2012-07-30 21:25　 四川在线

4. Leah’s end and the token female:

Leah was supposed to be Blizzard’s big plot point: featured in all the cut scenes and the next chapter in the world’s story. But, Leah’s character never grows beyond an object in the game.

Her only use in game is as a key to opening up the next part of the game.

Conversations with her never develop her as a character as they deal with her talking about past events and how she didn’t believe that this could happen. The big reveal at the end where we find out that she is Diablo’s daughter doesn’t matter by the fact that she becomes possessed by Diablo and robbed of any further character development.

All these points do is show another example of bad storytelling: introducing a female character whose only reason is to be a female character. Leah served no purpose to the game, as she could have been replaced by a magical object (such as the black soulstone) without missing a beat. Kerrigan from Starcraft was a better developed character who became a major point in the Starcraft mythos.

The other problem with how Leah turns out is that it goes against the theme of the Diablo universe: corruption. The back-story and previous games are all about good people being corrupted and turned towards evil: Leoric, Tal Rasha, the dark wanderer, the rogues from Diablo 1 etc. Having someone just flip a switch from “good” to “evil” in the form of a possession was weak storytelling.

What would have been a much deeper reveal would be if Leah over the course of the game became evil on her own and betrayed the group, instead of her mother enacting a plan, years in the making. More importantly, it would allow the designers to create a new threat instead of just reintroducing another form of Diablo.

By making the main enemy the possession by Diablo, it completely invalidates Leah as a character and any meaning she is supposed to have in the game.

All the new graphics engines and platforms available are not substitutes for story development. As mentioned above, a great story won’t save a horrible game, but it can help elevate a game from being good, to a classic.(source:chronicgamedesigner)