David Brevik: "A Devil Makes History - Classic Post Mortem on Diablo 2" | devcom digital

[@Stormsong93]

It's so awesome to have been playing the game as a kid and then hearing the story behind it's creation as an adult 20 years later. Magnificent.

[@kaksoisdikki]

@Bodhi Jensen Wowwiwwow! A raw diamond came out of my ass when i googled it.

[@ghezoi]

Sup Nexius. Thanks for the Bone Necro guide!

[@dimas.2381]

The fact that Diablo 2 wasn't 3D is the best thing about it. Good isometric art is timeless and Diablo 2 still looks good. Can you imagine how horrible it would look if it had 1999 3D graphics?

[@kummbara1]

Same thing with Stronghold. Solid 2d graphics age better than 3d hype.

[@Account.for.Comment]

Yeah the art is better than D3. D3 went for the cartoon look because they think it would be much less susceptible to being outdated. But most 3D art is generic to one another, while 2D more freedom given for style.

[@blacklabel130]

Final Fantasy Tactic, best times for pixels art

[@garad123456]

Pre-rendered is the word

[@Kyleology]

Nostalgia talking. Pre-rendered CG looks awful and aged way worse than early 3D.

[@gylsky5694]

The item artwork of D2 is one of the best as well, even with today's standard.

[@kristopherleslie8343]

🧢

[@mrskinszszs]

​@@kristopherleslie8343nope

[@damnedmouse8874]

Coming back to these videos of David talking about Diablo I and II after playing III and IV, showed me exactly where the latter diverted from it's original titles. At 30:00 he explains their perspective of the core of Diablo I and II. D3 and D4 are the same experience for everyone. The same items, the same builds, the same damage, the same everything. You can't go different routes because all characters and builds depend on the same factor to actually work. You may argue that they don't, but making characters depend and grow around only kind of damage (crits, vulnerability, overpowering, etc) it's just the same thing. "You can copy my homework, but just change it up a bit so it doesn't look copied".

[@MClollolol]

Sometimes you get lucky enough to take part in something truly magical. As a player of Diablo 2 I feel that. Must feel incredible to have created such a lasting work of art

[@briankirkpatrick4560]

The decision to record the LoD soundtrack with a live symphony was just a fantastic choice. Best music in the franchise. Gives the whole act a wonderful and distinctive feel.

[@vaclavgembala6773]

Few years ago I had opportunity to hear Fortress music (Harrogath theme) played live by orchestra. One of the best musical experiences in my life. And I visit classical concerts a lot.

[@user-cp9id1mj8b]

David is a legend

[@hyperlitestud]

Not only did he create my favorite game of all time, he is a really down to earth cool guy. I love hearing his stories of development. Cheers David!

[@ogbaxstar]

Hey David, I just wanted to take the time to write out this comment for you. I basically never make comments these days, but I think this is important. I'm shocked this video only has 19 comments (at the time of writing), but the contribution that you and your colleagues made to the world of gaming back during the development of both Diablo I, and Diablo II is amazing, and has been a massive influence on my life in general. I did a 5 year university degree in Medical Science, and worked in the field for 5 years. I quit my job just this past December, and enrolled in a Computer Programing program at a college and I couldn't be happier - this is definitely my calling in life. Whether or not I do game development is yet to be seen, but already I've been coding my own text-based game to practice my skills. The history, insight, and information contained within this video is simply amazing, and I'm so happy for your accomplishments. I've played countless hours of Diablo II, and Diablo I was one of the first PC games I ever played and was instantly enamored with it (at the young ripe age of 6 no less lol, maybe not the most appropriate game at that age, but it taught me SO much). They have been an inspiration for me for all these years, and like you mentioned in the closing 5 minutes of this post mortem - I go back yearly to play through Diablo II and some of it's mods on the regular because it's just that good. Thank you for following your passion and believing in your abilities to do something like this, and finding passionate and talented game developers to work beside you. You guys made history and accomplished something monumental. P.S Yes, my user-name is a miss-spelled Mephisto, been my username since I was 10 years old.

