Diablo (video game)
Encyclopedia
Diablo is a dark fantasy
-themed action role-playing game
developed
by Blizzard North
and released by Blizzard Entertainment
on December 31, 1996.
Set in the fictional Kingdom of Khanduras, located in the world of Sanctuary, Diablo has the player take control of a lone hero battling to rid the world of Diablo, the Lord of Terror. Beneath the town of Tristram, the player journeys through sixteen dungeon levels, ultimately entering Hell itself in order to face Diablo.
An expansion pack, entitled Diablo: Hellfire
, was released in , although it was not created by Blizzard Entertainment. In 1998 Electronic Arts
released the Climax Group
developed Diablo Playstation this version featured direct control of the main character using the Playstation controller. This was followed by a sequel, Diablo II
, in , and a third game, Diablo III
, was announced on June 28, 2008, at Blizzard's World Wide Invitational in Paris
, France
.
and Angband.
Strength (the primary attribute of the Warrior) influences damage in melee combat and the ability to wear certain armours and wield certain weapons. Magic (the primary attribute of the Sorcerer) is the innate ability to channel magic, and influences a players ability to learn certain spells, as well as their overall ability to retain Mana (the essence consumed during spellcasting). Dexterity (the primary attribute of the Rogue) influences your chance to successfully strike an opponent in melee and ranged combat, as well as the speed at which a player can attack. Vitality, which can be leveled up like any other character stat is linked directly to the character's overall health.
and Hell
as real, physical places. Angel
s and Demon
s waged a war for centuries, until the ascension of man. Heaven and Hell each tried to compel man to join their cause. A treacherous mutiny forced the 3 Lords of Hell—including Diablo himself—into the world of humanity, where they sowed chaos, distrust and hatred. With the help of Archangel Tyrael a group of magi trapped the 3 Lords of Hell in soulstones. Diablo's soulstone was buried deep in the earth and a monastery was built over the site to safeguard the entrance.
Generations passed and the purpose of the monastery was forgotten. A small town named Tristram sprang up next to the monastery's ruins. A religious king named Leoric then claimed the monastery and rebuilt it as a cathedral for his seat of power. Diablo entered the nightmares of the archbishop Lazarus and lured him to the soulstone, where he destroyed the stone. Diablo possessed first the king, who sent all his knights and priests to battle against peaceful kingdoms, and then possessed the king's son, filling the caves and catacombs beneath the cathedral with creatures formed from the young boy's nightmares.
Tristram became a town of fear and horror, where people were abducted in the night. With no king, no law, and no army left to defend them, many villagers fled. Dark rumors permeated the country, and would-be heroes and demon-hunters came to Tristram and entered the cathedral, but none have been seen again.
Ironically, it is revealed that this is what Diablo had planned, as the hero would be a better host than the prince. Diablo II continues the story, with Diablo having possessed the warrior hero who killed him. As for the other two heroes, the Rogue and Sorcerer, they also become corrupted by the Tristram quest and become Blood Raven, and the Summoner, respectively.
. This version of the game allows access to only the first two areas of the dungeon, and locks out two of the three playable classes and many of the NPC townsfolk. It is playable in both single- and multi-player with those restrictions.
In 1998, a PlayStation version of Diablo was published by Electronic Arts
. The game lacked online play, but featured a two-player cooperative mode. It also featured an option to learn the story through a narrator without having to find the books in the game. This version was infamous because of its need for 10 blocks free on a PlayStation memory cardhttp://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/197112-diablo/50178668http://www.epinions.com/review/game-Software-All-Playstation-Diablo/game-review-6DB2-172DCB1B-388A9FC0-prod3; the standard size of memory cards for the platform was 15 blocks.
The only official expansion pack
made for Diablo was Diablo: Hellfire
in 1997. The expansion was produced by Sierra Entertainment
rather than an in-house Blizzard North development team. The multiplayer feature of the expansion pack was disabled with version 1.01. The added content included two additional dungeon segments located within a new side storyline, several new unique items and magical item properties, new spells, and a fourth class, the Monk. There were also two possibly unfinished "test" classes (the Bard and Barbarian) and two quests which could be accessed only through a configuration file modification.
