Diablo 2 is almost 21 years old. However, despite a straightforward sequence and a lot of competition in the action RPG space, Diablo 2 has shown some serious staying power. In general, it is thanks to the game’s modder community, which fortunately contributed to filling the void by providing new content to others while awaiting the release date for Diablo 4.
Some fans even went so far as to try to remake the game itself. The Diablo 2 Project was built around the idea of creating a version of the old PC game that looked like something that Blizzard would have done as an immediate follow-up. It was released last year, peaking at 12,500 players in its first season – so, if it still wasn’t clear, Diablo 2 is still a big deal.
It makes perfect sense that Blizzard is bringing it back with a remaster. With Diablo 4 underway, along with a mobile spinoff, the series is poised to make a comeback. Even though Diablo 2: Resurrected is here merely for preservation, it gives Diablo fans and newbies a new option as they get closer to the series.
Following the BlizzConline reveal of Diablo 2: Resurrected, we spoke with lead artist Chris Amaral and lead producer Chris Lena about Blizzard’s plans for the beloved series.
PCGamesN: Why did you decide to remaster Diablo 2, and why is now a good time for that?
Chris Lena: I think Diablo 2 has always had a special place in the heart of Blizzard. In many ways, he defined a genre. So this is an opportunity to bring it back to people who liked the music at the time, but also to modernize it in a way that can bring it to people who have never played it before. Perhaps even people who were not born when it was released.
So, remaking all the art, making it look like we remember it at the time and bringing it to the consoles – all of this helps to bring it to new audiences.
Chris Amaral: I think ARPGs are still very popular and this is really revered as a piece of gaming history. Even playing today, Diablo 2 still holds up very well. It is still a fun and incredible game. So, as Chris said, it’s about bringing a more modern standard to involve more people.
I recently talked to fans who have remastered Diablo 2 for themselves over the years. They usually tell me that the things they try to keep intact are: history, NPCs, atmosphere, enemies, music, sounds, central game mechanics and loot. What areas of the game do you think are important to preserve?
CL: It looks like a list similar to ours. We didn’t want to touch anything that would affect the way the game runs and feels.
One of the things that kept Diablo 2 alive is the modding community
The things we did wanting to improve has more to do with quality of life than gameplay. Shared stock is a great example of this. You no longer need to have mule characters. You can share the loot among your characters, but that doesn’t change the gameplay every time, and it doesn’t change how the loot works or anything like that.
But, we kept the character’s inventory the same size, so you still have to do that Tetris-style inventory management to squeeze out the loot. Even though both changes affect how you keep items, only the last one affects your gameplay. Do you know, when you go to the city? When do you use the city portal to sell things and get more potions? It’s all part of what made Diablo 2 special.
Players have tacky strategies and tacky classes that they have come to love over the years. Are you keeping them intact or will the game be given a balance pass to give less loved classes their time in the sun?
CL: Yes, we made the decision not to make balance changes now, for the simple reason that we want to make sure that we deliver an authentic experience. Who knows what can happen in the future with feedback. I know that our designers have a list of things they would love to do. So, we’ll see how it goes on.
Was there anything you felt you needed to change to modernize things? How do you strike a balance between modernization and preservation?
HERE: On the art side, we developed a 70/30 visual guide. This 70/30 guide exists to retain what was important to the original game and, at the same time, add something new.
We didn’t want to touch anything that would affect the way the game works
So 70% is the classic, which means we don’t mess with it, we don’t change anything, we deviate or redesign it. We do a lot of strabismus tests when we evaluate our art, to ensure that it retains the same appearance. The 30% is where we add and embellish with more details and narratives. A good example of this is the Druid class. We know that he originally had a lot of Slavic and Celtic influences. In analyzing some of our background stories, we found many original art and reference images from the developers. We could say that they wanted to push more of that Slavic and Celtic look in their kit, so we brought more of that in their design and added more trinkets and accessories to make it look like it has an updated look and history.
CL: I think there are some more basic things that we think are important. We brought it to the console, you can use a controller, you can play in modern resolutions – all these really basic things allow it to be accessible to modern players.
So you mentioned before that you found old concepts from the original game to guide the art. Did something unexpected happen?
HERE: I think it was Larzuk. I’m not sure if you know Larzuk – he’s a barbarian NPC from Harrogath in the fifth act. His inspiration was Marky Mark, at least according to the reference image we found.
So that was really the only strange thing that we found. Everything else seemed to be on the same level. Even looking at art, you would never have guessed – there is no correlation between [them]. Maybe someone played there as a joke.
Is Larzuk more like Marky Mark in Resurrected now?
HERE: No, we look at the reference images, but our main focus is the art of the sprite game. We use this to determine how we make the HD version.
The original Diablo 2 also features item handling, which affects trading, and other exploits like cheats and bots. How are you dealing with all of this?
CL: I think the main thing is to go to the modern Battle.net. Being in that system gives us many inherent security features that Diablo 2 does not currently have. So this is a big part of that.
We are also examining the game and fixing things as we find them. Hopefully, the technical alpha will also help us find those [exploits] and close them as we find each one.
Diablo 2: Resurrected is coming with cross-progression, but will there be a cross-game? Is it something you’re open to?
CL: Yes, now, we are just launching with cross-progression. We have nothing more to announce about the cross game at the moment. But it is a nice feature.
You revealed that Resurrected is receiving support for modding – can you tell us a little more about what this involves?
CL: One of the things that kept Diablo 2 alive is the modding community – so we appreciate all the work they’ve put into the game over the years. I think we can divide this into two distinct categories.
There have been mods in the past that have injected code directly into the game, and that’s the kind of thing we can’t stand. But all the other mods – you know, the ones that use data and that sort of thing – we love to see them.
As we progressed through the game, we exchanged many things that used to be coded into data. So when it comes to that [data] side of modding, there should be more things available and they will be easier to access.
How will Diablo 2: Resurrected be maintained after launch? Will there be balance patches or updates to keep you updated?
CL: I think this conversation starts with the technical alpha and goes until the launch. It’s really about what players are looking for and what they want. We love this game – we are remastering it 20 years later – so we would love to continue to give players what they want.
HERE: Yes, I think our focus is really on listening to the community and seeing what they say online, and then seeing what happens from there.
The genre has embraced live service over the years. Have you ever been tempted to go beyond a remaster and bring Diablo 2 more in line with the games he ended up influencing?
CL: I was not involved in all the conversations. But, you know, we also have an entire Diablo franchise here. We have Diablo Immortal coming out soon, we have Diablo 4, so many of these things fulfill different desires for different people. I think with Diablo 2, and where it is in the story, we want to be real and not mess with that much.
Is there a period of time when we will start playing the beta or when will the game be released?
CL: It is basically what has been revealed so far. We’ll start with a single-player technical alpha and then we’ll have a second technical alpha after that, which is [for] multiplayer and stress testing. The launch is this year, but it is all we have in terms of specifics.
You can choose Diablo 2: Resurrected Alpha or you can check out our list of the best games like Diablo on PC if it’s too long to wait.