[@chriscarnage9467]

I've been at my job 10 years now, and I've been thinking about learning to code, specifically for game development for a couple years now. Just haven't pulled the trigger out of fear of the unknown and failure.

[@Cyberfips]

even if you are not in gaming industry, this is still a very very interresting talk about an amazing game. Even if you are developer e.g. in automation (like me), or webdesign, or whatever, you can learn from the way of development they did, and the problems they had. But you are right, i watched this because I was interrested in how one of my favorite game of all times was made :) The 19 comments is easy explaned by the views of this video and the abonnements of this channel. It is not for the mainstream, just for interrested people ;)

[@aldelta19]

David, there is none better than you.

[@morin1997]

This ain't just a game... It's a masterpiece!

[@jeremy4ags]

i saw this video, and i stayed around and listened

[@InsomniacRocker]

Back watching this video for the 3rd time since release. I just want to say thank you David Brevik for the masterpiece and all time greatest game Diablo 2!

[@lrmcatspaw1]

Rakanishu! Bless you.

[@musicgardener2142]

this trivia and how the name got to be is so lovely!

[@hotpancakes9814]

absolute legend. this man and his team are responsible for my 20+ year addiction to this game. played through Diablo 2 & LoD AT LEAST once a year all the up until D2R came out, and i have been playing that since. truly a beautiful game where there’s always something new to learn.

[@kiddobrTV]

23:50 here David says all. The difference between Activision and Blizzard North. I miss this old blizzard, much passion for making games.

[@ChillerKarnickel]

Thank you for this game David. You had a great impact on my childhood and I still play it to this day

[@vfeb6317]

Still love the game! Can't stop playing! David Brevik you and the talented people at Blizzard North truly made something special.

[@LageNomAiNomAi]

It's awesome hearing about the birth of a franchise that was highly influential on my childhood! I remember my father buying D1 and I was hooked!

[@zorkan111]

40:56 "dynamic feel". What really impressed me regarding graphics at the time were the shadows. I still remember the first time I walked into the Halls of the Dead and how shadows rolled around naturally as you walked past the pillars. It was mind-blowing.

[@blacklabel130]

the atmosphere there was surreal for a game like that

[@stefantom4]

OH MY GOD, THIS IS GOLD. I want to give you more views buy I have only two eyes. Just wait. I'll share this with my dev team. (theres 19 so don't hold breath) Thank you for this super in depth presentation. I watched the GDC one from a few years back, but this seems to focus much more greatly on the production processes and goings on. Thanks again from a guy who played Diablo 2 when he was 5 years old and is now project lead on a top down action game.

[@DerReichart]

Great that you liked it, Stefan! And I felt the same when I watched it btw 😂👍🏻

[@maxmustsleep]

Absolutely agree!

[@yuriypiano7521]

Wow.... How does this have so little views in 4 months?! This is an incredible video...

[@devcomglobal]

Share it to the world! ;)

[@marc-etiennemercier6584]

Yea man before the 1.10 patch it was so wild out there... bugged 4os valor, 6os windforce, occy rings, endless 40/15 jewels, those insane Ith runewords better than grandfather, etc.

[@MaTh-ue1cs]

This are the kind of developers that Gamers want, i started playing Diablo 2 when i was 8 Years old and i still play it to this day (also D1 with and without Mods). There is just so much Detail, Love and Passion in this Games that makes them outstanding. Also these games made me want to be a Game Developer and i just started my "Career" (LoL) now. These videos keep me motivated to do what i do and i do it for fun, maybe someday i can create something similar but the highest achievement as a game developer is to have satisfied gamers, that share your love to things that you create. Don't do it for the Money, do it for the Gamers! :) Cheers!

[@masterlewzilla2116]

Exactly my thoughts! Im in the similar boat! Fresh meat on the way to become game dev. I grew up with diablo, starcraft and warcraft. My goal is to creaty likewise games with passion and enjoyment.

