According to a recent interview at the GamesBeat Summit 2023, Erich Schaefer, one of the co-creators of Diablo, has been appointed Chief Creative Officer of Moon Beast Productions, and together with company founders Peter Hu and Phil Shenk, Erich aims to revolutionize the action RPG genre with fresh and innovative ideas.
“We have ideas for changing the genre with a different approach to progression and trying to solve some of the problems that are beholden to PvE games, especially games, like the Diablo franchise has dealt with,” says Phil Shenk, co-founder of Moon Beast Productions, explaining the studio’s worldview and vision.
Erich also mentioned which titles have inspired him to make a tangible change in the ARPG genre, mainly titles like Diablo, Torchlight, or Path of Exile that contain 4X strategy features.
He says, “They’re all basically the same game. They have a 4X structure. They have five classes, and each one has a tab with skill trees,” adding that he loves this structure, but feels that it’s now quite difficult and demanding to make, as it requires compelling and ongoing content, a full campaign, and a Blizzard-level budget of at least $100 million to produce in these times.
Peter Hu, Moon Beast Productions’s other co-founder, describes the studio’s goal as working toward a “fresh look” of APRGs, moving away from what feels like a “linear evolution” of Diablo as seen in today’s titles. Shenk also adds that the team intends to tackle the problems of modern ARPG development while creating what he calls an interesting and fun experience: “Our mission is to find new ways to make these types of games more fun for players and more efficient to run as a service.”
Hu also adds: “Going back and reinventing the isometric ARPG genre with Erich is like a dream come true for me.” He also says that in the short time that he and Erich have been reunited since the Diablo 2 era, they have come up with some incredible ideas, ideas that – as Schaefer said – would improve the genre, or at least make it more interesting.
4X games, short for “Explore, Expand, Exploit, and Exterminate” games, are real-time strategy games known for their complexity and strategic depth. Unlike other strategy games such as Crusader Kings, which ask players to control existing pre-built factions and focus on only one of the four X’s, 4X games such as Sid Meier’s Civilization require players to create their civilization or army from scratch and focus on all four X’s simultaneously.
This involves micromanaging every single detail of the game, including economics, resources, diplomacy, and other aspects. Compare this to games like Hearts of Iron, which may not allow for exploration, and Total War may lack complexity in certain areas like economy and exploration. 4X games like Stellaris or Civilization are good examples of games that offer players a more complete and immersive experience worthy of the 4X name.
The team is currently preparing an early prototype of their game, built on a commercial game engine, to show to select partners, and according to Shenk, it will be something that feels fresh and innovative, but also easy to use as a service, to make the best of both worlds. Their upcoming title is also said to be multi-platform.
