David Brevik, Max Schaefer, and Erich Schaefer are the legendary founders of Blizzard North. The studio cut its teeth on the RPG franchise Diablo and very quickly developed a cult status among RPG and action-RPG fans. Many hardcore fans regard them as the fathers of the ARPG subgenre, and for good reason, they really know how to make good games.
So when it was revealed that the three of them would be present at Path of Exile‘s first-ever fan convention, as well as doing an extensive interview about their experiences in the game industry, people were excited, and the titans of Blizzard fame didn’t miss a beat. Path of Exile 2 was also announced during this same ExileCon convention, so for this to be so well-received, you know it has to be good.
The talk itself is pretty extensive, and runs through a bunch of fan questions as well. The three icons discuss their early influences from tabletop RPGs, and how they brought that epic feel to video games in a whole new way with Diablo. The group also discusses at length how the genre has evolved over the years, and how important common systems are to developing engaging gameplay and characters.
The trio also talks about how important it is for gameplay to be both fun and rewarding. There’s nothing better with complex games than overcoming something challenging with a system or build you came up with yourself, and that idea is at the essence of POE and its difficulty curve. With all of the labyrinthine systems in the ARPG, it’s no wonder that so many get engrossed in the idea of pushing through the adversity for endless reward.
Check out the full interview down below.
