Screenshots of an older “Diablo 3” version show that the game was much darker and the gothic theme was more in focus. The images come from a former Blizzard artist.
What's new? Screenshots of a developmental version of Diablo 3 are currently making the rounds. They are from former Blizzard artist Oscar Cuesta and were published months ago on his ArtStation page. These screenshots have been taken up by the Diablo site Purediablo, and now the images are on everyone's lips.
The special thing about it: Diablo 3 was probably planned to be much darker in the past. There are noticeable differences to the brighter, “colorful” Diablo 3 that has been on the market since 2012 and has caused a stir due to its “friendly” graphics.
How dark Diablo 3 once looked
These are the screenshots: We are sharing some of the screenshots from the development of Diablo 3 with you here.
More images can be found on Oscar Cuesta's Art Station page or on purediablo.com.
In the pictures, it can be seen that Diablo 3 was visually much closer to its predecessors. The textures, dark shadows, and the present gothic style emanate a much darker atmosphere than what one currently sees in Diablo 3.
What does the artist say? The screenshots date back to around 2005. Oscar says that the characters at that time were still quite undetailed and only basic colors were used.
For those who now wish for a dark Diablo 4 after these screenshots, they might be in luck. Leaks hinted early on that D4 would be darker and the new boss said, there's “material for nightmares“.
What's behind the images? On reddit, user “lutsock” speaks up. This is likely Nathan Lutsock, who has worked at Blizzard for several years. He writes.
Hey! Art producer of Diablo 3 here. I can shed a little light on the darkness.
You are seeing art from Oscar Cuesta's portfolio, an extremely talented artist who was a valuable member of the team up at Blizzard North and later, after the team rebooted and moved, worked in Irvine. After a while, Oscar missed the coastal region and moved back.
What you see here is a blend of Oscar's work on the game [from his time] in the north and the south. The interface reveals quite a bit [about the development difference between north and south]. You can also see the new direction of character art in this early version of the male Barbarian.
The stocky hero used in these BN builds was the Slayer. He is not to be confused with the Barbarian. […]
Source: Reddit
For those who now yearn for the “good old” dark days, they may have luck soon. Because a remastered version of Diablo 2 is allegedly supposed to come out in 2020. But not from Blizzard. Would you like to dive back into the new old adventure then, and do you prefer the darker version of Diablo 3?
