Diablo IV: Inarius & Lilith

A Christmas Wallpaper Gift for @Diablo IV from me.

With art by @willmurai ft Inarius & Lilith! Inarius: http://fav.me/942090019 Lilith: http://fav.me/942099837

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas

HK

Diablo IV Cosplay by Cinderys

Diablo IV (2023)

Why do you think Diablo has disenged on it's core themes? (I mean I agree) I've always considered it to be a franchise with some insane wasted potential, but my perspective comes more from Diablo 3 and 4. Id be nice if you could expand on that.

I mean, my argument is that Diablo 1 was a dungeon crawler with a randomized loot mechanic that existed mostly to enable the roguelike random level generation that ensured replayability for the adventure. Players shouldn't be able to simply beeline it to the most powerful items in the game once they figure out exactly where they are, so randomization made each journey into the Tristram Cathedral a new process of discovery.

It's a game that, yes, wants to provide engaging gameplay, but just as much as the discovery of loot, it is driven by discovery of its world and story - multiple NPCs in the game exist that have no function or benefit to the player except as characters to interact with. You find lore tomes in the labyrinth which give you exposition about the world, but offer no tangible benefits. Shrines will randomize your stats, transform your potions, curse your items, randomly teleport you into a horde of monsters. The world is populated by objects, people and events that entice a player with curiosity to see what happens as much as they entice the player with the power fantasy of Making Number Go Up, and plenty of interactions have no hard gameplay benefit. "Sub dungeons" in the labyrinth, like the Halls of the Blind or Chamber of Bone, exist in part to give the player lootable rewards and monsters to fight, but also each of them have their own exposition, lore and worldbuilding (however limited by budget and technical limitations).

Diablo 2 realized that the skinner box thrill of randomized loot drops and number-go-up optimization was by far the most primally emotionally engaging part of Diablo 1's gameplay, and began the process of reorienting the franchise ENTIRELY to enable that specific pleasure. The loot system expands exponentially, crafting, gem slotting, etc all get introduced, and loot mechanics are given pride of place in terms of how the game engages the players. Shrines all provide knowable, specific benefits, every NPC is either a quest-giver or a merchant, there are HUNDREDS of randomized sub-dungeons on every map, and the vast majority of them have absolutely no narrative content whatsoever, they are merely slot machine arms for the player to pull, hoping for a chance of a jackpot loot drop.

Diablo 3 is the apotheosis of this process - a game which drops all pretense that the nature of your loot matters in favor of orienting every part of it around chasing the high of Getting A Bigger Number. You're a sorcerer running around with a greatsword? No problem! You cast all your spells as normal. So long as the greatsword has Bigger Numbers, anything works. Templar with a Wand? Equally viable! Damage numbers inflate into the millions, hordes of monsters swell with ever greater numbers, your spells and abilities clear entire screens in seconds, and everything in the game revolves around enabling the player's power fantasy.

In Diablo 1 you are an unimportant adventurer, the latest in a long line of unremarkable hopefuls, stepping alone into the bowels of a middle-of-nowhere village church, creeping slowly through its doors and hallways, fighting its monsters primarily one by one. Any group of ranged monsters can kill you in seconds, even in the late-game, and if you get surrounded, likely as not you are quite simply dead. It's tense, lonely, unglamorous and often desperate. Unwieldy inventory management puts constraints on your ability to heal and restore mana. You can only carry so many potions while leaving room for loot, and remember to leave room for your Town Portals and Identify scrolls, and for your all-important gold, which will clog your inventory almost totally by the end. Slay a unique monster and hope to god that the item it dropped wasn't cursed. Touch a shrine and you might lose 2 Strength points and suddenly be unable to equip your armor. When you kill Diablo, you find he is nothing but the possessed body of a young boy who was abducted and abused by a corrupt priest, an ugly and mundane tragedy leading to extraordinary suffering.

In Diablo 3 you are the most specialest most important incredible super-hero that has ever existed. You are a half-angel half-demon unstoppable killing machine, mowing down hordes of demons and corrupted angels like nothing, absolutely BATHING in infinite showers of ultra-powerful legendary loot, each more ultra-powerful and legendary than the last. You deal ten million damage with a single ability. You fight Ultra Diablo, the special super-powered SUPER SAIYING MEGA ULTRA super-powered extra special Prime Evil who is the most powerful evil bad guy who has ever existed and YOU are the only one in the whole universe who can beat him because you're SO special, yes you are! Identify shit by clicking on it! Cast town portal whenever you want! Enemies drop infinite health potions whenever you need them! Fuck it, you even KILL DEATH by the end because you are invincible and immortal and unstoppable and perfect. Fear has no hold on you, never in your life will you know uncertainty or doubt. AND it's your birthday! Buy a sword that is 3.2% better than your magic wand with real money in the auction house as a treat!

tl;dr Diablo 1 is an adventure game, Diablo 3 is Cookie Clicker.

yall that overwatch cowboy bebop crossover video is really really nice i'm genuinely impressed

see what happens when artists and developers get to work on something they actually like?? it turns out cool! i hope everyone who worked on this feels good about it cuz they should, it's a great homage

unfortunately the game itself is still Like That so, yknow, but damned if this crossover isnt well done

Lilith II by MonoriRogue

Discover why Blizzard's 'Odyssey' was canceled after 6 years due to engine issues and its impact on the booming survival game genre

🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀 ~3hr Tyrael from today ~4hr Diablo from friday #StudyBuddies

Diablo IV - Inarius Mural by Igor Sid

The Fiery Runes are Reborn for Diablo IV deviantART gallery: https://www.deviantart.com/holyknight3000/gallery/78952707/fiery-runes-reborn-embers

deviantART: http://fav.me/966887948 twitter: https://twitter.com/Holyknight3000/status/1668413791913082881

I wanted to try a blend of some wall art I have used over the last few months to compliment the new runes. I'll make a variant for Inarius later this month when work isnt eating up my time. Enjoy everyone and thank you for checking out all of my works over the years. In a couple of weeks (as of writing/posting this June 12th) I will be celebrating 15 years making wallpapers for all of you to enjoy. It's been a wild ride with many full circles. There are a few I wish could happen but I don't think they ever will. But I am thankful for EVERYONE. All of you comments (good & bad) it all helps me be a better artist. Thank you for everything. Seriously sending all of the love. Aaron, Holyknight3000 The Runeweaver Lilith art based on Lilith by Brom Art by the Blizzard Cinematics team & Team 3. Original runes and glyphs by Fernando Forero Fiery Runes Reborn: Embers Effects by Me Using Adobe Photoshop CS3 & Corel Photo-paint 10

felt really down today... drew some Primal Rage about it hhhh considering making Talon fully feathered like a proper raptor Diablo was heavily inspired by Yutyrannus (I might tinker with his design a bit more? Im wondering about putting some fluff on his tail at least) and am honestly just really proud of how Blizzard turned out (my brain was just repeating "monkey. monkey. monkey" over and over as I drew him lol)

RISE, NEPHALEM 

by Álvaro Jiménez

Diablo IV (2023)

USA 1997