"Our objective was to D2R Items create the characters of Diablo IV appear as artistic and individual as possible, using the latest tools and techniques," Mueller said in the most recent Diablo Quarterly blog post. "Over time, our ambitions about what we thought could accomplish grew and became the reality you have now. We wanted to utilize modern techniques and tools however, we also had a concern about leaning into "realism" in a manner which didn't create that handmade feel we believed was essential to the Blizzard games."
To adopt this design concept, Blizzard had to completely overhaul its rendering engine as well as authoring tools as well as assemble an entire team of artists instruments engineers and rigging experts, lighting and surfacing specialists. The result was "massive enhancements" in terms of detail, the surface of complex materials like skin, cloth simulation, fur, hair as well as small aspects like the eye's highlights and rivulets of perspiration, in the words of Mueller.
The additional benefit of this character art development emphasis is that the majority Diablo IV's story scenes will be created in-engine using game models creating cinematic scenes that showcase the player's own character in action. Diablo IV's Rogue trailer for its announcement as an instance, was developed entirely in the Diablo IV game engine.
However, despite all of the details, Mueller stressed that all of those elements were designed to work with the game's stereographic viewpoint and camera system, keeping the visual information that is in Diablo IV grounded and readable.
"The fidelity we put into the characters and the balance of detail must be compatible with our Game Camera," Mueller explained. "Those looking closely will notice that we prefer to use bigger shapes on the armor, and we prefer to cheap D2R Ladder Items remove things that could affect readability.
