The long-running Diablo video game franchise explores many themes: the internal struggle between light and darkness, surviving against insurmountable odds, and the exhilaration of victory over relentless enemies. That rush of victory is truly satisfying - but only if the foes you face are sufficiently formidable.
The developers of Diablo IV, the latest entry in the series, understand this simple truth well. That’s why they’ve placed a strong emphasis on crafting compelling villains who challenge both the protagonist and the player in new and exciting ways. These headlining antagonists draw much of the spotlight, but overlooking the lower level foes the player overcomes along the way is a mistake. From the lowliest beasts to the most towering demon lords, each is a product of immense effort from a dedicated team of artists and developers.
We wanted to highlight that process - to shine a light on the many talented individuals who bring these often horrifying, usually grotesque, but always compelling monsters to life.
The Hatred Incarnate documentary provides an unprecedented insight into this creative collaboration, and proves that sometimes, darkness can bring people together in the most unexpected and delightful ways.
This project started taking shape alongside the impending release of Diablo IV’s expansion, Vessel of Hatred, in 2024. One of the most exciting elements of the expansion is the deadly new environment players will fight their way through, and of course, the many new monsters they’ll be slaying along the way.
By focusing on a single monster group, or “family”, we found a compelling way to showcase the many different creative disciplines that coalesce into what players see on-screen. We realized this could be a window into the collaborative process of not just video game development, but any successful creative endeavor.
Once we set this direction, the next step was choosing the monstrous subject of our project. The Hollows, in all their grotesque glory, were the perfect choice.
These abominations are creations of Diablo IV’s primary antagonist: Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred. Their writhing movements and twisted visual design embody the festering corruption unchecked hatred can leave in all human hearts.
Among the Hollows, The Priestess of Hatred stood out as most representative of this concept, aesthetically and thematically, so She became the focal point of the piece.
To gain deeper insight into Her creation, we spoke with Victor Lee, principal concept artist and longtime Diablo visionary, who is responsible for the Priestess’s design and much of the franchise’s iconic dark imagery.
We then turned to a diverse group of artists and developers from our California and New York offices, who shed light on the many logistical and technical challenges of bringing this ambitious design to life.
As these conversations unfolded, the sheer scale of the collaborative process became clear. Narrative and encounter designers, art directors, character and technical artists, animators, and producers - all played a vital role in shaping this digital nightmare.
Each contributor provided a unique perspective, adding texture and depth to this extraordinary process. The final challenge, then, was editing all these elements together in a way that did justice to the story.
Of course, talking heads can feel dry to a modern audience, and with the subject of the documentary being visual art, we wanted to ensure a visually compelling experience. We supplemented the interviews with gameplay of the finished product, concept art, early sketches, glimpses of designers and artists at work, and other striking visual elements throughout the piece.
Some of these assets were difficult to track down, requiring us to dig deep into our digital archives - much like a player scouring the depths of an ancient tomb in search of infernal treasure.
And just like those players emerging wearily back into the light, we too were extremely proud of our results.
It was important to us not only to highlight the work done by our talented teams, but also to inspire viewers; to show that regardless of your particular artistic discipline, there is a path into game design for any dedicated creative mind.
The organic audience response to the piece confirmed that we achieved our goal:
142,000 Impressions, 80,000 Views, and 3,500 engagements overall, with content performing most favorably on YouTube.
Most importantly though, overall sentiment was extraordinarily positive, with comments like-
“Thanks for showing the behind the scenes on the technical aspect of game development. I hope other creatives get as much joy out of seeing these types of videos as I do.”
Comments like this prove that our audience wants to see more of this informative, engaging content that celebrates the work of the many talented people that work on their favorite game.
