DIABLO IV: VESSEL OF HATRED is an isometric action role-playing dungeon crawler developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. The latest entry in the Diablo series, these games are known for their striking dark style and aesthetic. Having the opportunity to deliver 3D art services to a title of this renown as it delves into darker and more horrifying depths was a joy!
Challenge
Our work began with the Blizzard team with a test prop, which once approved would begin our engagement proper. The work that would follow would be four armor sets across three batches. The challenge on this engagement was the level of quality far exceeded any of our previous projects, including our work on other AAA games. Additionally, the pipeline and workflow were strictly to their standards and requirements. Our team had to move quickly and efficiently to ensure our deliveries did not fall below their expectations or their timelines.
Solution
The solution to this engagement was to double down on our communication pipeline to ensure that everything operated as seamlessly and smoothly as possible. We trusted in the skill and talent of each of our artists assigned a piece in this high profile engagement. Each armor set was handled by a single artist with a supervising senior artist managing the batches as they came in. The pipeline for the work was no different than any other engagement but ensuring our quality was up the Blizzard’s standards was something we fought hard to maintain.
Their feedback process was thorough and comprehensive, often with several cycles of iteration as new voices entered the conversation to offer further suggestions. Again, our consistency in communication and iteration meant a quick and seamless turnaround without compromising the quality of work.
Results
The Blizzard team were very happy with our results. They were impressed by our test prop, an artefact held by a Necromancer and we were delighted to see two of the skins and the test prop being integrated into the game in February 2024. We’re very proud of our art team as they managed to create and deliver these incredibly detailed and high-quality armor sets in only 3-4 months per set.
