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Blizzard Seeking Console Devs For 'Diablo-Related Concept'

Posted by Soulskill on from the strict-inevitabilities dept.

Eurogamer reports that a number of Blizzard job listings went up today for top-level console developers. The listings were posted under the Diablo 3 heading, leading to speculation about a console port of the upcoming game. A Blizzard representative soon responded, saying, "... we’re currently exploring a Diablo-related concept for consoles. As we’ve said in the past, with proper care the gameplay could suit the console platform, and we’re interested in seeing what talent out there might be interested in contributing to such a project. To further reiterate what’s posted on the home page: this is not an announcement of a console title. We are first and foremost developing Diablo III for Windows and Mac PCs, and we have no intention of allowing a console interpretation to delay or otherwise affect the release of the game." Having played Diablo 3 at Blizzcon, I can say that the game would very easily make the transition to consoles. An Xbox 360 or PS3 controller would almost perfectly fit all necessary gameplay functions. That said, they could just as easily be porting one of the older games, building a new mini-game to get their feet wet, or getting started on Diablo 4. Time will tell.

58 comments

  1. Well... by WaroDaBeast · · Score: 1

    The Baldur's Gate franchise was turned into a hack & slash when ported to console, but Diablo games are already hack & slash games. What will Blizzard do? Develop a meta hack & slash?

    --
    "The body may heal, but the mind is not always so resilient." -- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
    1. Re:Well... by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

      Ported is kind of the wrong term. The dark alliance games had nothing to do with the PC series by the same name. They both just took place in the same Pen-And-Paper setting. Believe it or not, there was a Neverwinter Nights game that had nothing to do with the more recent ones made in the 80s. As long as you acknowledge that Dark Alliance had nothing to do with Baldur's Gate besides being in the city of Baldur's Gate, it was an ok-ish game.

    2. Re:Well... by not+already+in+use · · Score: 1

      I always ponder the psychological profile of the self-righteous PC gamer. It's always boggled my mind that someone would harbor such negative feelings about someone regarding their preference of PC vs Console, or their Smartphone preference, OS preference, etc etc. The internet would be a much happier place if it wasn't filled with hateful idiots like this.

      --
      Similes are like metaphors
    3. Re:Well... by WaroDaBeast · · Score: 1

      Pedantry can never hurt. ;)

      Anyhow, you're right: "to port" isn't the right verb here. What I meant to say was that they took a label that meant something for some of us and slapped it on console games that has barely anything to do with their computer counterparts.

      --
      "The body may heal, but the mind is not always so resilient." -- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
    4. Re:Well... by WaroDaBeast · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but the console version was the only version that was released in French. :U

      It's not that I care, but some of my friends who couldn't speak English wished they could have had a French version back then. Of course, it didn't really bother those same people that the French voices in Diablo II totally sucked. I wish I were kidding.

      --
      "The body may heal, but the mind is not always so resilient." -- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
    5. Re:Well... by WaroDaBeast · · Score: 1

      The grandparent post forgot something very important: we're talking about a full 3D game (unlike the first two episodes) on consoles that are much more powerful than a PS1 and that have new types of controllers. Diablo's console version did suck, but the current context is very different from what it was back then.

      --
      "The body may heal, but the mind is not always so resilient." -- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
    6. Re:Well... by OpenGLFan · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The Baldur's Gate franchise was turned into a hack & slash when ported to console, but Diablo games are already hack & slash games. What will Blizzard do? Develop a meta hack & slash?

      Fill a market niche. I loved those games. They weren't anything like the PC Baldur's Gate series, but they were full-screen (no split-screen) couch co-op fun for me and my roommates in college. There's nothing like that anymore; all the current generation games are splitscreen co-op or network co-op only.

      If I could play Diablo with fullscreen co-op, I'd buy it on launch day.

    7. Re:Well... by Stupid+McStupidson · · Score: 1

      Probably a Diablo RPG, with the various warriors, wizards, and rangers replaced with androgynous, spike haired teenagers wielding 10 foot long swords. In all seriousness though, Blizzard would be smart to stay within the zeitgeist of console online multiplayer games. As such, they would (re) implement battlenet and game features (bugs) to mirror the state in the original Diablo games.

    8. Re:Well... by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      Even Jarulf's guide says the PSone version of Diablo is just like the PC version, except for minor differences. Played them both, the game suits the control pad better, and it is MUCH more comfortable to play that way....though I admit, the dual shock would have benefited Diablo. (it predates the Dual Shock)

    9. Re:Well... by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but the console version was the only version that was released in French. :U

      Even the NTSC-UC version of the PSone Diablo supports French..(and German and Swedish as well) Weird.