, with many awarding the game near-perfect or perfect scores on their respective grading systems. Most praised the game's addictive gameplay, immense replayability, dark atmosphere, superior graphics, moody musical score, and its great variety of possible magic items, enemies, levels, and quests. This last aspect was praised by GameSpot
editor Trent Ward in his review of Diablo: "Similarly, although a set number of monsters is included, only a few will be seen during each full game. This means that players going back for their second or third shot at the game will very likely fight opponents they haven't seen before. Talk about replay value." Computer Games Magazine
s Cindy Yans said that "weapons, armor and items are so numerous that you're always acquiring something new to try…not to mention the game’s multiplayer universe"; she went on to say that "for anyone who enjoys a good multiplayer dungeon crawl, Diablo can’t be beat". Reviewers commonly cited this online multiplayer aspect as one of the strongest points of the game, with it being described as greatly extending its replay value. The most common complaint about the game was the length of its single-player aspect, which many felt was too short. Cindy Yans finished her review, "Despite the rather pale storyline, [...] watered-down quests and a fair amount of necessary repetition, Diablo is a must for anyone interested in 'just plain fun.'" On GameSpot's main page for Diablo, the subtext used to describe the game when it came out simply states: "Diablo is the best game to come out in the past year, and you should own a copy. Period.".
As of June 17, 2011, Diablo has GameSpot's #1 spot of all PC games, with a score of 9.6 out of 10.
of point-and-click
action RPGs. Since 1999 many games have used the concepts introduced in Diablo and some have imitated the game. Games using the same gameplay combat systems as Diablo are often referred to as "Diablo clones".
Dark fantasy
Dark fantasy is a term used to describe a fantasy story with a pronounced horror element.-Overview:A strict definition for dark fantasy is difficult to pin down. Gertrude Barrows Bennett has been called "the woman who invented dark fantasy". Both Charles L...
-themed action role-playing game
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
developed
Software developer
A software developer is a person concerned with facets of the software development process. Their work includes researching, designing, developing, and testing software. A software developer may take part in design, computer programming, or software project management...
by Blizzard North
Blizzard North
Blizzard North was the Bay Area division of Blizzard Entertainment, known for the Diablo series. The studio was originally based in Redwood City, and then moved a short distance away to San Mateo, with Blizzard proper being based in Irvine .-History:Blizzard North was originally an independent...
and released by Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher founded on February 8, 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse by three graduates of UCLA, Michael Morhaime, Allen Adham and Frank Pearce and currently owned by French company Activision Blizzard...
on December 31, 1996.
Set in the fictional Kingdom of Khanduras, located in the world of Sanctuary, Diablo has the player take control of a lone hero battling to rid the world of Diablo, the Lord of Terror. Beneath the town of Tristram, the player journeys through sixteen dungeon levels, ultimately entering Hell itself in order to face Diablo.
An expansion pack, entitled Diablo: Hellfire
Diablo: Hellfire
Diablo: Hellfire is an expansion pack that Sierra On-Line produced for the video game Diablo. It was released in 1997 and developed by Synergistic Software, a Sierra division. Hellfire is the only authorized expansion pack released for Diablo. Blizzard Entertainment has never released a...
, was released in , although it was not created by Blizzard Entertainment. In 1998 Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
released the Climax Group
Climax Group
Climax Group is a British independent video game development company. It was founded by Karl Jeffery in 1988 and is based in Portsmouth, Hampshire....
developed Diablo Playstation this version featured direct control of the main character using the Playstation controller. This was followed by a sequel, Diablo II
Diablo II
Diablo II is a dark fantasy/horror-themed hack and slash, with elements of the role playing game and dungeon crawl genres. It was released for Windows and Mac OS in 2000 by Blizzard Entertainment, and was developed by Blizzard North. It is a direct sequel to the 1996 hit PC game, Diablo.Diablo II...
, in , and a third game, Diablo III
Diablo III
Diablo III is an upcoming dark fantasy/horror-themed action role-playing game in development by Blizzard, making it the third installment in the Diablo franchise...
, was announced on June 28, 2008, at Blizzard's World Wide Invitational in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Gameplay
Diablo was influenced by MoriaMoria (computer game)
Moria is a roguelike computer game based heavily on J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings. The game's objective is to kill a Balrog, presumably Durin's Bane, deep within the Mines of Moria. A later port of Moria called Umoria inspired the Angband roguelike game...
and Angband.
Movement and Combat
A person moves their character by clicking the left mouse button over the area they want to move to. To attack a creature, left-click on it. Holding down the shift key prevents walking while attacking. Spells and abilities are used with the right mouse button. Spells and abilities can be mapped to hotkeys by pressing F5 to F8 over the skill or ability.Saving
Single-player characters save when they want to, while multi-player characters save when they leave the game.Classes
The three character classes of Diablo are:- Warrior: The Warrior is the most physically able of the three classes. He excels at close quarters combat and can generally take the most physical punishment. The downside to this is that he's not quite as adept at utilizing the arcane arts as the other party members (see below). The Warrior starts with the skill to repair objects in his possession, though this comes at the cost of the overall durability of anything he repairs.
- Rogue: The Rogue is the undisputed master of ranged weapons. While not as strong as the Warrior, she has a keen aim and is quick on her feet, with an innate sixth sense for sensing environmental traps that the other classes are incapable of perceiving.
