Bill Roper doubts new look Diablo

Old designer unconvinced by striking new look

Blizzard design veteran Bill Roper, now assisting Cryptic with Champions Online, has said that he is unconvinced by the colourful new look sported by Diablo III, the game maker preferring the "darker, more realistic" aesthetic of the original hit.

Chatting with Videogamer.com, the former Blizzard chief says he can understand the design team's design decisions, but he simply preferred the old look.

"You know, I liked the darker, grittier. I liked the differences in art style, to be honest. So, I think I would personally, from a player standpoint, prefer that," he explained.

"I think that one of the things that we always tried to get across was that Diablo was Gothic fantasy, and I think there was just a need that was put in there from the visuals that I didn't necessarily get."

Roper is worried that the overall feel of the game will be less "Diablo" as a result of the visuals, time will tell, we suppose.

By Luke Guttridge