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Hello Max and Erich, (And rest of team!)
Clearly I have been waiting for this chance! Diablo 2 is my favorite game of all time and I still play it pretty much every day
I have a few questions I have wanted to ask you two for years, I also have a few things I have wanted to tell you for many years as well. As an avid fan of Diablo since 1996 and an active player of both Diablo 1 and Diablo 2 since their release, I really just wanted to thank you both for such an amazing contribution to the gaming world. I believe I speak for everyone who has had the opportunity to play either D1 or D2 when I say that these two games revolutionized how PC RPG gaming should be done. You guys and your B.North team really set the standard of which really only torchlight has come close to touching, even 16 years later. (Huge fan here!) (Insert "we're not worthy" clip from Waynes World)
Your game has really meant a lot to me, giving me lifelong friends which I met back in 1996-97 over Battle.net and have remained best friends over these long years. There is a very good reason thousands of people still continue to play your games, they have transcended time and I believe the re-playability of Diablo will never be matched.
Now for some questions
How good is the relationship between Max Schaefer, Erich Schaefer, David Brevik and Bill Roper in 2012? Does the original Condor team still talk and have a good relationship? I believe these names to be the greatest combination of minds in gaming.
Two Part Question. “One of the key reasons for the closure was Blizzard North's poor development of what was to be Diablo III which did not meet the expectations of Vivendi” –Question 1, Do you agree with the previous reasoning behind the B.North split? If not, what is your reason, the real reason?
Question Two: I believe the current team at Blizzard has not just failed, but butchered what you guys created in their version of “Diablo” 3. I know I am very partial to Diablo 2, but anyone who has played D1/D2 and then goes to play Diablo 3 can easily tell that this does not have the same passion and heart in it as you and your team had when creating the world of Diablo.
How do you feel about Diablo 3? I mean both of you; really tell me the truth here. Also, what would you have done differently?
As a hiring authority myself I have a great understanding of IT contracting and I have often wondered if the bad blood between you and Blizzard has prevented them from at least allowing you two to consult on the Diablo 3 project, to lend your expertise as creators and founders of the world of Diablo. Did you ever get asked by Blizzard to consult or 1099 for the D3 project? If not, how big of a mistake do you think this was? I really cannot fathom their thought process, trying to create something without the heart (Max) and Brain (Erich, sorry Max) behind the entire concept of Diablo. PS: Do you foresee working on the Diablo 3 Expansion, after such negative feedback Blizzard has received on their Diablo 3, do you think they will consider working with you two for the Expansion? Would you even want to?
Diablo (Movie?):
If you could re-unite the entire original Blizzard North Team (David Brevik, Bill Roper) to work on a Diablo 1 and Diablo 2 Movie, would you? (Please!!) If so, which director would you want to work on a Diablo movie? Any actor choices in mind for the main cast!?
What are your personal favorite characters from the Diablo universe and why?
Sorry for all of the Diablo questions, I would like to say I love Torchlight! Both 1 and 2! Can’t wait for it! When can we expect the Torchlight MMORPG? Will it be pay to play or free like Guild Wars 2?
PS: Extra Question: How often do Max and Erich bring up working at Blizzard? Is it like "Back in my day" type of stories? Like, they are the grandfathers of gaming talking to their grandchildren about how they had to code, uphill, in the snow, using only binary, barefoot...? Because I totaly can picture that.
Thank you both so much for everything! Keep on kicking ass you two!
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runicgames[S] 331 points 3 days ago]
Wow, a giant question that drew my eye immediately! This is Erich answering, by the way.
Question 1
Max and I are pretty tight, seeing as we're brothers, live in the same building and work at the same job. Still great friends with Brevik and Roper. I don't see them as often as I'd like, especially Bill, who's moved away, but we share some long time bonds forged by some of the best times and worst times. I don't keep up too much with the old Condor team, except Matt Uelmen and Peter Hu, and a few guys that were friends from even before Condor, but its great to see them at conventions or the occasional drinking fest.
2A. That reason is a joke! Never heard it before, though. The reasons we split were many, but the main one was that Vivendi was shopping our studio around to buyers with no input from us, the team (both Bliz North and South). And the process was taking a long time, during which they kept deferring renegotiating our bonus structure. (Our profitability was still growing, but the bonus structure wasn't keeping up with it due to a lot of complex crap.) So we said: "hey, either we get some say in this stuff... you know, our whole future... or we're going to resign." And they said: buh-bye. Another reason for me personally was just sort of some wanderlust, though. It was time for some new adventures. I was getting fat and lazy at Blizzard.
2B. I don't believe the D3 team has failed or butchered anything. They made an awesome game that I enjoyed a lot. These games are incredibly hard to make. I see a lot of passion in what they did. That said...
Question 2
re: D3, while I think its a tremendous accomplishment, there's a couple things they did that really hurt my personal ability to keep playing. The auction house, even the regular one, detracts from my own loot gathering. I hate seeing all the great stuff that's so easy to purchase and is so much better than what I can find on my own. The other big thing is the character customization. I really have no clue where this idea that what aarpgs need is fewer customization choices came from. I want to make a character that succeeds or fails based on my decisions. And after that I want to make another and then another that are totally different. I guess there a lot of people that don't want to carve their own way through these games, but for me it's critical.
No, Blizzard never asked me to consult. Nor would they ever - its not their culture and rightfully so. Nor would I have accepted. I have to be an intrinsic part of the team or not be involved at all. I don't think it was a mistake on their part. That team has to grow and coalesce together without outside distractions. It would have been just weird as hell, probably... There's no way I could ever see working on another Diablo product with one extremely improbable exception. If I could afford to buy back the rights, I would in a heartbeat. And then I'd turn it over to David Brevik, the true Heart and Brain behind Diablo.
A Diablo movie would be fantastic. But I'm not the guy to do it. That would of course be Uwe Boll. (Actually Roper would be the man.) This is all goofy talk, of course. It's not going to have anything to do with me if it ever does happen.
My favorite characters from the Diablo universe are every character I created and developed, and chose skills for, and equipped, and kicked Diablo's ass with. I have no love for the NPCs other than Cain. And the cocktail midget.
Thanks for the Torchlight love. Stay tuned for our next game, but its very unlikely to be anything like a traditional MMO.
Damn, that took me forever... I'm slow at this, forgive me.
Interesting question/response.
tldr: i'm to lazy to summarize this.