14 DAY TRIAL // Blizzard North, the developer behind the Diablo 2 cult classic, tried to create a spiritual successor that had all the mechanics of the action role-playing game but was set in space, according to author David Craddock, who’ll soon release a special book about Blizzard.
Diablo 2 delivered a stunning experience back when it came out in 2000, largely thanks to the dedicated team at Blizzard North, a subsidiary of the larger Blizzard Entertainment group.
According to a special chapter in the upcoming Stay Awhile and Listen book by author David Craddock, after the game was completed, the studio split into two teams. One continued working on the franchise, while another started working on an adaptation of the series that was set in space.
“Have you ever finished a round of Diablo and said, ‘You know, I bet that addictive slot-machine formula would be a blast in a science fiction setting?’” Craddock asks in his book, via Shacknews.
“Blizzard North thought so, too. After D2, the company split into separate teams: a Diablo team, and a ‘We love Diablo but it's time to try something new’ team. They started and scrapped more than half a dozen ideas before a few team members suggested making a Diablo clone, but set on a space opera stage.”
According to Craddock, the project, nicknamed Starblo, had some interesting mechanics and even produced a few playable builds before the main executives of Blizzard North departed from the studio.
“The project earned the nickname Starblo for its mix of a space setting and the action-RPG formula that made Diablo so successful,” the author added.
“Like Diablo 2, Starblo would take place over several acts, but rather than journey across a single world, players would board their customizable spaceship and travel to new planets, killing and looting the space creatures they found there.”
“By the time Dave Brevik and the Schaefers left Blizzard North in summer 2003, the Starblo team had produced a few playable builds of the game, but still hadn't come up with a proper name.”
More details about the inner workings of Blizzard and its internal studios will be revealed by Craddock in the book, which is set to appear on October 29.