Diablo IV developers want to tell a big story, and they want to continue telling it for years to come.
In an interview with AusGamers, Diablo IV Game Director Luis Barriga and Art Director John Mueller discussed the development team’s love of Sanctuary’s rich backstory and lore, and how Diablo IV’s main storyline was inspired by a piece of concept art.
One of the more interesting pieces of concept art for Diablo IV is a painting that seems almost biblical in its Renaissance-like presentation. Flanked by the Heavens on one side and Hell on the other, the demon Lilith and the angel Inarius together create the world of Sanctuary, and with it, the human race.
Speaking of this particular work, Barriga told AusGamers: “Once we saw the art we were inspired, [Lilith] was a character that we could build a story around,” Luis says. “What we love about Sanctuary is that we’ve already planted these seeds. There’s a rich backstory found in novels and lore books, so we decided to look closer at the creation myth. We felt that we’ve fought Diablo before, and Diablo always comes back – so, it was a case of, what other bullets do we have on the table just lying around.”
Mueller then added: “Diablo IV is like the first chapter of a book,” John adds. “We want to tell a big story and we want to tell it, hopefully, for a very long time. Treating this like the first chapter of a book and Lilith as a key character in this story, it feels great knowing that there are still all these other characters that could come back in the future. Or, new characters that we haven’t seen before.”
One other statement of note made in the interview came again from Game Director Luis Barriga: “In Reaper of Souls if you go up against Diablo, after playing to max level – it’s a battle that’s almost like a like a minor speed bump. Malthael became the real boss. So, it’s also, what if we don’t bring him back right away? And instead, take the time to explore some of these other characters first.”
This last statement seems to confirm that the Lord of Terror will, indeed, be making an appearance in the newest iteration of his namesake franchise—no Diablo game would be complete, after all, without Diablo himself. However, it does allude to the idea that players may not see Diablo in the game until one of the multiple expansions the development team stated will come after launch.
Gaming Instincts is following the development of Diablo IV as it goes through the production process, and is dedicated to bringing its readers all the latest and greatest news and updates. Be sure to follow Gaming Instincts on Facebook and Twitter for more gaming news!