[@MaTh-ue1cs]

@@masterlewzilla2116 Cool to hear that! I just made a small Arcade Game for Android but now i start learning 3D Modelling etc. because i want to make a 2,5D Sidescroller Game. I wish you all the best on your Journey :)

[@fanartzone928]

@@MaTh-ue1cs what engine do you use?

[@sergueileonardoafonin7950]

We need these guys in the indie market now, since AAA industry is intoxicated with money grabbing trolls, who don't care about anything else really.

[@xSpooKee]

David reminds me of John Romero both absolutely passionate about there crafts and are always happy to talk about it.

[@keithrange4457]

Awesome to hear from you. I was an obsessive d1/d2 player for a decade or more. Just got back and playing d2r now. Absolutely love hearing the history of diablo

[@Joao5528]

Best game ever! Thank you for Diablo and Diablo2!

[@foxsmith5718]

... this is the man that created history- Honorary Legend: David Brevik-

[@LeonardoTheAlien]

David Brevik is my hero.

[@EzraCanFlyLA]

Diablo 2 is in my top 3 personal all time favorites. I hope you got some kind of royalties for d2r or continued to get some kind of financial compensation because you and that entire team deserve it. Diablo 2 is an actual masterpiece. The replay value is out of control. I played when I was a kid and I am actually still playing today. Thank you so much for making this.

[@geoffhom]

David, thank you so much for doing this talk! I have fond memories of both Diablo 1 and 2. Looking forward to the Diablo 2 remaster that Blizzard announced! (And I hope they, or you, do a Diablo 1 remaster, too!) And thank you so much for sharing the Diablo 1 design document on your website; it's a great treat to your fans.

[@TeachMeSam]

Thanks for this! The "Bring back body parts" rebellion was hilarious. I never knew D2 had so much gore in its inventory during development, lol.

[@altaccount8749]

I remember I was in first grade when my older brothers were playing Diablo 2. I was always too scared I would mess up a character to even play but I loved watching them. One day I was at Kmart and I had $20 and I saw the expansion. I read all the new additions and I was blown away. I didn’t even play but I knew my brothers would love it so I spent everything I had on this game for them. My oldest brother later that day downloaded a map hack and got the CD key banned. He would go on to steal many copies of this game he loved. He would later go on to sell my Xbox 360 and all my favorite games for drugs. Thanks for all the memories.

[@dontcrydoomer4787]

that heart warming story turned to shit real quick xd

[@Replic09]

Much thanks for Diablo and Diablo 2 my favorite Diablo Games! Thanks to all from the old Team!

[@aztraeuz5560]

I will forever pre-order any game that David Brevik works on.

[@masterlewzilla2116]

Thanks for sharing! I love all the ideas behind the awesome work. It motivates me on my way to become game dev.

[@justinhildebrand1515]

I will be forever grateful of what david and his team created. There is no other game that even comes close to the amount of hours ive put into diablo 2 and i dont think there will ever be a game that tops it. Sucks we didnt get to see what else this team was going to do since they left blizzard

[@R3tr0humppa]

Ok, apparently I love this man now. Great talk!

[@InfiniteClouds]

Imagine being ALLOWED to miss your pre Christmas deadline instead of being forced to release an unfinished and broken game?

[@ghezoi]

Diablo 2 was the only thing that brought me and my brother together. Talking and bonding!

[@Novous]

Here's something amazing about "everyone [programmers, artists, etc] is a game designer." When everyone feels like they have a voice, it feels like they're working on something that's apart of themselves instead of just working on someone *else's* game or simply getting a paycheck. So they work harder, and put forth their best. Anyone who has lived in a house vs an apartment, can easily see the different mindset of "we need to fix this and do it right" vs "It's someone else's problem" when you spread the responsibly across many people. Why sweep the porch, if it's not 'your' porch?

