Divide By Zero - a blog by Kamran Ayub

Dear Blizzard,

I think I’ve finally figured out my stance on the Diablo 3 art. When I first saw the Diablo 3 movies, I was totally fine with the art style. However, upon actually looking at the edited screenshots, I have to say that the edited art direction really feels more like Diablo than the current one.

I know that you will never redo the entire art asset base just because a portion of the Diablo-playing fans want a grittier look. That said, the petition has many good points, namely that Diablo is not Warcraft and needs an even more independent art style. I’ve said in the past that it doesn’t really matter or that we shouldn’t be complaining since Diablo III is actually coming out but upon further reflection I can see why this is significant. For those that are diehard fans of Diablo, the art style is one of the signature components of the franchise, so in honor of previous Diablo games, the third installment should stay true to the art style.

I believe (and others believe) that there is a common middle ground that can be reached. Why not add an option to use a simple saturation/contrast/brightness filter to give the game the same look that the photoshopped images represent?

I think that that would be the easiest way to address this “problem.� You will continue working on your art and though some people may not care those that do and for those that want a darker feel, the option is there. It would be a simple addition and since many games have graphical modifiers, I don’t think it would be too much work.

Here you can find the petition, at the time of writing with 24,000 signatures.

For your consideration,

Kamran Ayub

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