Changes

ADVERTISEMENT
From Diablo Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search

Art controversy

242 bytes added, 15:23, 8 August 2008
Blizzard Art Department Departing
==Blizzard Art Department Departing==
In the beginning of August, [http://kotaku.com/5034244/blizzard-looking-for-new-diablo-iii-art-director Kotaku noted] that the Lead Art Director position of Diablo III had quit, since they were [http://www.blizzard.com/us/jobopp/art-director.html looking for a new one]. Brian Morrisoe worked as Lead Art Director as recently as [[WWI 2008]], where he headed the [[WWI_2008:_D3_Lore_and_Environmental_Art_Panel|Environmental Art Panel]], and did some media, such as [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=193852 this interview with CVG]. Some fans said it seemed odd that he quit in time for the fan protests, just like if there had been tensions in the team, which re-ignited with fan protests.
[[Image:Blizzard_job_ops.jpg|thumb|right|Blizzard recruiting art people.]]What the Kotaku piece doesn't mention is that there are several other D3 art team jobs listed on Blizzard's jobs page. None of them are recent additions, but it many fans speculated that Blizzard was having trouble finding/keeping art talent on Diablo 3. Some even went as far as to say that the tem might have gotten split up because of internal disagreements on the art direction. Jay Wilson, Diablo 3's Lead Producer, handled the fan screenshot replies mentioned previously, and some fans ask why the Art Directors didn't handle that.
::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. Given this state of affairs, it's hard not to speculate (as several emailers have) that perhaps the controversy over the game's art direction wasn't just amongst the fans. Perhaps different factions within the Diablo 3 team had their own strong opinions on how the game's art should look, and when push came to shove, some of the crew left. Or were asked to leave? Happily, as Blizzard often points out, the production of a game as large as Diablo 3 is handled by a large team, and no one is indispensable. Let's hope they get talented job applicants and can plug them into the openings and carry on smoothly.
This doesn't really say anything in regards to if he quit because of disagreements, or other reasons.  
==Links==
12,486
edits