    10. Re:Well... by WaroDaBeast · · Score: 1

      Full screen co-op? You mean, just like the arcade D&D games on CPS-2? Man, those are so fun to play in multi!

      --
      "The body may heal, but the mind is not always so resilient." -- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
    11. Re:Well... by morari · · Score: 1

      I'd hate to break it to you, but Sony has done very little to change their controller. It's essentially the same as it was during the PSone era. It's not all that different, as the controller was what primarily held Diablo back from at least being a passable experience on consoles.

      --
      "He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
    12. Re:Well... by WaroDaBeast · · Score: 1

      But there are other consoles on the market, right? ;)

      --
      "The body may heal, but the mind is not always so resilient." -- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
    13. Re:Well... by morari · · Score: 1

      I really don't see the Xbox's controller as being all that different either. The Wii doesn't seem to attract much interest from developers at all.

      Diablo would really have to become more of a third-person hack-n-slash to work decently with a gamepad. Until then, the mouse and keyboard aren't going anywhere.

      --
      "He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
    14. Re:Well... by WaroDaBeast · · Score: 1

      Do you mean that Kinect isn't up to the task? I'm asking in earnest here.

      --
      "The body may heal, but the mind is not always so resilient." -- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
    15. Re:Well... by morari · · Score: 1

      I honestly would not know, as I've never tried the Kinect setup. I'd assume that the player would tire pretty quick from physically hacking and slashing though. :P

      --
      "He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
  2. Sweet if they by Rolgar · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Think of the physical conditioning of using full body action to play a Diablo style combat game. I think that would be the motivation I'd need to lose the thirty pounds I've been meaning to drop.

    1. Re:Sweet if they by bemymonkey · · Score: 1

      Now that would get me to buy Kinect and the corresponding console... but how do Diablo-style probability-based (defense points vs. attack rating determines hit probaility) attacks translate to full-motion gaming? That would make for a lot of frustrating, "I slashed right at his head but the game still says I missed!" type problems.

    2. Re:Sweet if they by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Try boxing.

    3. Re:Sweet if they by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You've obviously never played Morrowind.

    4. Re:Sweet if they by bemymonkey · · Score: 1

      Nope... but weren't we talking about Diablo? :p

    5. Re:Sweet if they by thesandtiger · · Score: 1

      Easy: You have the game base the quality of the hit off of the physical mechanics of the player's swing.

      Swing half-assedly, you might hit, but you'll just have a glancing blow. Swing hard, it'll hurt more if it connects. Swing with precision and power, you hit and it might be a critical on top of it.

      Dance Central for Kinect does something like this - it tracks how your body is moving, the timing etc. for each dance move and gives you a score based on how well you perform the move. If you completely screw it up, you "fail" that move. If you have everything in perfect synch and proper timing, you get a "flawless" score. In between failure and flawless and you get some lesser number of points. It's actually quite a good mechanism, at least for me, in improving my technique.

      Another game for Kinect - Your Shape - has Tai Chi and Yoga modes that work kind of similarly.

      Anyway, tl;dr version of my answer: make the random number generator less prominent, make mechanical correctness of moves done by the player add the variation. The better you get at moving etc., the better you perform in the game.

      --
      Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
    6. Re:Sweet if they by thesandtiger · · Score: 1

      I really like rhythm games - they can make really repetitive tasks involved in learning physical skills a lot more fun. Recently I've been using Kinect to get more active via dance, tai chi, and yoga, and while I'm probably not actually learning to "dance" or do tai chi, it's a lot more fun with the instant feedback on form and I am getting a LOT more active.

      Between my Kinect and now Rock Band 3 with the pro-keys mode (and eventually the real guitar mode) my gaming might actually lead to me learning something applicable outside of gaming, while still being fun as a game.

      --
      Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
    7. Re:Sweet if they by bemymonkey · · Score: 1

      That would be the simplest solution, of course, but it sort of kills the Diablo vibe... or not?

    8. Re:Sweet if they by zach_the_lizard · · Score: 1

      This is one of the things they changed when making Oblivion. Even I, a Morrowind purist, liked this change.

      --
      SSC
    9. Re:Sweet if they by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Simply keep the Diablo system but add the physical aspect as an extra multiplicative modifier. For example, you'ld have your base attack rating multiplied by a factor between 0 and 2 depending on how well you swing.
      Also, damage in Diablo is a random number between X and Y, where X and Y depend on your gear and in-game stats. So you can easily keep the X and Y but replace the randomness by the strength of the swing, so soft swings do damage near X but hard swings do damage closer to Y.

