Hey Game Clubbers, welcome to our first discussion of Diablo III. I hope that none of you guys had as hard a time as I did logging onto the game for the first time. If you did then, like me, you probably havenāt spent as much time with the game as youād like. Even those of us who havenāt been able to play the game every waking hour since Tuesday probably have a lot on their minds, though. Iām guessing that fans whoāve only played for five minutes will have plenty to say about some of the gameās major changes.
As with any story-based game, please note that there may be spoilers in the threads below: If youāre concerned with hearing too much about the plot, than please come back at a later time.
If youāre a first-timer, you might want to check out the Game Clubās original mission statement. Donāt have the time? Hereās the quickie version: The Kotaku Game Club exists because no one wants to experience a game alone. Even when weāre playing individually, games are always more interesting when we share our thoughts and hear other peoplesā perspectives. The Game Club picks a different game every month or so to play as group so we can meet to discuss its narrative and mechanical themes and reactions to them.
The Game Club meets on Kotaku every Thursday at 4pm Eastern, and our discussions take place in the comments section of designated Game Club posts like this one.
If you need an idea to help you think about what to talk about, give us your thoughts on the following statement:
Counter to what you might expect, the new character-specific storylines make it harder for players to become attached to their Diablo III characters.
Imagination is a powerful tool in a game like Diablo III. Though the game has a tons history and a story to tie things together, the moment-to-moment experience isnāt necessarily driven by plot. So how do we get connected to the game, through our characters: We customize them, level them up and do our best to perfect them becauseā¦ well, each person has their own motivation. Thatās the point. This is meant to be our story, and the itās gaps we fill between the details the game provides that binds us to it.
In Diablo and Diablo II, knowing very little about the hero helps you step into the role of Sanctuaryās champion. Regardless of your class or equipment, weāre ourselves ā No matter what the character is named, their identity came straight from the player.
Diablo III moves the series forward by turning each class into a distinct character, giving them a voice and a backstory: The player may give their female wizard a name, but she is who she is, regardless. Thereās less room for the player to project themselves onto their character.
Weāre only talking about Diablo III for two weeks, so the next meeting will also be our last! Make sure to come back to Kotaku next Thursday, May 24th, at 4pm Eastern for more Diablo III discussion!
Have fun everybody!
