If you are a Diablo fan, you know that the art for Diablo III will be decidedly different from previous games. This time around, instead of the murky, moody, and monochromatic motif (gee, that sounded cool) the artwork will be more colorful and brighter.
Some fans took notice of this and started to complain and protest. Others went as far as to send in their own renditions of artwork to show Blizzard how it should be done. But when the dust cleared from all the complaining from the fans, Brian Morrisroe, art director for Diablo III, also cleared out–he resigned from his position.
Blizzard said:
"Regarding Brian, he recently resigned to form a startup technology company (outside the game industry), which is why we’ve posted about the open position. This change won’t impact the game…we’re really pleased with the look and feel that Brian helped create for Diablo III, and the new person we bring onboard will work with the other artists on the team to maintain the art style moving forward."
There doesn’t seem to be a link with all the criticism of the new art style and Morrisroe leaving, but the two incidents are too close to each other for some to think otherwise.
Jay Wilson, lead designer for Diablo III, commented:
"If you want to blame anyone for the rainbows [bright colors] you’d blame our art director Brian [Morrisroe]. Because Brian is more the person who drove the art style into where it is. But it didn’t really come directly from him. What he brought to the art team was concepts and ideas – the idea of contrast, the idea of using color more, the idea of going for a more stylized look."
Blizzard is taking a hard line stance on this issue so far, and is stating that no policy changes will be coming for the art style. But even if they did, it’s probably too late to retool the game at this point.
[via MTV]