[@VerticalThird]

RIP Guild Halls, was looking forward to those! I vaguely remember in an interview a supposed secret armor set that did not have anything that identified it was part of a set. I wonder if that ever existed?

[@danijel57]

D2's my all time favorite game :) cool to hear what the process of making it was like

[@yamchadragonball6983]

What is a gold master? Also a story question for Brevik or either of the Schaefer's: What was the purpose of the worldstone in Diablo 2? And another question for battlenet: What does the gem button do? Come oooonn!! It's been 20 years! I'd also like to correct Brevik here, Mercenary reviving was introduced with Lord of destruction (patch 1.07)

[@bowlock9901]

It works as intended!

[@Phimue]

A gold master is the final release version of a software. Also, in addition to your correction, 800x600 resolution was introduced with LoD as well, original D2 was just 640x480.

[@Account.for.Comment]

For the story, I think it was more Blizzard South and Metzen decision. In other interviews, the Schaefers and other Diablo devs said they don' t put much thoughts to it. The Worldstone is pretty much Metzen writing style for Starcraft and Warcraft. A cliffhanger that disappoint. Starcraft had Kerrigan, Broodwar had the hybrid, Warcraft had Arthas as Lich king, D2 had Baal, Lod had the Worldstone.

[@yamchadragonball6983]

@@Account.for.Comment Hadn't even noticed all these replies. The worldstone seems like a macguffin. I somehow managed to convince myself that it was a barrier between sanctuary and hell. Was much surprised when D3 came out. The D3 players just cannot fathom that the worldstone didn't really have a purpose storywise in diablo 2 and that the nephalem idea was conceived after the original two games. They always tell me about the books, but I am not really interested in Diablo books. It's all about the first two games and their gameplay and atmosphere. Anyway, enough ranting from an old man :)

[@Account.for.Comment]

@@yamchadragonball6983 There are Nephalem in D2. They are the three Barbarian guardians, the Ancient Ones, on top of Mt Arreant, the trio that guard the entrance to the Worldstones. The manuals might give you the original lore and answers. I stayed away from the books from Blizzard. As long as it is not in the game, it is not canon. Any dumbass can change the story whenever they want. I just stumbled on a video of a WoW fan, Pyromancer, ranting about the inconsistent lores of Warcraft. He bought as much books as he can, and then he just lost i. I' m lucky that I can see that Blizzard would destroyed every lores they have since I saw the art of Starcraft 2. Blizzard storytellings were great, not because of the plot, the character, or the lore but because of the world they were created in. Somehow, they believed that making the Wanderer a prince, instead of an unknown warrior would be better. Somehow, they believed that making the character the "Chosen Ones" is good storytelling. Kerrigan bacame a Mary Sue. Arthas, a king that never shut up (never played WoW long enough but I saw the cut-scenes and shake my head). I do not know why anyone can believed that the universe and characters in old Blizzard games are the same in the new ones. And the books cannot be fully controlled. Even George Lucas said plainly that expanded universe is not considered canon to him and should never be misunderstood as such. Anyway, just a slight correction that ended with a rant, but I' m glad to see a person interest in the lore but not making mistakes in delving into the books. I really suggest reccomending the video "Pyromancer lost it " to anyone who used the books as an excuse for plot holes. I

[@Chrisxantixemox]

I wonder what game they were creating for 3DO. Definitely a good call, that company went down very hard in the early 2000’s.

[@MintyLime703]

I mean I'm sure it didn't help that they were rejected and missed out on the success that Diablo had, assuming Diablo still would've happened the way it did.

[@RogueAmarice]

They had to take side jobs at the time because they'd agreed to make Diablo for $300K, which wasn't enough to cover company expenses and payroll for 15 devs. The game they were making for 3DO (on a ~$1M contract) was a football game called "NFLPA Superstars," which was supposed to be released on 3DO's M2 console. However, 3DO was already operating at a loss then and sold the rights to the M2 to Matsushita (Panasonic) for ~$100M. These proceeds helped them survive and turn into a publisher/third-party developer. And even though the M2 was cancelled close to release, Matsushita were able to field the technology in multimedia players, arcade boards, ATMs and vending machines.

