On Jan. 17, "Diablo 3" director Jay Wilson stepped down from his role after seven years of working on the game. He announced his decision on the Battle.net forums, and what ensued was a large wave of cheers from members of the community displeased with the final product.
While some members thanked Wilson for his work on the game, others weren't so kind. Some claimed it was the "best news of 2013," while others simply wrote "good riddance." The jeers eventually became so loud that Rob Pardo, the game's chief creative office, came to Wilson's defense, saying he was saddened by the flood of comments.
"This thread saddens me greatly," wrote Pardo. "I know that the Battle.net forums have earned a reputation for rough justice, but I do not believe justice is being served by how people are speaking about Jay's departure from 'Diablo 3.'"
Pardo eventually said that if players still want someone to blame for the aspects of the game they hate, they should blame him.
"If you still feel the need to dish out blame, then I would prefer you direct it at me," he wrote. "I was the executive producer on the project; I hired Jay and I gave him advice and direction throughout the development process. I was ultimately responsible for the game we released and take full responsibility for the quality of the result."
As highly anticipated as "Diablo 3" was, some of the backlash since its release has been quite severe. Users complained about a poor ending, technical issues, as well as the online-only requirement needed to play the game at all. Wilson addressed these issues in a lengthy post, but only after he was caught saying "fuck that loser" in reference to one of the original "Diablo" designers who disagreed with some of his design choices.
Pardo went on to say that Wilson isn't leaving completely, and that he will be working on more Blizzard titles in the future.
"I'm the only person in this thread who has actually worked with Jay," he wrote. "I hired Jay to head up the Diablo project and had the pleasure of getting to work with him, both in building the team and designing the game. He has great design instincts and has added so much to the franchise with his feel for visceral combat, boss battles, and an unparalleled knack for making it fun to smash bad guys. I've worked with many, many designers at Blizzard and Jay is one of the best. He has a great career at Blizzard ahead of him and I guarantee that you will enjoy Jay's game designs in future Blizzard games."
Neither Wilson nor Pardo hinted at what the "Diablo 3" director's next project might be.
