14 DAY TRIAL // Just as the Ultimate Evil Edition of Diablo 3 is set to launch on the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4, the development team at Blizzard that worked on the console version of the game says that, initially, it was concerned that there would be no way to move the game to the new platforms and that it would have to publicly deal with the failure of the project.
Jonny Ebbert, the lead console designer, tells Gamasutra that “We went in expecting it to be very difficult, and it was. We tend to prepare for the worst at Blizzard. I think when we were first going in we thought, ‘This might not even work’. And the more we were just diving in the more achievable it started to feel.”
It seems that this pessimistic approach that characterizes a lot of the developers at Blizzard allows them to approach all-new projects in unique ways and to deal with the pressure that’s applied by the fan community.
A fresh approach was needed to make sure that Diablo 3 would work well on home consoles and the studio wanted to make sure that it created an experience that newcomers could easily pick up and play.
The pressure from the outside might be high, but it seems that the people at Blizzard tend to be very tough when they are evaluating their own work.
Ebbert adds, “If you think message boards can be brutal, internal feedback can be even more brutal. We're very hard on our own work. If you're giving honest feedback - if you truly don't think a game experience is fun when you're doing a playtest - it is in all our best interests to be honest about that.”
The fact that the company is able to absorb criticism means that it’s easy to communicate with the player base and make sure that, in the long term, its needs are met.
When Diablo 3 was first launched on the PC, many gamers complained about the newly-introduced Auction House system and its larger effects on the world of the title.
Blizzard worked initially to improve it, but after a while understood why it was criticized and decided to drop it altogether because it could not fit it with the rest of the core mechanics.
The Ultimate Evil Edition of the title will be launched on August 19 on the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4, and last-gen consoles.