  3. Oh you mean THOSE kind of consoles... by kale77in · · Score: 3, Insightful

    (I thought, cool, a MUD version! And about time...)

    1. Re:Oh you mean THOSE kind of consoles... by Karellen · · Score: 1

      You want nethack.

      (Or, if you value your free time, you don't)

      --
      Why doesn't the gene pool have a life guard?
    2. Re:Oh you mean THOSE kind of consoles... by ildon · · Score: 1

      I'd play Diablo3 rogue-like.

  4. "one of the older games ... get their feet wet" by sznupi · · Score: 1

    Diablo was released for the Playstation. Not a bad version, too - analogue movement (vs. 8-directional) felt really nice.

    --
    One that hath name thou can not otter
  5. battlenet? by bhcompy · · Score: 1

    Diablo could work on a console. It's got that style. But what about Battle.net? Are you going to force that on to console gamers? Force them to have internet to play singleplayer? etc

    1. Re:battlenet? by Jartan · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The Battle.net tie-ins for single player are really just a ploy to cut down on pirating. On consoles they'd be far more worried about used game sales instead. I can't imagine Blizz releasing a game without Battle.net support for multiplayer and achievements though. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft will allow that. B.net is as fully featured as Live is these days so this could be a major sticking point that pushes Blizzard content towards the PS3 similar to what happened with Steam.

    2. Re:battlenet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Diablo could work on a console. It's got that style. But what about Battle.net? Are you going to force that on to console gamers? Force them to have internet to play singleplayer? etc

      look at battle.net 2.0 (the starcraft II release), it functions like it WAS made for consoles ........

    3. Re:battlenet? by milkmage · · Score: 1

      cheats/mods/bootlegs are less prevalent on consoles than PCs.. besides, bnet is the only way to play co-op with your blizzard friends.. who knows? maybe the'll come up with a way to let you continue your save from multiple platforms (I can play my WoW toons from any computer running the "client")

      @Jartan - imagine.. a code comes with the game.. it's tied to your console or account - so reselling the game is useless.. they already do this with full DLC titles.. you can't transfer those purchases to another user ... so yeah, you'd have to activate your console copy just like you do on a PC. WoW disks are useless w/o an activation code.. so you could resell the disc, but the next buyer would have to buy a new code. WoW encourages you to give the discs to others.. there are usually a couple demo passes in the box for that reason.

      XBL and Steam are direct competitors.. you can buy titles on both, so I can under stand why MS had a problem with it. bnet, on the other hand, is mostly just an authentication/social service.

    4. Re:battlenet? by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 1

      I can't imagine Blizz releasing a game without Battle.net support for multiplayer and achievements though. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft will allow that. B.net is as fully featured as Live is these days so this could be a major sticking point that pushes Blizzard content towards the PS3 similar to what happened with Steam.

      I can't imagine them not working out some kind of deal - there'd be no real difficulty to tie a Bnet account to an Xbox live account, they've already shown they can tie Bnet with WoW accounts - Facebook accounts - and whatever else they want. So Achievements can be both Xbox live and Bnet achievements - the system is pretty much just a mirror'd reference to each other.

      And if other games can get their own servers, like forcing all Call of Duty Multiplayer traffic through a few servers, why wouldn't Blizzard get the same treatment?

      The only way I see Blizzard not doing business on the 360 is if Microsoft goes and makes some ludicrous demand like an exclusive. Otherwise I see PS3 and 360 Ports of D2 & D3 in the potential future.

  6. not too hard by __aatirs3925 · · Score: 1

    Both kinect and playstation move have the ability to take-on this kind of game better than a PC could. I think they need to expand their minds a little. *raises hand* hire me please!

  7. Oh I'm sorry, you were serious by Riddler+Sensei · · Score: 1

    "..or getting started on Diablo 4."

    hahahahahahahahaha ....

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

    1. Re:Oh I'm sorry, you were serious by dakameleon · · Score: 1

      Maybe if they start now we can get it before 2022?

      Maybe?

      --
      Man who leaps off cliff jumps to conclusion.
    2. Re:Oh I'm sorry, you were serious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You serious? 2022 is a good candidate date for the third part o SC2 (the one realted to Protoss), but for Diablo IV we will have to wait at least 2028/2030.

  8. Precision by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes because the controllers are perfect to select the corpse at the feet of the boss to use corpse explosion on. NOT!

    1. Re:Precision by EnderDom · · Score: 3, Funny

      Kinect Horadric Scroll Recipe: Hands to the left, hands to the right, hands up, buy an xbox live account, do the cha cha... Congratulations, You've Socketed your eyeballs.

  9. dammit by obarthelemy · · Score: 1

    the title had me hoping for a diablo-based MUD. The console is not what it used to be.

