Hollywood Screenwriter Calls Diablo 3 Story "Weak"

John August, an American screenwriter and film director, recently updated his blog poking fun at Diablo 3's storyline, calling it "pretty damn weak." His opinion is backed by plenty of Hollywood experience having written the two Charlie's Angels movies (screenplay, story), Big Fish (screenplay), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (screenplay), and many more. Needless to say, he may know a thing or two about a dialogue-driven story and plot progression.

The first thing he points out is that the player encounters most of the plot by merely being an observer, listing to NPCs as they talk back and forth. The player character talks every once in a while, but overall the decisions have been made and the player is sent off on an errand.

"I’m a witch doctor. I’ve got an intelligence of 235, and later in the game I’m revealed to be a unique supernatural being.So why am I taking marching orders from you?" he writes. "I’m apparently the only one who can save heaven and earth, so maybe you should shut up and let me talk. Note that I’m not actually demanding choice or free will as a player. Look, I’ve played Diablo. I’ll go kill the next thing. But I’d love to feel like my character was making the choice, rather than being a lackey."

To Blizzard's defense, Diablo 3 is not a true RPG. Players aren't given a list of choices and replies that help shape the outcome. It's an action title that's designed to begin at point A and end at point B with a lot of slashing and exploring in-between. Still, the plot itself seems secondary when it should be just as important as the exploration and sword-swinging.

"At several points in the game, major NPCs betray you and/or die. And you shrug. It doesn’t have to be that way," August writes. "Remember Raynor and Kerrigan from StarCraft? I became invested in those characters, not because of their cut scenes, but because I got to play as them. I kept them alive through zerg rushes, and watched as they made sacrifices that transformed them. So even when I wasn’t playing those characters, I knew them."

He goes on to assume that the interludes between each act came later on in development, that someone possibly realized that the player/plot relationship was non-existent. These segments go into a completely different style of animation, he says, feeling oddly repetitive and tacked on. "It very much feels like voiceover added to a movie that's not working," he adds.

To read the full scoop, head here. He eventually admits to liking a few story and character elements, so the post isn't entirely negative.

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  • klavis
    I agree with him but dude...he wrote some crappy screen plays based off what is mentioned in the article.
    Reply
  • ironmb
    klavisI agree with him but dude...he wrote some crappy screen plays based off what is mentioned in the article.The guy probably makes x20 as much as you do writing "crappy screen plays". Burger flippers.
    Reply
  • jossrik
    I didn't think anyone bought Diablo for the awesome story, if I remember right, none of the Diablo games have had that great of a story, it's more of a loot rush that never quite gets satisfied.
    Reply
  • klavis
    ironmbThe guy probably makes x20 as much as you do writing "crappy screen plays". Burger flippers.
    And your point?
    Reply
  • proxy711
    jossrikI didn't think anyone bought Diablo for the awesome story, if I remember right, none of the Diablo games have had that great of a story, it's more of a loot rush that never quite gets satisfied.Not only that but even the devs said that the story was secondary to the game play. They didn't want it to get in the way of slaying demons. That's why the player was mostly an observer, and the game didn't have Mass Effect style conversation system.

    It would be different if Diablo 3 was marketed as an epic story driven game.
    Reply
  • mylloc
    He never play diablo 2
    Reply
  • kcorp2003
    lead developer of the BF3 he said this

    "diablo is definitely not exactly Cormac McCarthy. The world lore is good to frame the clicking. That is about it"

    this response came from what i said,

    "i'm just trying to get the storyline in order before i start playing...i'm reading up on the Lore summary."
    Reply
  • peroludiarom
    First of all - yes, the game play is leading development point, but lets be honest - we have to say about the hole game - it is crap right now, and it will be like that until (may be) patch 1.1 (planed for end-of-year).

    And after all - we don't have neither story line nor good game play. THANKS BLIZZARD, I WILL BUY YOUR NEXT GAME FOR SURE!
    Reply
  • its an MMO what do you expect?
    Reply
  • biggiebody
    ironmbThe guy probably makes x20 as much as you do writing "crappy screen plays". Burger flippers.I always find it stupid and annoying when someone says something like this every time somebody gets criticized. "So and so makes more money or so and so won this, what have you done...etc." That has nothing to do with anything. Crappy is crappy whether they make more money or won something before.
    Reply