Peeling Back the Varnish: The Graphics of Diablo IV
Diablo IV officially launches on June 5 at 4 p.m. PDT, opening a new plane of Hell for brave wanderers to traverse. Those slaying demons across Sanctuary will quickly notice a defining feature of Diablo IV—it is invitingly dark. This aesthetic harkens back to the universe’s roots, to the beloved gothic tones of the original Diablo and Diablo II. The first of these games came out nearly 27 years ago, and since then, the technology used to establish the visual language for video games has drastically changed.
Lead software engineer Keven Cantin, principal software engineers John Buckley and Kevin Todisco, lead technical artist Aaron Aikman, and senior software engineer Samuel Delmont will illustrate the team’s approach to bringing the graphics of Diablo IV to life, showcase some of the technology used during development, and detail our approach to scalability.
Philosophy and Guiding Principals
Returning to Darkness Through Technology
Scalability in Sanctuary
Console Performance for Launch
What’s Next
The Diablo IV Graphics team’s goals and philosophy are rooted in the same values that drive Blizzard’s success. We are a gameplay-first company, meaning that every decision we make needs to be in service of creating a game that’s fun to play. With each unique iteration of the mortal realm of Sanctuary, we pushed the limits of our rendering technology. Because Diablo IV has a darker tone, we asked ourselves ‘what can we do as a graphics team to specifically support that idea?’ To answer, we selected a small number of solid features, prioritizing a highly polished result over a wider range of options.
At the heart of our philosophy lies collaboration. Our team of graphics engineers and technical artists worked with
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