Diablo Immortal: Interview with Developers Wyatt Cheng and Joe Sheley – B Breakfastlip

Announced for 2021, Blizzard’s first mobile-only game, Immortal devil, you have just completed your technical alpha. During Blizzconline, we were able to interview Wyatt Cheng (lead designer of the game) and Joe Sheley (lead of the game).

Here are the highlights from the interview!

Diablo Immortal Developer Interview Highlights

What has happened since 2018?

• Blizzard is well aware of game announcement failure in 2018 and understands very well the reaction of the public, who was waiting for an announcement Devil 4. However, this rocky start only made the developers want to make a game to remember even more.

« Yes, it was difficult to hear the feedback, but it only got us even more involved so we could be sure we were going to deliver. a top-tier AAA game on mobile devices »

– Wyatt Cheng, lead designer of the game.

• There has been a tremendous amount of positive feedback on the game., most of the people who played Blizzcon or during the technical alpha giving very positive opinions. Now that the Diablo franchise has announced Diablo 4 and Diablo 2 Resurrected, the developers hope that players will be happy to have three new experiences, including one on mobile devices.

• Blizzard has provided little information about the game since 2018 because, Quoting Wyatt Cheng, “Playing is believing (to play is to believe) ». Many people judged the game with pictures or videos without touching it, but people who have actually played it find Diablo Immortal to be a true Diablo experience.

“Seeing the very positive comments from the players who played, we said to ourselves: Instead of talking about the game, let’s show it to people. »

– Wyatt Cheng, lead designer of the game.

• Netease is a long-time Blizzard contributor and his experience in the mobile gaming arena is very helpful in developing this game. The developers also think that Blizzard should have leveraged this collaboration to make mobile games earlier..
  

« I think Blizzard is behind in the game for mobile titles. We have wanted to make games for mobile devices for a long time and Netease brings its specific experience to mobile devices. ”

– Wyatt Cheng, lead designer of the game.

• There has been a lot of communication between Blizzard employees who work for the Diablo franchise.. Some things learned during the development of Diablo 4’s combat system were used for Diablo Immortals and vice versa. The teams are in constant dialogue.

The content of Diablo Immortal

• The game is colossal and so is the content.. 6 classes, 8 outdoor areas, various dungeons, bonuses, events, world bosses, various types of rifts, crafting, a paragon system, a very MMO-oriented style, and the ability to group 3 players. revisit the history between Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 and see old faces like Deckard Cain again.

• The developers also talk about a new endgame system not yet announced, the «Old game systems“. It’s possibleThat this is an item system with old affixes, if we look at what has been done in Diablo 3.
  

• The game elements that marked Wyatt and Joe most personally are lagoons and the combat system.

“There is a wide variety of gameplay in the rifts: monsters change all the time and affixes change all the time, which changes the gameplay that can get very chaotic and I like that.”

– Joe Sheley, leader of the game.

“I love fighting all the time. I’m just giving credit to Julian [Julian Love, Combat designer]. The importance of combat cannot be underestimated at all times because this is what we do throughout the game, so if that part is bad in a Diablo, nothing is enjoyed. »

– Wyatt Cheng, lead designer of the game.

• Each class has unique gameplay elements: the wizard can combine spells, the monk can jump against walls, and the demon hunter can shoot while moving. The goal is to make each class truly unique..
  

• Dungeons are elements of the game that will have an importance during leveling but also in final. The “hell” mode allows you to raise all monsters in the game to the maximum level and you can return to the dungeons to farm particular items or because a reward offers you additional rewards in the dungeon.

• The game will contain a Battle pass. This gives you rewards such as stamps to enhance your fissure rewards.

• Despite the “MMO” style of the game, the developers pay special attention to no one has to fight for resources.
  

• The goal was to create a great game with many activities to do.. This is one of the most positive comments they have had during the technical alpha: there is always something to do. And although the game is already very big, the developers still have things to show.

« During Tech Alpha, we showed half of what the game offers, or even less. It is absolutely huge and people will be amazed at how comprehensive this game is. »

– Wyatt Cheng, lead designer of the game.

• There are plans to continue developing many things after the launch of the game., with many patches and additional content such as new classes or areas or even changes to certain game systems that have not yet been revealed.

Community feedback and monetization

• A very positive point that emerges from the technical alpha is the feeling of the game: it seems that for those who have played it, it is a true Diablo game but on mobile. The Diablo experience is authentic and relieves development teams. The other positive point is the diversity of content, highly appreciated by players who have invested a lot of time in the game.
  

• Regarding monetization, the game is free. All in-game content is available without spending a penny, the goal is to allow millions of people to try everything before deciding whether or not to spend money on the game. Monetization comes from the Battle Pass and Special Stamps to improve Rift rewards.

« The most important thing to remember is that gameplay comes first. If you want your character to be more powerful, the only way to do it is by playing. »

– Wyatt Cheng, lead designer of the game.

• Like other Blizzard games, Diablo Immortal is designed with the idea of ​​”easy to learn, hard to master”.. Blizzard wants the game to be easy to access for a PC gamer, as well as a mobile gamer or a player new to Blizzard with Diablo Immortal.

« There are still some little things we want to do to make getting started even easier, but We already have a majority of comments from people who have been surprised at how easy the game is to play. »

– Joe Sheley, leader of the game.