It’s important to note that Diablo Immortalwill already technically qualify as an MMO - albeit a mobile MMO. Regardless, it has generally taken over as a traditional example of the ARPG genre from games like the Zelda franchise. I put the (A) in parentheses because, depending on who you are talking to, we could use the point-and-click or hack-and-slash sub-genres. Now let’s use it.ĭiablo historically has been an isometric (A)RPG. It focuses on requirements such as random dungeon generators, being defined by runs instead of save points, and hack-and-slash gameplay. Still, it’s technically considered a parallel-to or sub-genre of ARPG. Roguelike - We’ve seen this term tossed around recently about Torghast.Open-world - Probably the most open-ended definition, this refers to players freely roaming throughout the video game world however, it has become synonymous with non-linear gameplay, implying free-form objective progression (AKA, the opposite of D3’s story mode).

Developers use this method to turn 2D graphics into a 3D environment.

Isometric - To put it simply, this refers to the camera viewing angle in the game.The ARPG genre has much backstory, so I recommend reading up if you’re interested! The types more relevant to our topic are the “point-and-click” (referencing mouse use rather than console controller) and “hack-and-slash” (focusing on real-time combat) styles, which include the Diablo franchise. ARPG (action roleplaying game) - These games are more focused on real-time combat.There is a slew of subgenres applied to MMOs, but there are only so many hours of the day here!

MMORPG (massively-multiplayer online roleplaying game) - In this context, we’re using MMO to refer to games where thousands or even millions of players get together online to play a roleplay-style game.

But how much do we understand them? What is the proper use of our gamer lexicon? MMORPG, ARPG, Isometric, open-world… these are things we hear all the time in gaming.

What terms are we using here, and how do we mean them? But that leads me to ponder: As RPGs move more toward the open-world model, what differentiates them from MMORPGs? And (perhaps the more significant question), should there be more separation or uniqueness between the two? Let’s start with a question - what is the first word that comes to mind when you think of those beautiful Diablo 4 demos from BlizzCon 2019 and clips from BlizzConline? For me, it’s open-world (yes, I know that’s technically two words).

Blizzard diablo 4