Bender: That's absolutely true, and we've tried to play off on that fantasy - that obsession that the character has had a direct experience with these demons, and now it's on. They know they have a mission, a personal grudge, and that's reflected in the way they act, their skill set, and even in the way they prepare their armour visually.

 

Gameplanet: Just regarding the artwork - there's an underlying Gothic vibe to it, were there any movies or books that inspired you when you created the artwork?

Lichtner: That's actually a really really good question. So obviously, we're big video game fans, we play a lot of games, read comic books, watch TV, play with toys, I mean there's a lot of things we do, obviously, and that's a big part of how we get our inspiration. I think for the Demon Hunter, one of our things was that we really wanted to harken back to the Western European Gothic look. We wanted one class that really anchored into that fantasy of a lot of what D2 had. So that was one of the inspirations. I think other than that, we definitely look to movies and stuff, definitely for maybe a starting off point. But by the time we sort of get an idea about where we're going to go with it, it becomes a sort of evolution of iteration, and us talking back and forth about the things we think work, and things that don't work. There's also a lot of things that tie into the gameplay for us, and we wanted to make sure they communicate well visually to what they need to accomplish within the framework of the game, so a lot of choices are driven by that.

 

Bender: It depends where you are in the process too, initially when we explore what the character might look like, you might be looking at one thing - certain movies, books or stories - then as you move through, you might be looking at a particular skill, then you might look at anime, or paper and dice role-playing games, and think "hey, what if we include this in one of these runes" - or "wouldn't it be cool if we did this from this anime", so movies, books, comics, paper and dice role-playing games, anime, whatever, you name it - other games - it all factors in and it's all floating around in there waiting for an opportunity to explore something further that we really like. And a good reason for that is that players do the same thing. If you watch Batman, then the next day you're making a Diablo character, and you're going to decide between a Wizard and a Demon Hunter, you're probably thinking "man, I want to be darker and have a cloak!" We try to make sure that these things in our collective consciousness that are cool are all reflected in the various classes in one way or another.

Gameplanet: The unique bow Windforce was in Diablo and Diablo II - will it be in Diablo III?

 

Bender: I can't speak specifically to Windforce, but I will tell you that we really care about making sure that the previous weapons that are known and loved, like that one, are considered when we make our new sets of legendaries, and new set items. We have our favourites, and we're going to make them, because we want them in the game! So fan favourites will be in there, but there will be mechanical changes based on what is right for the game. We don't want to put something in that is broken just because it's fun. If you see something like Windforce, it'll be in a mechanical way that synergises well with the class, with the Demon Hunter. But I can tell you, you're right on, we care about these old weapons and we want to bring some of them back.

Gameplanet: You mentioned that the Demon Hunter has the quiver as a class-based item - what do the other classes have?

 

Bender: We can tell you broadly that we just wanted to highlight what is cool about the class, and give them something nifty. Usually they'll have something they can wear, and a weapon of some kind. You saw the orbs already that the Wizard was wielding. We try to set up the affixes so they favour the build that those classes might be using, so orbs are going to tend towards magical affixes, and things like that. Meanwhile the Barbarian might get large weapons, and those weapons will be about dishing out damage in an 'in-your-face' kind of way, and that should synergise with most of the common Barbarian builds. So it just depends on the class. The quiver is something we're exploring as an orb for the Demon Hunter, so we're going to see how that plays out.

Gameplanet: Ranged characters tended to level up pretty fast in Diablo and Diablo II, they're always able to poach kills, have you given much thought to how this will balance in Diablo III?

 

Bender: The co-operative mechanics are a lot more conscious this time, we have the benefit of ten years of experience to make our co-operative mechanics a lot nicer. So things like treasure - you get to see your own treasure, so people aren't going to get upset. You don't have to race for the yellows, it doesn't become a metagame of having to have to click for the rare items, you can do that at your leisure. I think you'll find that if you play as a Barbarian, getting up front and getting your share of kills, and if you play as a Monk you'll have no problem moving quick enough to get in there - all the classes have their specialities, and aside from that, the Demon Hunter has a few things that are a little better at slightly shorter range. There's sort of a pay-off, if you take a risk and get a bit closer, there's a few tricks that he has up his sleeve that are deadly at short range. So it really depends on how you play your character, but we're certainly very conscious of that. We are highly dedicated to co-op. It's how I like to play, it's how a lot of people like to play. The co-op experience is vital, it's so important to us that we spent a lot of time thinking about the interplay between classes.