[@whatfruit7965]

That source safe story gave me heart palpitations. Nothing more terrifying than non compliant critical software. I bet that shaved a few years of everyone’s life.

[@sovo1212]

Now I want a special edition with the "body parts" crafting system.

[@vembdev]

Eastern sun mod had the thing, mobs dropped their body parts and you could turn the body parts into potions and stuff or sell for a bit gold. Felt pretty insignificant imo, maybe if the parts were used for some big impact ritual would be different :D.

[@Haken00]

There is mention of Q&A near the end - is there a recording of that somewhere? Thanks for upload, great video.

[@devcomglobal]

Hey, the Q&A was live for the attendees of devcom digital and it was not recorded unfortunately. Glad you like the talk though! :)

[@Jimbasco]

can you change the misspelling of his name in the title? it may be impacting your viewership by not showing up when searched, but I'm not sure

[@devcomglobal]

Changed it! Thank you!

[@mrt.7146]

59:25 - O M G 😱

[@Rockyzach88]

Blizzard killing it then. "Hey you should just make it real time" "Hey did you know you can play over the internet" In other news, first time I played Diablo 2 was on Windows 95. Great memories.

[@da_cat]

Diablo 2 was the first game that i ever played where i felt like i am truly living in that world ... that story ... those initial 15-30 minutes of playing where just magical for me. I enjoyed that more than my first time having sex.

[@NonnyStrikes]

This is the first documentary I've watched in the past 8-10 years that kept my full attention. Thank you so much for sharing all this information on the Journey. I've always wondered what people went through in order to make a game so complete. You definitely pinpointed that effort and passion pay! Ironically just like the grind to finding the damn "Ber Rune". The community calls it "Bear Rune" lmao, perfect. Diablo series contributed to my keyboard skills/speed on them. I remember being in 3rd grade, and my teacher said "how did you learn to type so fast" It was like a whopping 80 wpm .. which I thought was slow lol! But she started typing and kids started laughing!! Great times. It also contributed to the development of my social skills. Throw a young boy, ripe age of 10, into a world of shit talking adults who were not into playing around haha. It'll sharpen a gent up or break him down into peas. Great thank you for this lovely bit of information you've shared and to the creation of the best PVP game ever to hit the shelves!!! (P.S. There is not a time in a mans life, where his butthole puckers more than in Hardcore PVP) HAAAAHAHHAHAA. ÿc2 (insert green font) *Ofpestilence has come online.

[@NonnyStrikes]

I looked back at the length of the video just now. That was really more than an hour?! It felt like 12 minutes, no joke.

[@trixdream]

i played d2r couple of month ago for the first time and had a blast. it is even better than d4 imo. that is insane for a 20 yo game!

[@KnightOwl_X7]

take a drink every time he says "and uhh"

[@Isoquant]

15:06, I would do anything for a moment like this... Please, just once in my career!

[@charongold6532]

If it was a friend I would hug it, if it was my girlfriend I would kiss it and if it was my soul mate I would have married it 😂 Thank you David and your team for beeing the most creative people who ever was, is and ever will be and creating a game which could last an eternity... thank you for creating Diablo 2.. a game which I could not put down for 20+ years.. our marriage have been working out just fine 😎👌😂

[@senormarston]

16:44 more and more devs and studios are not giving a fck about this very important aspect

[@somehuman1901]

Here after, diablo 4 came to disappoint us all over again. Could have had the man who made the magic with them the first two times, but no...... Sigh

[@basileleftheriades9736]

its so depressing

[@stank_it8114]

TBT to when games > money. I understand that having 50.000+ employees cost money. However I feel like some of these big companies take it a step too far imo.

[@bowlock9901]

CEO's cost money, follow the money. Its a disease.

