Diablo III – Emo Vs Designers

Diablo III, is something that both Sian and I are rather sweaty with excitement about. We both loved the previous Diablo games with a passion, and the thought of once more venturing into the dark labyrinths and fiend haunted lands of its dark world brings a grim smile to my horrible face every time I think about it.

The Website has been up for a while now, and on there you will find an excellent run through of a couple of game levels. Now apparently, this has caused some upset amongst our more despair-ridden kin (you know the ones; pierced lips, asymmetrical hair styles that require a lot of gel and black dye, names like ‘Despair’ ‘Tenebrous’ and ‘Caliginous’), for they do not feel that the new game presents a grim or more specifically grey enough aesthetic, and they have taken matters into their own hands.

Penny Arcade (personal favourite web comic) ran a most amusing strip about it, and the designers of the new game actually Reviewed Some Screenshots.

My thoughts?

Well, I used to be a bit angsty myself, and spent long periods of time drifting mournfully around graveyards, weeping at the pure beauty of the dark, and contemplating the blackness of a bin liner. I would write bad poems (you know the sort of thing; “Oh tender darkness, take me unto thy bosom, fill my heart with bitter-sweet tears, and let me drift, oh drift, upon the waters of lethe….etc etc.”), and I always feel slightly protective of goths / emo kids…

…But they are wrong in this case. Dead wrong. As wrong as wrong can be. Much as I thrive on darkness in my games (both video and tabletop), I can’t bloody play them if everything is so desaturated and grey that they become indistinguishable from the background. Like wise, a blob of beauty and light here and there, emphasises the darkness and malevolence of the antagonists.

So, my black lipstick wearing, eye-liner smudged, unwashed gloom-babies, shut up – or I will summon some nameless abominations from the howling depths of Emeth’Shentanyrr and send it’s frothing and boiling madness into your very soul.

Muwahahahahahahaha!!!

And in other news, CONGRATULATIONS PRESIDENT NICE, LIZ AND MEGAN ON THE ARRIVAL OF YOUR NEWEST SPAWNLING. YAY!!!!

There. I’m done.