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Project Hades was the codename for a cancelled Diablo title.
Gameplay[]
According to three people who worked on the project, Hades would have been a Diablo game in the style of Dark Souls.[1] According to other sources, Hades took inspiration from the combat of the Batman: Arkham games.[2] It would be a Gothic, challenging dungeon crawler, utilizing a third person over-the-shoulder camera rather than the series's traditional isometric design.[1] It has also been described as a roguelike with a permadeath system for every run.[2] Perks accumulated by the character in their run would be transferred to the next created character. The game would feature cooperative multiplayer.[3]
Development[]
Work on Project Hades began after the release of Reaper of Souls and the cancellation of The King in the North. The original mandate was for Team 3 to create a "Diablo IV," regardless of what form such a game would take. The project was overseen by Josh Mosqueira,[1] who prototyped the concept.[2] At the time, Mosqueira was seen as "Blizzard's golden boy," and Mike Morhaime wanted him to create a fourth Diablo game as quickly as possible.[3]
After years of working on the Diablo series, Mosqueira wanted to try something completely new. He gathered a few artists and designers and began conceptualizing the game.[3]
From 2014 until 2016, Hades was Team 3's main project, developed alongside a handful of patches and light content updates for Diablo III.[1] However, Team 3 ran into difficulties almost immediately. One of the problems was its combat system. While it took after Batman: Arkham, those were singleplayer games, and it was hard to transpose it into a multiplayer game. For instance, in Arkham, a time dilation mechanic features—how would this affect two characters? Tean 3 designers began to wonder whether this was really Diablo anymore,[3] and it was such a departure from the prior games, some at Blizzard thought they might not even end up calling it "Diablo IV."[1]
Another issue was the game's use of staff. Hades only required a small subset of Team 3, and the remaining developers found themselves with little else to do. A few of them began calling themselves "Team Summer Camp" in an echo of what had happened at Blizzard North many years earlier. People would arrive at work, play Diablo III, have lunch, head home, etc. As some of the "Summer Camp" team moved to the Hades team, the pressure grew on Mosqueira to make decisions so they'd have something to do. However, Mosqueira became harder to track down, coming in to the office only two or three days a week, which hampered some of the designers’ progress as they waited for feedback.[3]
Mosqueira announced he was leaving Blizzard in July, 2016. When a group of Blizzard executives and lead designers came to evaluate the progress of Hades, they left unimpressed. Believing that the project wouldn’t be feasible without Mosqueira, they decided to cancel it. Diablo IV would have to start from scratch.[3] When asked in 2018, Mosqueira refused to comment on the project.[1]
The cancellation of Hades led to Team 3 splitting between two projects. The first was Rise of the Necromancer, which they hoped would act as a short-term solution for fans hungry for more Diablo content. The second group began worked on Project Fenris.[1] As Project Hades had never been publicaly announced, this led to a lull in Diablo releases, leading some fans to wonder why the franchise appeared dormant.[3]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 2018-11-22, The Past, Present, And Future Of Diablo. Kotaku, accessed on 2018-11-22
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2024-10-01, Jason Schreier On Blizzard's Secret Games And Turbulent History. YouTube, accessed on 2024-10-05
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 2024-10-08, The Diablo IV Nobody Ever Saw. Wired, accessed on 2024-10-12
Core Series — Diablo • Diablo II • Lord of Destruction • Diablo Immortal • Diablo III • Reaper of Souls • Rise of the Necromancer • Diablo IV • Vessel of Hatred
Licensed Expansions — Hellfire • Unearthed Arsenal
Tabletop RPGs — Dungeons and Dragons: Diablo II Edition (The Bloodstone Tomb, The Awakening, Diablerie, To Hell and Back, The Secret Cow Level) • Diablo: The Roleplaying Game
Board Games — Diablo Chess • Diablo III Mahjong • Diablo: The Board Game
Re-releases — Diablo Battle Chest • Diablo II: Resurrected • Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition • Diablo III: Eternal Collection
Canceled — Salvation • Diablo Junior • Diablo III • Diablo MMO • The King in the North • Project Hades