- Sorcerer: The Sorcerer has a greater understanding of spellcasting than the other classes and is able to make much greater use of magical practice with the ability to learn much more potent forms of spells that the other classes also have access to. Since they are physically the weakest of the three classes, Sorcerers tend to wield magically imbued staves, which need recharging after prolonged usage; an ability that the Sorcerers start with.
- In the expansion set Diablo: HellfireDiablo: HellfireDiablo: Hellfire is an expansion pack that Sierra On-Line produced for the video game Diablo. It was released in 1997 and developed by Synergistic Software, a Sierra division. Hellfire is the only authorized expansion pack released for Diablo. Blizzard Entertainment has never released a...
, the Monk was added.
Strength (the primary attribute of the Warrior) influences damage in melee combat and the ability to wear certain armours and wield certain weapons. Magic (the primary attribute of the Sorcerer) is the innate ability to channel magic, and influences a players ability to learn certain spells, as well as their overall ability to retain Mana (the essence consumed during spellcasting). Dexterity (the primary attribute of the Rogue) influences your chance to successfully strike an opponent in melee and ranged combat, as well as the speed at which a player can attack. Vitality, which can be leveled up like any other character stat is linked directly to the character's overall health.
Items
Many items have attribute minimums to be used effectively. To use items, they must be identified first. White-colored items are normal items, blue-colored items are magic items and gold-colored items are unique items. Items wear down through use and only have a certain amount of durability. When an items durability is zero, it is destroyed. The sword is the warrior's weapon. Axes are for those who are willing to sacrifice defense for power. Maces and clubs are good for the undead. There are three classifications of armor: light, medium and heavy. Shields allow for blocking of attacks. Characters are allowed to wear two rings and one amulet. Books contain spell formulas.Multiplayer
Multiplayer can be done with up to four players. Multiplayer character's state is saved periodically. Players can either be aggressive or peaceful with other players, allowing them to either attack or not attack them. Players can either connect by: direct connection, modem connection, Battle.net Connection or IPX Network Connection. The game lacks the stronger anti-cheating methods of Blizzard's later games and as a result, many characters online have been altered in various ways by common third-party programs known as trainers.Story
The settings of Diablo include HeavenHeaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
and Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
as real, physical places. Angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s and Demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s waged a war for centuries, until the ascension of man. Heaven and Hell each tried to compel man to join their cause. A treacherous mutiny forced the 3 Lords of Hell—including Diablo himself—into the world of humanity, where they sowed chaos, distrust and hatred. With the help of Archangel Tyrael a group of magi trapped the 3 Lords of Hell in soulstones. Diablo's soulstone was buried deep in the earth and a monastery was built over the site to safeguard the entrance.
Generations passed and the purpose of the monastery was forgotten. A small town named Tristram sprang up next to the monastery's ruins. A religious king named Leoric then claimed the monastery and rebuilt it as a cathedral for his seat of power. Diablo entered the nightmares of the archbishop Lazarus and lured him to the soulstone, where he destroyed the stone. Diablo possessed first the king, who sent all his knights and priests to battle against peaceful kingdoms, and then possessed the king's son, filling the caves and catacombs beneath the cathedral with creatures formed from the young boy's nightmares.
Tristram became a town of fear and horror, where people were abducted in the night. With no king, no law, and no army left to defend them, many villagers fled. Dark rumors permeated the country, and would-be heroes and demon-hunters came to Tristram and entered the cathedral, but none have been seen again.
Plot
The game starts when the player's character arrives in Tristram. The labyrinth under the Cathedral descends from a simple dungeon to catacombs to the dark caves and finally the fiery pits of Hell itself, each full of the undead, monsters, and demons. Leoric has been re-animated as the Skeleton King, and the hero must kill him so he can be released from his curse. The hero must also kill Archbishop Lazarus, and eventually fight Diablo himself.Ending
At the end of the game the hero kills Diablo's mortal form, leaving Diablo trapped in a soulstone once again. The hero then drives the soulstone into their own skull in an attempt to contain the Lord of Terror.Ironically, it is revealed that this is what Diablo had planned, as the hero would be a better host than the prince. Diablo II continues the story, with Diablo having possessed the warrior hero who killed him. As for the other two heroes, the Rogue and Sorcerer, they also become corrupted by the Tristram quest and become Blood Raven, and the Summoner, respectively.
Versions and expansion pack
Diablo normally requires the original CD to play, however also included on the disk is a shareware version of the software that could be played without the CD called Diablo SpawnSpawn installation
In personal computer games, a spawn installation is an installed copy of a game that may only be used to play in multiplayer mode, or otherwise limits the amount of single-player content accessible to the user. Additionally, some spawn implementations only allow the user to join games hosted by the...
