History of the Diablo series: 27 years of dark fantasy

Before the release of the long-awaited Diablo 4, a few months left. It’s time to remember how one of the most famous game series began. Today we will tell you how a childhood dream became a resounding success, what is Blizzard’s role and what should have been the first Diablo, according to the creators.

The idea of ​​​​a unique role-playing game came to David Brevik (David Brevik) in his school days. There were many “mathematical” CRPGs in the early 1980s, but they did not differ in the original gameplay. The future creator of Diablo wanted something new, simple and exciting.

As planned, the project should be as clear as possible for new players. No multi-page rules and complex role-playing systems with formulas. The main principle is a positive attitude and joy from constant discoveries. And for this, “rewards” are needed for defeating enemies. And it doesn’t matter which – small items or valuable equipment.

The idea is good, but the execution is not so simple. David did not dare to fulfill his dream for many years – there was not enough money, experience and assistants of adventurers. The last were found only in 1993: two brothers – Erich and Max Schaefer (Erich and Max Schaefer). At that time, everything was going well: the developers had just formed their own company Condor and were meeting to discuss plans, since they were offered cooperation by SunSoft.

While working with SunSoft and co-founding the Justice League Task Force, Condor met Blizzard Entertainment. The new project was not long in coming – David was able to embody the idea from childhood. The first Diablo was influenced by many games: Moria, X-COM: UFO Defense, Angband and even Nethack. From some games they borrowed the general appearance and random dungeons, from others – a turn-based combat system. Yes, as planned by the developers, the game’s combat was turn-based. The player moves, the opponent moves too. This was subsequently abandoned on Blizzard’s advice.

Another initial idea fell under Blizzard’s knife. Diablo’s visual style was planned in plasticine. This proved not only difficult and expensive to develop, but also ideologically incorrect. The concept of the game is a classic dark fantasy story about a hero in an endless dungeon of monsters. The cartoonishness and childish simplicity in the design would create dissonance and a sense of absurdity of what is happening.

However, it is not true to say that Blizzard intervened brutally and changed the game. She helped the developers and polished the project and pointed out clearly failed ideas. In addition to the combat system and visual style, the interface and a few minor details have been changed.