Changes

[[Diablo 2]]'s graphics were 2D, sprite-based, and the title was Blizzard's last game to feature non-3D graphics. Diablo 3 is being produced in a new, proprietary engine, and is fully 3D, as is virtually every computer game these days.

In September 2010 [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/great-art-vs.-screenshots-a-case-study/ Diii.net posted an article] that tried to bridge this divide with an analogy about the realism of works of art. Everyone has different taste in artwork, but hardly anyone judges paintings by which ones look most like real life. If they did then everyone would prefer photographs to paintings, and while some people do like photos best, most people like art, of all different types, more than photos. It's unclear if the people who say that Diablo III has "ugly graphics" have some essential difference in their visual preferences that makes them dislike most art while always preferring photography, but it's not an impossible analogy.

Though Diablo 3 is not being designed to be the shiniest, most graphically-amazing game ever produced, it does have a lot of nice visual effects. The team wants it to be pretty, but the visuals must support the gameplay. There's been some debate about just how many explosions and visual starbursts there should be.

One of the common "ugly graphics" complaints is that the character models aren't very high resolution. These are only seen in the character selection screen in-game, as well as on [http://www.diablo3.com the official website], but it's a complaint that comes up fairly often. [[Bashiok]] addressed it in a forum post in August 2010. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/do-low-res-characters-matter/]

See the [[Art Controversy]] article for more details on the look and art design of Diablo 3, and the huge controversy that sprung up based on the initial art design of the game.

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[[category:art controversy]]