    --
    The Cloud - because you don't care if your apps and data are up in the air.
    1. Re:dammit by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      very much agree. the visual technology of the original Diablo would be fine. unfortunately PvP would never work over WAN, most users just have too much latency.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:dammit by Xserv · · Score: 1

      Many MMOs have been doing PvP for years in varying degrees of success. Hell, you thrive on the hope that the jackass you're about to stomp has a network burp and you get to pwn him with a +25 Strength Hammer.

      Not to mention FPS games and their deathmatch systems. They're essentially PvP in its purest form.

      Xserv

      --
      "I love lamp."
  10. Diablo PSX by Tagged_84 · · Score: 1

    I didn't like Diablo when I played it on the PC, I gave it another try when my brother rented it out for the Playstation.
    We went out and bought it the next day and played co-op for weeks! It's one of my favourite Playstation memories, maybe because it was a solid co-op title that helped two brothers bond :)

    I wasn't that big a fan of Diablo 2 though, completed it just for the story but got bored often and took long breaks. I think it lost something in the added complexity and multiple towns/segments. I enjoyed the simple one town, one dungeon concept.

    1. Re:Diablo PSX by thesandtiger · · Score: 1

      I had a great time playing Playstation Diablo 1 with an ex, but yeah, Diablo 2 didn't really grab me as a game.

      What's odd is that D2 did grab me as a platform for testing out automation concepts and designing very basic expert systems: I wound up learning to write software that could interface with the game, and then make decisions based on game-world information. Ultimately they wound up performing about as well as a "decent" player could. Unfortunately I never developed it to the point where it could explore a level to find an exit or quest locations, so it wound up needing map hacks to work. Still, kind of funny to set up a level 1, go away for a weekend with it running, and come back to see what it had gotten up to.

      --
      Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
  11. Diblo 3 + bash = ....? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Am I the only one who thought of a text based or maybe ncurses based port before thinking of xbox360/ps3?

    1. Re:Diblo 3 + bash = ....? by agnosticnixie · · Score: 1

      http://diablo.chaosforge.org/ - you mean like this? ;)

    2. Re:Diblo 3 + bash = ....? by neminem · · Score: 1

      Nope, I thought the same thing - "console dev for Diablo-related concept"... wouldn't that just be another roguelike?

      I'd totally buy a Blizzard roguelike.

  12. Console Devs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hire me. I'm a console developer with several years of experience with POSIX shell, bash, ksh, sed, awk, ncurses, ...

  13. Fine, even though I don't care for consoles by wwphx · · Score: 1

    JUST GET THE FRICKIN' MAC/PC VERSION OUT FIRST!

    I know the goal is maximum revenue and stock/dividend price, but I'm going to be extremely disappointed if D3 doesn't come out next year. They got out SC2 this year, WoW Cataclysm releases in less than a month, they'd better get D3 out the door!

    --
    When you sympathize with stupidity, you start thinking like an idiot.
  14. I support this concept... by Xserv · · Score: 1

    I think it would translate well to the console; at least from the gameplay perspective. How many of you liked/loved/time-sunk the Baldur's Gate 1/2 and Champions of Norrath on Playstation? Very similar perspective (3rd person overhead) with a ramp into the real RPG world with depth to the weapons and armor system that is lost in most console hack 'n' slash. I could see Diablo 3 being brought to the console in a similar fashion as well as bring in the opportunity for a solid multiplayer, non-split screen (1 player controls the camera as they did in BG/CoN) multiplayer action that would work on local console or across the Internet.

    I dig it.

    Xserv

    --
    "I love lamp."
  15. Why don't they just ask Snowblind? by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

    Considering how much the videos of D3 look like a Snowblind engine game...really, just watch some videos of December of 2001's Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance and you'll see, why don't they just get Snowblind to do it. Their engine was used for most of the PS2's Diablo clones.

    And here's some gameplay, showing level up, ripply water, spell selection. You'll notice the camera is fully rotatable, in later Snowblind engine games, it was also zoomable as well. The cutscenes are done using the game engine.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVzPjvsek2w

    Now tell me that Diablo 3 doesn't look like that, peronsally when I first saw the D3 videos I thought to myself: "Did they buy Snowblind's engine?" I've always believed that BGDA was the reason why Diablo II never got ported to the PS2, it looks better than D2, even though it only came out 1 year later, that they could never port D2 to consoles looking the way it did.

  16. interesting by VatuLevu · · Score: 0

    if they made it for the kinect....perhaps full body dungeon crawling...? doesn't sound possible but it sure is fun to think about

    --
    Vinaka Jo