Diablo 4 dev breaks down side-quest inspired by BlizzCon 2019 cinematic

In an exclusive interview with Dexerto, Diablo 4 dev Harrison Pink broke down a sidequest inspired by the By Three They Come cinematic that premiered at BlizzCon 2019.

Diablo 4 is raring for its release early next month on June 6, 2023. Before that time, however, many developers have spoken about the title, giving out information on what’s to come and teasing features within the game. Fans of the upcoming title have learned plenty about the game’s story, classes, and characters as well as the hardcore mode.

However, not much has been said about the game’s plentiful side quests, which players can engage with to learn more about the lore of Sanctuary and grab some helpful rewards along the way.

Dexerto was able to interview senior quest designer Harrison Pink and game producer Naz Hartoonian about Diablo 4’s campaign and in particular, its side quests. Pink spoke about a particular questline that was inspired by the Blizzcon 2019 cinematic “By Three They Come”.

For those unaware, the cinematic recounts the events leading up to Lilith’s summoning into Sanctuary. Elias, the right hand of Lilith, deceives a band of raiders and a scholar into summoning Lilith into Sanctuary, leading them to their dooms.

Pink was inspired by the cinematic and was adamant about being able to visit the location in the game itself.

“That cinematic is incredible, I watch it all the time. And the room that those guys go into, where you put your hand on the thing and the blood and the door opens, all of that stuff was like ‘I want to go there. I want to go there in the game’. It’s such a cool moment to be able to go to places from cinematics but in the game. So day one when I started working on Hawezar I put my thumb on the paper and was like ‘We’re doing that, that’s happening.’”

As a senior quest designer, Pink built the quest line so that players could follow in the footsteps of the adventurers that summoned Lilith.

“It sort of retraces Elias’ steps as he takes those people through the area, then actually getting to go into that as the final part of the quest, actually retracing their steps all the way to the room where Lilith was summoned, and seeing what happened there after the cinematic was over, coming back a month or two later after the game is over.”

With Pink’s vision in mind, alongside the help of the talented design and art team at Blizzard, they were able to have the space realized within the game.

“We got a lot of great support from some talented dungeon artists, some talented designers who really helped build that out and make a really custom POI within the dungeon that really matches the cinematic. They were looking at the frames and making sure the art all matched, they went really hard on it. So getting to go back in there as a player and seeing all the mess left behind months later was something I was really really proud of.”

You’ll be able to play through the By Three They Come inspired questline when Diablo 4 launches on June 6, 2023.