control scheme into the game via a 360-like analogue controller, I've been 'Oh this feels even better, with direct control...'" But Blizzard still isn't officially announcing this apparently better functionality for the game, either in the form of a console release or gamepad support for the existing PC version. Wilson made a conditional announcement, however: "I can pretty much guarantee that if we decide to do a console version that we will look to support a pad on the PC," he said. "But initially with release I don't think we'll be ready."
Diablo 3 'definitely in the home stretch,' says game director
Following unprecedented access into "Blizzard's gated, guarded headquarters complex" earlier this week, The New York Times has returned practically empty-handed. Sure, correspondent Seth Schiesel got to play Diablo 3 for "about an hour" -- a fleeting opportunity that some of us would nevertheless kill for -- but he was unable to glean any solid details about the game's secretive, make-or-break trading system. Nor was he able to dig up any new dirt on those possible console ports, not to mention demand to know when the lead PC/Mac version is going to be released. "We're definitely in the home stretch," game director Jay Wilson cruelly teased. "We're crunching. This is when the magic happens." Dare we presume that means a 2011 launch? We'd better not.
