The worlds of each successive Diablo game over the last 25 have been growing increasingly complicated and larger in size at the same time. Going into Diablo IV, it’s already been made abundantly clear that the game will completely dwarf the size of the open world found in Blizzard’s last launch, 2012’s Diablo III. A lot has changed in a decade though, from player tastes, to design sensibilities in the space, so how does Diablo IV grow with those? Australian outlet, Press-Start had the opportunity to chat to Diablo IV‘s Lead Class Designer Adam Jackson, to discuss how the open-world design has changed compared to the Diablo games of yesteryear.
Speaking about what makes the Diablo IV open world different to Diablo III or its other predecessors, Jackson said,
It’s a totally different experience. All of our older Diablo games had very set areas, maps and places that you could go. The dungeons that you could explore, sure, they were individually randomised inside, but you only had so many areas, and you didn’t really have the ability that we have in Diablo IV to really get to know the townspeople and interact with them and just go wherever you want. In an open-world setting, we’re able to tell the story of Sanctuary in a way we never could before. Before, it was very much on rails. You go through Act I, Act II, Act II – there’s this pre-set thing that happens.
We still have the main campaign where that is true, but there is so much more stuff in the world to do. There are so many people to talk to, more events and progression features and little things that you can find in the world that can make your character more powerful. We were never really able to do that successfully in the past, I think, to the extent that we can now. It’s a large game changer, the way we’re able to present the world of Sanctuary to players.
The thing that is likely to please fans the most about Jackson’s statement is that both the older, perhaps more traditional audience, as well as those fully embracing some of the modern design philosophies underpinning open-world design, is that both types of players will seemingly be satiated by Diablo IV. If you want to take off and explore the vastness of the world, with minimal boundaries, you can do so, if you wish to golden path the game, you can do that too – the world is, as they say, your oyster.
Diablo IV launches on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on June 6, 2023.
