Blizzard has given us a sneak peek into the sound design process of Diablo IV, and frankly? It’s a complete vibe. The official Diablo Twitter account posted a short video that showcases the auditory abuses in Hell, where the sounds of goatmen howling and bones cracking are referred to as “the best ASMR” by the official Twitter account. The account also shared a long YouTube video that not only shows the sound crew’s hard work but also reveals the team’s effort to make the world of nightmares come alive. The reaction of the community to this move by Blizzard is nothing but mixed feelings: on one hand, there’s total amazement; on the other, there is doubt.
So, what’s the soundscape of Diablo IV like? The developers seem to be really concerned about the audio experience. One gamer, cptspectacular, even said “D4’s Audio/Visual experience is not at all comparable and the devs’ pride for their work should be huge.” That is indeed a flattering remark. Nonetheless, they immediately followed it with a big “BUT…” around the content and systems design that still require catching up. It would be like receiving a five-star meal served on a paper plate—the presentation would be fabulous but you would still be eating off something flimsy.
The video has clearly made a big impression on some gamers. SlashingCreeps said, “Au top la vidéo merci !” which means “The video is great, thanks!” Hence, there is certainly gratitude, particularly for the skill of making Hell sound like, well, Hell. However, the point is that not everybody seems to be having a blast. Alex Stewart admitted, “Little do they know that I play everything but the campaign muted. And trust me, I often wish I muted that, too. ;)” This might be true for a lot of gamers who simply want to grind in silence without the devilish howls disturbing them.
Then, there are the… creative proposals. The user psychosa suggested that the singer of the heavy metal band Lorna Shore, Will Ramos, should perform vocal horror-screams for a future expansion. Can you imagine those screams combined with goatman howls? It might be tough on the sound designers’ mental health if they are already dealing with the challenge of coming up with such creepy sounds. Another player, drMIDNIITE, asked if he could send in a recording of his fart to be turned into a demon’s sound. Honestly, the dedication to the joke is justifiable and worthy of respect.
But wait, what was I saying? Ah, yes, the audio. It has garnered a measure of recognition. However, as one digs deeper into the replies, it becomes impossible to ignore the other, more vociferous discussion that is happening concurrently. Game-in-usual-the-phasing: the gamer community is again, praying one aspect of the game while desperately asking for fixes in other parts. Jose Albaine was very critical: “These morons keep patching themselves on the back for everything except the gameplay.” Ouch! That one really hurt.
The gamers were very specific in their complaints and addressed very particular issues that each of them mentioned. Evan T called attention to a bug in the Druid’s companion aspect that is supposed to be making wolves immortal but, as it turns out, they are dying and teleporting into the ground instead. He then adds, “It’s literally unplayable?” Next, Kyle comes up with the old woes created by patches: “Heaven forbid they hire some internal game testers tho so every season doesn’t have major bugs that take 2 weeks to fix. And then even more bugs because the fix is also not tested lol.” It’s a never-ending cycle, isn’t it? Bastian Vooper simply voiced that they should “Fix lag ffs, game is unplayable.” So even though the sound of breaking bones might be really cool, not if you are lagging so badly that you cannot even hear it.
Someone even played the nostalgia card. Raddinox tried them with the classic “none of the Diablo games has even come close to the awesome sound and graphics of Diablo 1” reasoning and sent a link to a song from the original game. It is that “they don’t make ’em like they used to” feeling, which is always a very strong force among the gamers’ communities.
So, what’s to come now? The Diablo IV sound team deserves a standing ovation without a doubt. They shaped a demonic audio world that is at the same time, terrifying and strangely, somewhat enjoyable as ASMR for some gamers. Visuals and audio have been applied the same title of the best consistently. However, such a revealing behind-the-scenes view also functioned as a lightning rod for the larger discontent of the community with game bugs, lag, and content drop.
This is an immersive game that sometimes ends up being let down by its own technicalities. The sound of hell is captured flawlessly but still, the players are waiting for the whole experience to feel as polished. You can check out the complete sound design video on YouTube to judge the goatman howls for yourself.
