Diablo 3 - Ben Boos on Graphics

 The original D2 artist talks to Diii.net about the graphics that have some fans spooked.

Diii.net: Did you pay attention to the D3 announcement, or is Diablo in the past and you're concentrating fully on your future gaming projects?

Ben Boos: Oh heck yes, I paid attention. It was huge on several levels. Keeping a secret this big wears thin, for one! So to finally have the cat out of the bag is great. It was a milestone event to me. There are tons of strong emotions all wrapped into this franchise since the Diablo games were more than a mere hobby; they were my life for nearly 8 years.

Also, I'll be honest: What really made me sit up and pay attention to the announcement was to see how beautiful D3 had become! I remember back at Blizzard North when Jason Regier was first designing a rough game engine, and how it was always so exciting to see the new features added, day by day. So imagine how I felt to see this stunning demo. I've been quietly writing and illustrating a book for the last few years since taking leave of Blizzard North (sometime back in 2004), and I haven't seen the game in AGES. It's come a loooong way since then, to say the least. It's an entirely different beast! I mean, holy smokes, destructible environments for instance! I love it! By the way, after laboring on the environments for d2, and d2x, I would have LOVED to smash those up. It would have been cathartic.

Seriously though, the game looks great, and I not only paid close attention I wound up corresponding with old Blizzard friends throughout the day and into the night after that announcement. It had a huge impact on me.

What a rush of memories!