Blizzard unveils Diablo IV’s first quarterly report for 2022 this Wednesday with a new blog post that details the development of the title in the works since BlizzCon 2019. While the studio is at work on a new RPG project and has postponed many titles including Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV, the latter continues its development on its own and presents some new gameplay details every quarter.
This time this soundt the decorations that are presented by Art Director Chris Ryder, Assistant Art Director Brian Fletcher, Assistant Head of Lighting Design Ben Hutchings, Senior Graphic Designer of Exterior Environments Matt McDaid, and Lead of Interactions and Set Design Elements Chaz Head.
Diablo IV, which is “the most dark and realistic opus of the seriesfavors credibility thanks to the work done on its environments”:
To that end, the team established two fundamental pillars to filter concepts, locations, and implementation: “Old Masters” and “Return to Darkness.” The game environment has thus been designed with a mastery of details and color palettes that give it a unique visual style. Weather and physics-based lighting also play a big role in the hostile world of Sanctuary and make the atmosphere more tangible.
Diablo IV will feature an open world with 5 areas to explore, all with specificities in terms of climate and lighting, allowing a wide variety. We can for example see the work done on this arid village with warm palettes:
Dynamic decor elements, including destructible or interactive parts, will give depth to landscapes and structures. Moreover, the studio recalls that the title will offer more than 150 dungeons which will notably use procedural generation to build.
Dungeons will feature innovative features like smooth transitions between floors and instant teleports, but my favorite new feature is the ability to transition between two different environments within the same dungeon.
-Brian Fletcher
To find out more in great detail, check out this blog post or videos presenting several places of the open world below: