All you Diablo III fans will have something closer to watch out for. Blizzard's confirmed that a beta will be arriving sometime this month.

They still aren't very forthcoming as to the exact date, what they are amenable to divulge about it are the following:

"Countless hours of consulting the ancient prophecies and poring over dusty tomes have resulted in the unearthing of new information about Diablo III. The upcoming Diablo III beta test will introduce a treasure trove of exciting new features, including a new Auction House that will provide a powerful new way for your characters to acquire the implements of war. Prepare yourselves!"

Lead content designer Kevin Martens reveals their focus for the beta test:

"Polish, polish, polish. In particular, we're going to keep refining our approach to the game's action-storytelling. We want the player to experience the story, instead of just being told the story by NPCs, so we're moving a lot of the dialogue into the gameplay and leaving the quest hubs with just the bare, essential details needed to keep the plot moving.

One example of this kind of a change can be found when players first get to New Tristram. When they arrive, they find the town under siege by a horde of zombies, and the guards need help fending off the attack before they can open the gates. One of the conversations between the player and the guards used to take place before the main zombie attack, but it now takes place during the attack.

The subtle change took a short conversation and moved it into the action of the game, which made it more impactful and intense. Ultimately, we want the story to feel ambient and organic, instead of something that only happens between battles.

Blizzard only recently announced the new features of the game, which included an Auction House using real money. Consequently, their announcement on Diablo III's online requirement sparked various strong reactions among the fanbase, which Blizzard admitted to being surprised about.

For the rest of the interview with Martens, follow the source link below.

Via [Blizzard]

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