First an update on the potential giveaway… turned
out anything worthwhile was used up or given away already. But I promise I will
make it up at the next milestone of 10k views.
Now with that out of the way I am going to delve
in to the topic of today.
For many years we have seen Blizzard go from strength
to strength. From the original RTS games
through Diablo and WoW and now with the trio of Hearthstone, HotS and
Overwatch. Especially Overwatch have been a really good game in my opinion.
Sure it suffers from the same balance issues as any non-symmetrical PvP. But it
is still fun and it hits that really sweet spot of rewarding but not over time-consuming.
But as Buffy and the gang asked… Where do we go
from here..? With the upcoming Blizzcon the question of what will Blizzard do
next is a hot potato indeed, The Star Craft 2 saga have concluded and due to its
weird position as a E-Sport I think Blizzard are reluctant to muck around too
much with it or start a new chapter in the saga. Also where do you go next,
keeping things fresh but still being true to what people know as Star Craft? As
for the old dog on the porch… World of Warcraft is really on its last leg… We
can all see the sunset and while it is pretty and I am sure we will see at
least another expansion. It is still walking well threaded ground. Hearthstone
and HotS do not really make for grand expansion and to Overwatch, being a PvP arena
shooter the idea of a paid expansion is pretty much anathema… (take note EA and
your insane reliance on splitting the BF player base over and over again) That
leaves us with Diablo… And the internet have been abuzz with some theories that
Blizzard will reveal a new Diablo this year. Now this is not a dumb idea and
while I am not a big fan of the Diablo games I find them fun enough. There is
also as noted above nothing else I can really see being the big ticket item for
this year´s Blizzcon.
So what would I like to see from a new Diablo
game… Well I would like to see them jump the timeline so to speak. Push things
a generation or two forward. A returning evil after a time of peace (cliché I know)
maybe a slightly more Elizabethan-ish design… Or why not go all fantasy steampunk.
They have flirted with it before with the Warcraft games. Not too bothered with
classes but for what it is worth i´d love to see an elemental gunslinger
replace the classic mage… Even if the gun mage is becoming as strong of a thing
as the staple I suggest it replace. Also I would really like to see a class
that is based around a quarter staff… Much like the monk i´d like it to be agile
and mobile. As for the rest I think they have it nailed down now for regular game,
I have heard that running the ladder get a bit grindey after a while but it is
a non-essential part of the games for me.
But time will tell and personally I am much
more interested in seeing some more Overwatch stuff, not only for the current
game but some spin-off titles exploring the rich but mostly hidden world
surrounding the game. That is what would make my Blizzcon.. That and getting
one of those swagbags for free… But I do not think that Blizzard would
prioritize sending one of those to a blog that scrapes up less than 250 views a
month. =P
Well… That will be it for now.
Be nice and play fair, and I will see you again
next week.
T
