Game Rant recently spoke with Max Schaefer, CEO of Echtra Games and a long-time Action RPG developer, who worked on bothDiablo,Diablo 2, and theLord of Destructionexpansion. He also co-founded Runic Games, the studio that worked on the first twoTorchlightgames, and then founded Echtra Games in 2016 to reprise his work on the series withTorchlight 3. During the interview, Game Rant asked Schaefer a few questions concerning the future and the direction of the new era of the ARPGs, defined byDiablo 4andPath of Exile 2, while also talking about the nostalgia and the excitement surrouundingDiablo 2: Resurrectedcoming this year.
Schaefer discussed how much of an impactDiablo 3had onTorchlight 3, and how the former was and still is a great game and project - though he said if he had worked on it, the direction of the game would have been different. He is also shocked, that gamers are still playingDiablo 2after all these years, and now expects its remastered edition will keep them playing the genre-defining title even longer.Diablo 2: Resurrectedis indeed one of the most anticipated games of the year, and that goes to show how much fans of the ARPG genre are looking for a game to keep them coming back, just likeDiablo 2did and still does.Diablo 4is likely to try the same approach.
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Diablo 3, And The Future Of The Series
Diablo 3was highly anticipated before it came out in 2012, but the enthusiasm died down when fans started playing, reached the endgame, and noticed that there wasn’t much depth. This was disappointing, especially for those who had high expectations because of how deep and complexDiablo 2was based on replayability incorporating builds to try and content to delve into. As such,Diablo 4does bear the onus of having to be better than its predecessor for it to be successful, especially consideringDiablo 2: Resurrectedis releasingsoon, and being a faithful remaster.
“From everything we can see, it’s very faithful to the original version, and it’s just crazy to think that we’re still playingDiablo 2this many years later. I think it’s awesome.”
Schaefer said he thinks every team should make a game the way they want to make it, and thus he doesn’t see anything wrong with the release ofDiablo 3. Still, withDiablo 2: ResurrectedandDiablo 4he thinks it’s refreshing that the franchise will go back to its roots in terms of aesthetics, which bodes well for what the content of the game will feel like. Video games are an experience for players to try first hand, and as such, Schaefer feels they should offer something unique, something enticing; which may mean going back to what made previous entries in a series so beloved and building on that.
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Schaefer also talked about how his team is friends with the developers ofPath of ExileandPath of Exile 2, Grinding Gear Games.Path of Exilehas had a lot of success, and it was first developed as a sort of spiritual successor toDiablo 2. The game and its company have evolved a great deal since the early days ofPath of Exile, and this grim ARPG is very likely to have influenced thedevelopment ofDiablo 4in many ways. As Schaefer said, the industry can advance precisely because new games stand on the shoulders of giants.
“We have a lot of the team that worked on the originalDiablogames, and we’re good friends with the guys at Grinding Gear. The ARPG world is one big family, and we’re fans of both franchises. We don’t see it as competition as much as building the genre.”
Diablo 4is in development.
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