What I'm up to in December (Monthly Patron's-Only Post)

Wowie. It's been a busy few weeks. Neck-deep in my next scripted video. This one is going to be a follow-up to my most successful video so far by a country mile: Diablo 2 vs. Diablo 3.

I never expected to get as much attention from that video as I did, and as it stands it has about four times the combined viewership of my other videos...COMBINED. That's quite a lot, and although I meant that video to be a one-off, I'd be remiss not to revisit that game series with something new. 

Over the last month or two I kicked around some ideas on how to do that. I saw that some YouTubers just compare X game with Y game, X game with Z game, etc. That seemed silly, and came off as just catering toward the the easy views for people looking for comparisons. Similarly to the original video, I wanted a new slant or approach to something, not just my own similar take that a dozen people had done before.

The original video was inspired by Xtimus's video of a similar name. He had his heart in the right place, but it's no secret that the bloke has an incredible bias toward the second game (based on his singular dedication to the game on his channel), and I got the impression that some of his points against Diablo III were a bit petty and didn't really dig deep enough into the mechanics or give it a truly fair shake.

Every comparison is going to be subjective, but I believe mine was a bit more fair and gave credit where credit was due.

This new video will be a direct successor to that one, taking my comparisons even further, but focusing more specifically what pieces I would take (in the hypothetical case that I'd have to authority to) from several hack 'n' slash action RPGs to fuse together to make the perfect Diablo sequel.

So far the video is scripted, the voiceover is done and edited, and the basic parts are in place for the video. Just need to get a lot of editing done, sourcing and design of imagery and diagrams, plus some more gameplay of various ARPGs that I plan on featuring in the presentation.

Hope this is interesting to you all. I'll close with a few teaser paragraphs from my script:

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In almost unanimous agreement, Diablo lost quite a bit of soul in it’s last entry in the tone and visual design department. Though a Mature-rated game, it didn’t scratch the thematic itch many were expecting:

Bloody. Gothic. Horror.

In this regard it could learn a few things from the first two games, particularly the original.

Tension and purpose should firstly be communicated through your adversaries, and whispers of their horrific acts from the townspeople.

Shambling undead, inferno-brandishing demons and blood ritual cultists should be your unwelcoming hosts to this forsaken tour through purgatory.

Monsters so odious and despicable, you’re driven to destroy them for the sake of others. Or so putrid and miserable, for their own sake.

Accompanied by disfigured and dangerous antagonists -- like towering murderers from a slasher film, striding toward you with an unquenchable bloodlust in their eyes. Whether exclaiming their taste for “Fresh Meat”, or chilling you to the bone with the infamous, “Not even DEATH can save you from me…”