@JoshForeman
Synergistic Software was my first full time gig in the industry. I started right after they shipped Hellfire. Sierra was such a mess, they had the Hellfire team (which I had joined) working on a LOTR game using the Diablo engine. I was in heaven, building a Mines of Moria tile set for about half a year. Then they shut us down. Turns out they had never actually secured the LOTR license!
@Enforcer6k
I just finished the section on Diablo 2 Resurrected. As a former Vicarious Visions dev, I have a lot of emotions wrapped up in that year (2021). While I had never been a huge Blizzard fanboy, I was initially excited to work with them after rolling off of Tony Hawk 1+2 (Resurrected had been in development in parallel for a little while at that point). Blizzard was THE development house. So many of my coworkers were fans. It was a feeling turned deeply sour within the year. Between the lawsuit, and the loss of our studio head Jen O'Neal to the EXACT SAME kind of discrimination outlined in the lawsuit, and the unwillingness of Blizzard leadership to let our studio be relatively autonomous within the company, I ended up jumping ship within the year. Hell, most of our design department followed suit. Acti-Blizz vets, some of whom had been with the studio for 10+ years, all floated away in the wind. I really appreciate the review you've given to that work they did. It was one of the best things to come out of the studio, but it was also the last thing.
@armblaster
For anyone interested, here's a couple of works quoted by Noah in this video (Thanks again for an awesome essay, Noah!): Natasha Dow Schüll - 2014- Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas Lauren Slater - 2005 - Opening Skinner's Box: Great Psychological Experiments of the Twentieth Century Roger Ebert - 2008 - "Critic" is a four-letter word
@mothersbasement
it’s no exaggeration to say that Operant Conditioning is a foundational principle of game design. They taught us about BF Skinner’s work in literally my first term of game design school, and Diablo 2’s loot mechanics were one of the prime examples they used to explain it. Slot machines were the other big one. BTW, burying this below the fold because I don’t want to “um ackshually” such a great video, but Japan’s legacy of Action RPGs dates back to 1984, with the release of Dragon Slayer and Hydlide on PC and Tower of Druaga in arcades. Japanese devs were less hesitant to break away from the genre’s tabletop roots because D&D didn’t reach their shores until 1985, years after they got their first taste of roguelikes. If you’re ever interested in exploring the parallel evolution of their take on real-time dungeon crawling, the “Ys” series from Nihon Falcom is a great place to start. Personally, I would love to see you talk about it some day.
@countercorps
You are quite literally the best essayist on Youtube
@eeb3171
As someone with an embarrassing amount of hours in Destiny 2 (and who easily gets sucked into live service games in general), the whole second half of this video hit real hard. I always had trouble putting my urge to play into words, but "the machine zone" hits the nail on the head, and it's cathartic to hear it finally described. I see a lot of folks respond to criticism of this kind of design with "just stop playing" which makes sense, but it forgets that getting players addicted isn't an accident. It's a deliberate design choice.
@craneteam87
Holy shit. I just had a baby and I'm staying with him in nicu. This couldn't have come at a better time to help lift my spirits. Thank you
@Franiac32
At the end of 2023 I quit my job, looking to get back to freelance work I was more passionate about. In early January, my dad was rushed two hours to a Portland hospital and the next day had his foot amputated. The next month or so, in between snow storms and medical visits, I would drive out to his house two hours away to take care of his cat, his house, etc. While I was out there I didn't have access to my PS5, but I did have his PS4, and access to my Blizzard account. So I started playing Diablo II again for the first time in a long time. I even managed to beat Diablo on Hell mode, though I didn't get into the really late game stuff like Uber Tristram. As the weeks went by and my dad recovered and everything became more stable again (he's doing well now), I left Diablo II again. But the ending to this video really hit home. All I wanted to do when I was stuck out there was to escape the cage and click on monsters and get my little treats.
@Ensgnblack
As a teacher, I’d love to see my students apply their learning and ability to think to essays such as this. Thinking about games is just as worthy an endeavor as thinking about any other art, and you do it well. Thanks.
@musetube100
Hi noah, I'm a professional musician with quite bad tinnitus. The only way I can sleep at night is listening to audio to distract me from the ringing. It's the night of my 30th birthday and I'm happy to be listening to your essays as I fall asleep. Please never stop, your creativity is endlessly inspiring.
@Em_Ef_Flowering
My wife and I were driving in shifts on our road trip, I took the night drive. I like having all that road to just listen to whatever and think peacefully. I picked this because I figured your tone was calm enough to not wake her. Just as I was listening to you talk about the battle pass, thinking of my own experiences and why I stopped playing certain games, you hit me with my birth name over 10 bucks and I guffaw loud enough to wake my wife. It was fun!
@MrDinmaker
For those interested in the systems of economy in Diablo Immortal, I would like to reccommend Josh Strife Hayes' video essay on the topic. As always, a phenomenal essay Noah, and probably a healthier run time than the last one 🤣
@meursault7030
Lol I love the returning "Noah's old Pizza place manager" subplot. It's incredibly wholesome.
@kenblaney7031
It warms my heart to see that Noah's patreon is doing so well that he can't read out all the names in a single take anymore. I remember the task took so long you could see the drift of the shadows from the movement of the sun comparing the beginning and the end of the segment.
@SpoopySquid
Can't wait for Noah's tie-in travelogue where they visit the nine circles of Hell
@jollyredgiant203
The fact that the diablo immortal section is basically a dissection of how casinos work tells you everything you need to know about it. This is why you are one of the best out there Noah
@DodderingOldMan
Well, I'm 20 minutes in and I've already been reminded several times why you are, for my money, simply the best writer about games (and also travel) on YouTube. I mean that. The best. I hope you're proud of yourself. Usually that phrase is only said sarcastically, but no, I really, really do hope that.
@HadesWTF
This might be the longest amount of time anyone has talked about Diablo 1, and i just really appreciate that.
@impermanence4300
Other Youtubers on Diablo: here's why Diablo is fun! Noah on Diablo: it turns out happy rats don't drink opiate water and games can be a wider reflection of that. God I love this man.
@yeetleslaw8529