Development Info Talking back in Diablo 3

[DarkUnderlord]

Tags: Diablo III

<a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/16/blizzcon-2008-blizzards-rob-pardo-on-diablo-3-starcraft-2/">Rob Pardo, some dude from Blizzard, spake and did comment at BlizzCon 2008</a>. Here's the talking bit:
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<blockquote><b>When your character talks to an NPC, he or she will actually talk back now. How has that changed the design?</b>
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I don't think that system is done yet. That's a system that we've definitely been iterating on quite a bit over the last year or so. We've gone through a lot of different stages with that. We went through a stage where we weren't even using in-game models for the conversation system, we used a system that didn't have your character talking, we have the system now where you go close and see both. That system's definitely still evolving, and it's probably going to evolve for awhile.
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One of our goals with Diablo 3 was to really to add a lot more role-playing game feel to it. I think that some of the knock on the previous games is that it's too action based, that you don't get enough story, that you don't have RPG choices. That's something we really want to add to Diablo 3, but we're not going to slow it down. We have to keep it fast paced, we don't want it to be a game where you're slogging it out through dialogue trees. This system is a great example, we're really evolving it a lot to make sure we make the right decision to make the game fast-paced.</blockquote>
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Fast-paced conversations for the win? <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=261369">There's also a hands-on at EuroGamer</a> where they talk about some of the other ways Blizzard are adding in more story to Diablo 3.
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Spotted @ <a href="http://www.rpgwatch.com">RPGWatch</a>

 

[Chefe]

Fast paced? Dialog is going to be handled like a Yahtzee review?

"Helloherocometosavethedayhaveyou?Wellwehavequestyouneedtofollow."

 

[SuicideBunny]

hm, fast paced in the sense of short text and few to no answer choices, as opposed to the previous diablos' actual monologues could work ok, and i guess few choices and no real dialogue depth is still better than no dialogue at all.

<a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=261369">There's also a hands-on at EuroGamer</a>

At points, Diablo III becomes so unrelentingly dark that the carping seems utterly ridiculous. Dead children wait at the bottom of wells calling out for help, while the mutilated corpses of tortured townsfolk hang from the bare branches of black trees. It's all rather creepy. The game's developers are so confident of Diablo III's tone that they mocked the armchair critics throughout BlizzCon by wearing baby blue t-shirts with fluffy clouds, pink ponies, rainbows and the title 'Diablo III' wedged in the centre.

sounds awesome.

 

[Gragt]

"Isenseasoulinsearchofanswers."

 

[shihonage]

"Youvegotquiteatreasureinthathoradriccube."

 

[Darth Roxor]

"aaahfreshmeat"

 

[MetalCraze]

"ohnonotanothershittymemeplease"

 

[Talby]

So, they're... dumbing up?

 

[Shannow]

<a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=261369">There's also a hands-on at EuroGamer</a>

At points, Diablo III becomes so unrelentingly dark that the carping seems utterly ridiculous. Dead children wait at the bottom of wells calling out for help, while the mutilated corpses of tortured townsfolk hang from the bare branches of black trees. It's all rather creepy. The game's developers are so confident of Diablo III's tone that they mocked the armchair critics throughout BlizzCon by wearing baby blue t-shirts with fluffy clouds, pink ponies, rainbows and the title 'Diablo III' wedged in the centre.

sounds awesome.

Yeah, actually it does. If it isn't overdone.

 

[pkt-zer0]

Dead children wait at the bottom of wells calling out for help

Zombie children...?

 

[Korgan]

AT LAST, BACK TO GRIMDARK!

 

[SuicideBunny]

If it isn't overdone.

that will be impossible to tell without playing the finished thing.
but the tone, the recent screenies/videos where it looks grittier, the skillrunes... seems to be shaping up to be an interesting, if not promising, game.