起初《暗黑破坏神》是回合制的,参照了《安格班德(Angband)》这类 rougelike 游戏的很多元素。[...] 开发不久后同事们私下开始议论要不要把它变成即时制游戏。我起先是不同意的,但到最后却改变了想法,那次变通我仍历历在目:写好代码后开始运行程序,只见我麾下的战士迈开步伐,将面前的骷髅击得粉碎,动作如行云流水般流畅。
Originally, Diablo was a turn-based game. It was largely modelled around a roguelike game called Angband. [...] A bit into the development, the idea of turning Diablo into a real-time game started whispering around the office. I resisted for a while, but eventually I decided to give it a try, and I remember it like it was yesterday. I spent the day converting the code to real-time, and the first time I pressed the mouse button, the warrior walked over and smashed a skeleton apart in a smooth and satisfying motion.
David Brevik,
《暗黑破坏神》首席程序员David Brevik,
Diablo's lead programmer
使刷刷刷的过程保持有趣的是其装备系统。每件装备都是从预设的装备池中随机抽取的。普通装备(Regular)没有特殊属性,只能增加伤害或者护甲。魔法装备(Magical)有前缀和后缀词条,可以给角色提供加成:比如加攻速、额外的角色属性、甚至是 debuff。稀有装备(Unique)虽然非常罕见,却异常强大。由于更好的装备可能就藏在下一个转角,甚至就藏在下一个箱子里或下一个怪身上,驱使玩家深深地沉迷于游戏之中,只想再多杀一个怪,殊不知天亮。
与《暗黑破坏神》一起发行的,还有暴雪公司的战网(Battle.net)。玩家可以在网上与他人竞争或合作进行游戏。但由于公司对游戏管控不严和部分玩家投机倒把,导致外挂猖獗。这严重影响了线上游戏环境,并使得暴雪在之后的游戏中严厉打击处罚游戏作弊。
What makes this loop fun is the item system. Each item you find will be randomly generated from a preset pool of qualities. Regular items have no special properties; just a damage or armour rating. Magical items combine a prefix and suffix attribute which provide various bonuses to your character. It could be faster attack speed, additional character stats, or even curses. And Unique items are extremely rare and powerful. Diablo captures players with the constant promise of a better item just around the corner, maybe in the next chest or enemy, driving you to keep fighting monsters till the early hours of the morning.
Together with Diablo, Blizzard also launched the Battle.net service, where you could play competitively or cooperatively online. The big downside was the rampant cheating, as Blizzard did not police hacks and exploits much. This alienated some from online play, so the company was much fiercer in enforcing anti-cheating measures on future titles.
1997 年,《地狱火(Hellfire)》作为《暗黑破坏神》的资料片发行。该资料片优化了一些老版的不便之处,如加快在城中的移速。然而,下至研发团队上至发行公司都不是原班人马,导致其品质不一。但有一说一,就新加入的内容而言,比如新职业武僧(Monk)、装备升级和任务等,该资料片是对得起老玩家们了,并且其中一些改动也被加入到了《暗黑破坏神 2》之中。
总而言之,很少有其他 RPG 游戏能拥有像《暗黑破坏神》这样成功的细节。这款游戏不应被错过,其开创性的拾取系统也极大地提升了游戏的重玩价值。因为总有新装备能刷;总有新怪能打;总有新图能探。
模组:
《巴力西卜(Belzebub)》:即《暗黑破坏神 HD》,它增加了宽屏游戏模式并大幅改善了游戏玩法,如重新平衡过的职业以及《暗黑破坏神 2》的一些特性。
《暗黑破坏神 觉醒(Diablo Awake)》:添加了新的怪物/boss、法术、任务和装备,还有 bug 的修复与游戏玩法上的微调。
《地狱(The Hell)》:被评为是最难的一款 mod,其增加了新的职业,装备和 500 多种有名字的怪物。
In 1997, Diablo got an expansion called Hellfire. It brought some welcome convenience features like the ability to move faster in town. Oddly, Hellfire was not developed by the same team or even company, so it lacks the same consistent quality as the base game. Still, extra content in the way of a new class the Monk –, item upgrades and quests make Hellfire worthwhile for Diablo veterans, and some features would eventually work their way into Diablo II.
Not many RPGs succeed in minimalism like Diablo. The game world is not to be missed and the seminal loot system provides limitless replay value. There's always another item to find, another monster to kill and a new gothic labyrinth to navigate.
Mods:
Belzebub: aka Diablo HD, it adds widescreen support and extensive gameplay changes, such as rebalanced classes and features from Diablo II.
Diablo Awake: Adds new monsters/bosses, spells, quests, and items, plus bug fixes and gameplay tweaks.
The Hell: Claiming to be the hardest of all Diablo mods, it adds new classes, items and over 500 named monsters.