Why Blizzard should to do “Heroes of Diablo”.

I have always been a fan of the Diablo series. The mix of gothic atmosphere and heroic battles is addictive and had become a gold standard among video games. But after playing the last episode I have the feeling it has reached a (satisfying) conclusion and needs to regenerate itself.

What can you do beyond beating Diablo in heaven, in his ultimate form ?

The story in Diablo 3 was good but it has a final ring to it. Everything is written as the end of a trilogy. The hero finally visits heaven, meet the other angels which are the last (major) parts of the world that haven’t been visited before. There are still some areas that could be explored but they are secondary, and not fundamental to the cosmogony of Diablo.

Beside, the hero in Diablo 3 stops the conspiracy started in Diablo 1. His victory is absolute. The decade-long plan of Diablo failed. It would be bad writing to corrupt the hero for another Diablo game : this trick has been used in D1 and D2 and the story in Diablo 3 explains everything, and let not much space for a retcon.

While the expansion try to patch up these elements (new horadrims, the mortality and weakness of the hero, Diablo free again), this is not quite convincing and put the franchise at risk of going into formulaic repetition. While quite simple, it’s the story and the lore of Diablo put it apart from other games like Torchlight. It’s the Blizzard touch.

When space has been explored, time is the only direction to go.

The secondary elements of the Diablo world have a lot to offer in terms of story, gameplay and fun. There are many stories of minor heroes that could be told. All the heroes that were so far unsung and made the main story possible : the amazon messenger that reached Deckard Cain to warn him of some demon ploy, the warrior who kept a pass against a terrible horde, etc

All there stories would be set in different times and places, but could give an unequaled depth to the Diablo trilogy, like “Animatrix” did for the Matrix universe ( A sad thing this was so misused by the later films ).

All these short stories are less epic than the main storyline, but can be more poignant. they let more freedom to the writer, as the victory doesn’t mean the hero survives. It is also compatible with the online/competitive aspect of the game as heroes that have completed their story could be playable elsewhere. It would be like the Hall of the Braves in the viking mythology.

This also open the opportunity to reuse all the parts of the Diablo universe : character classes, locations, etc. And all the myth told by the characters during the three games could be playable. This is a huge playground for creativity.

After canceling Titan, Blizzard needs to deliver.

While Blizzard has a very special place in the game industry, the cancellation of Titan put some pressure on the company. Blizzard has nothing to show of the size of Diablo or Titan. The current games published are well done but minor in terms of universe or life expectancy.

After Diablo 2, Diablo 3 was obvious but now ? Diablo 4 is not a good name and, like movies with 4 in the title, doesn’t bode well. The franchise needs to reinvents itself. Making “Heroes of Diablo” would be a clever move, it would be a satisfying experience for the players, a real creative opportunity for Blizzard to enrich its universe and give some time to reboot the series more fundamentally.