[@Frilleon]

David brevik’s name isn’t spelled correctly in the title by the way

[@devcomglobal]

Thank you! We changed it!

[@Kyleology]

22:00

[@BlizzardLegends]

I wonder if he still plays Diablo II Lord of Destruction. I wish we were friends

[@zeroph3849]

Sad part is I would love to know who the clowns were who said RPGs was a dead market in the 90s. Crono cross, the final fantasy series, Legand of dragoon, the elder scrolls. Just realizing the people running these companies never actually knew what was good. They merely got lucky and blindly stumbled onto some gold.

[@GamingYoshi64]

Remember he said they started pitching the idea in like 93 or 94. Most of those games didn't come out until like late 90s

[@GamingYoshi64]

@The Monster Under Your Bed True but that's always been a sentimentality of Western gaming companies. Japanese ones like OP mentioned never believed crap like that

[@nitrobitde2609]

The white background makes my eyes hurt at night. :c

[@TouristAarchie]

lol

[@RSProduxx]

Hellgate could use a remake... a good one of course :)

[@fanartzone928]

aaaand Blizzard had better logo than 3DO hehe

[@RaskaTheFurry]

today, every gaming studio is full of those businessman, that dont play videogames. Thats why more and more games are just... shit. Only indie today is games for gamers by gamers

[@DOSRetroGamer]

Source"safe"

[@davidj8580]

I'd love to hear and see the original ideas for Diablo 3 before the WoW boys came in and scrapped everything.

[@shortspanattractions8403]

Devs overacting on randomness - 30:09. Dude you have been doing this for a long time, you are the father of aRPGs and you are still ranting how nobody in the world gonna have the same experience, gear and game? Yeap. And in reality everybody running the exact same build, exact same gear with their same hotos, torches and enigmas, doing the same pindle run before you move to mephisto for the 167 999 time. Not knowing the way is not that much of a factor. People dont farm because randomization, people farm because they are farmers. The game itself has very little to do with that phenomena. Learn that!

[@ScarredCitizen]

Dead thread I know but come on man. I really don't think he and the rest of the team were super focused on min/max character builds. The players figured it out and branched out from there.

[@DOSRetroGamer]

Taking three days off within a whole year Jesus.

[@mikeyoung9810]

I liked d2 but not as much as the original.

[@kristopherleslie8343]

Them rune words were rushed lol 😂

[@PhantomGenius]

He made his own engine of course he did 🔥

[@schwegburt3002]

Listening to this and looking at the current dev team of WoW makes me think that the current team has embraced none of this great methodology. It feels like the WoW devs don't even actively play their own damn game. Nor are they willing to backtrack and course correct ideas that just don't work out.

[@edwarddewit43]

D2 is easily the best game ever made and possibly that ever will be made. All thanks to this absolute legend! May God bless David ❤

[@alinn.4341]

Wanna bet half of the Diablo 4 team doesn't know a single D2 Runeword order? That's the difference between gaming fanatics and corporate slaves.

[@linuxrant]

I don't want to claim any supernatural beings spirits gods or anything...but honestly, when I killed my first skeleton I felt the same shivers down my spine, as if you channeled this feeling into the game, man. srsly.

[@DOSRetroGamer]

With the Sourcesafe desaster, I wonder if Diablo himself didn't want you to finish this game

[@marc-etiennemercier6584]

Lmfao @ Rakanishu

[@silencer2005]

Diablo 2's space force moment 🤣

[@MAZZAR0TH]

Diablo 2 is a masterpiece. Diablo 3 and 4 are utter trash.

[@abcdef2069]

really popular dumb game, story was poor and boring. i had to put a hammer on the control key to attack any mobs. this game could make a permanent damage to your wrist and fingers by making you click too much. i couldnt even finish the game, but almost.. no saving games. because the story was too boring.

[@jahithber1430]

🤪

[@thorham1346]

Diablo 2 never died, though.