. This version of the game allows access to only the first two areas of the dungeon, and locks out two of the three playable classes and many of the NPC townsfolk. It is playable in both single- and multi-player with those restrictions.
In 1998, a PlayStation version of Diablo was published by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
. The game lacked online play, but featured a two-player cooperative mode. It also featured an option to learn the story through a narrator without having to find the books in the game. This version was infamous because of its need for 10 blocks free on a PlayStation memory cardhttp://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/197112-diablo/50178668http://www.epinions.com/review/game-Software-All-Playstation-Diablo/game-review-6DB2-172DCB1B-388A9FC0-prod3; the standard size of memory cards for the platform was 15 blocks.
The only official expansion pack
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
made for Diablo was Diablo: Hellfire
Diablo: Hellfire
Diablo: Hellfire is an expansion pack that Sierra On-Line produced for the video game Diablo. It was released in 1997 and developed by Synergistic Software, a Sierra division. Hellfire is the only authorized expansion pack released for Diablo. Blizzard Entertainment has never released a...
in 1997. The expansion was produced by Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
rather than an in-house Blizzard North development team. The multiplayer feature of the expansion pack was disabled with version 1.01. The added content included two additional dungeon segments located within a new side storyline, several new unique items and magical item properties, new spells, and a fourth class, the Monk. There were also two possibly unfinished "test" classes (the Bard and Barbarian) and two quests which could be accessed only through a configuration file modification.
Re-releases
The original game was later re-released alongside Hellfire in a 1998 bundle, called Diablo + Hellfire. 1998's Blizzard's Game of the Year Collection contained copies of Diablo, StarCraft and WarCraft II. The Blizzard Anthology (2000) contained Diablo, StarCraft, StarCraft: Brood War and WarCraft II: Battle.net Edition. The Diablo Gift Pack (2000) contained Diablo and Diablo II, but no expansions. The Diablo: Battle Chest (2001) contained Diablo, Diablo II and Diablo IIs expansion, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. However, recent releases of the Diablo: Battle Chest have excluded the original Diablo and been replaced by a strategy guide for Diablo II and LoD.Music
The music of Diablo was composed by Matt Uelmen. The soundtrack consisted of six tracks, but it was never officially released.Reception
The large majority of reviews Diablo received were very positive. It received an average rating of 94 on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, with many awarding the game near-perfect or perfect scores on their respective grading systems. Most praised the game's addictive gameplay, immense replayability, dark atmosphere, superior graphics, moody musical score, and its great variety of possible magic items, enemies, levels, and quests. This last aspect was praised by GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
editor Trent Ward in his review of Diablo: "Similarly, although a set number of monsters is included, only a few will be seen during each full game. This means that players going back for their second or third shot at the game will very likely fight opponents they haven't seen before. Talk about replay value." Computer Games Magazine
Computer Games Magazine
Computer Games Magazine was a computer gaming print magazine. It was formerly Computer Games Strategy Plus, and before that, Strategy Plus, which had been founded as Games International in the UK in 1988. While its initial focus was on strategy games, it covered a wide range of game genres...
s Cindy Yans said that "weapons, armor and items are so numerous that you're always acquiring something new to try…not to mention the game’s multiplayer universe"; she went on to say that "for anyone who enjoys a good multiplayer dungeon crawl, Diablo can’t be beat". Reviewers commonly cited this online multiplayer aspect as one of the strongest points of the game, with it being described as greatly extending its replay value. The most common complaint about the game was the length of its single-player aspect, which many felt was too short. Cindy Yans finished her review, "Despite the rather pale storyline, [...] watered-down quests and a fair amount of necessary repetition, Diablo is a must for anyone interested in 'just plain fun.'" On GameSpot's main page for Diablo, the subtext used to describe the game when it came out simply states: "Diablo is the best game to come out in the past year, and you should own a copy. Period.".
Awards
Diablo was awarded GameSpot's Game of the Year Award for 1996.As of June 17, 2011, Diablo has GameSpot's #1 spot of all PC games, with a score of 9.6 out of 10.
Influence
Diablo has been credited with creating a sub-genreComputer and video game genres
Video game genres are used to categorize video games based on their gameplay interaction rather than visual or narrative differences. A video game genre is defined by a set of gameplay challenges. They are classified independent of their setting or game-world content, unlike other works of fiction...
of point-and-click
Point-and-click
Point-and-click is the action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen and then pressing a mouse button, usually the left button , or other pointing device...
action RPGs. Since 1999 many games have used the concepts introduced in Diablo and some have imitated the game. Games using the same gameplay combat systems as Diablo are often referred to as "Diablo clones".