This is a translated version of an interview conducted with Bill Roper by the Swedish website Passagen, posted by the website on 9/25/2000. Date: 09/27/200 Translation By: Tommy Peterson
Passagen: Diablo II is the fastest selling computer game ever. There were large expectations of the game, and the pressure on the Game Developers has been gigantic. - Sure you feel that, but for us the only thing is to focus on making an entertaining game, says Bill Roper, Head Developer at Blizzard.
When the RPG Diablo came four years ago it revolutionized the gaming world. Suddenly role-playing became interesting even outside the normal
role-playing community, and the Developers at Blizzard showed that complex games anyway could be easy to play - but hard to master. During the passing
years many have tried repeating Diablo's success. Some have partly made it, but most people have looked forward to Blizzard releasing the sequel with
great anticipation. The hype started already a year ago.
Bill Roper: The pressure from the fans and players has been very hard, but that has only been positive. You can't really complain when the game you have done has many fans?
Simple on the surface.
The strange thing about Diablo II is that it has reached it's gigantic success without being really innovative. The graphics are good, but not extremely so. The plot and what's called gameplay is also good, but not revolutionizing in any way.
Bill Roper: Our goal was to make a game that is simple on the surface, but complex deep down. It should be easy to learn, but very hard to master, says Bill Roper. I love roleplay and can spend hours deciding skills and traits for my character. but most people finds that no fun. Because of that Diablo II has
that possibility, but at the same time you don't have to do it. Instead your character can develop during gameplay, depending on your choices.
Simple Strategy
The strategy for Bill Roper and the other at Blizzard is very simple: Make fun games.
Bill Roper: I believe it's easy as a Game Developer to focus on the wrong things like graphics or good-looking in-game films. The secret for our success is that we in some way have succeeded in getting the Player and the Game-play in the center. It must be fun to play computer games. It sounds prosaic, but the secret to succeeding with a game is simply to make it fun.
That's also one reason why we always try to make the games as simple as
possible to play. You're not forced to wade through thick manuals to play,
only fanatical gamers has that stamina. You need our manual when your
further on in the game, but you should not need to open it before having
played many hours.
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