The One on One series is a collection of comprehensive interviews with people influential in the Diablo I/II community.  This interview's subject is , author of Addiction's Diablo II Statistics Guide, a superb downloadable guide to technical and statistical information in Diablo II.

Bolty:  Welcome, Addiction. Can you tell us a little about yourself to start off?

Well, first off, I'm male. I just recently had my 14th birthday and am currently a student in the 8th grade. I've done pretty well in school over the years. I mostly just spend all my time at home on the computer, playing D2 and other things. I usually get on the Internet every day, but unlike most of the people I know, I don't spend 4 hours talking to people online - I consider that a waste of my day. :) I was born and have always lived in Georgia (just south of Atlanta), but there's a possibility that I'll be moving to Florida soon. I honestly haven't seen many movies (and by that, I mean less than a dozen - hard to believe, I know). I guess if I had to pick one "favorite" movie, it would probably be The Patriot (also the most recent one I've seen). I'm also a big fan of Italian food, especially spaghetti and lasagna. Tacos would also be included in a list of favorite foods, as would meat loaf (which I actually despised about 5 years ago). My name mostly just came out of thin air, but sort of refers to my relationship with my computer, D2, and Coca-Cola. <pauses, grabs can of Coke, opens it, and takes a sip...ahhh, finally some caffeine!>

Bolty:  I'll cut to the chase. Version 1.01 of your Diablo II Statistics Guide has just recently been released after months in development. What inspired you to make this guide?

I got most of my inspiration from the massive Jarulf's Guide to Diablo and Hellfire. It was a wonderful resource giving information about anything you wanted to know about Diablo, and after hearing that Jarulf would do no such thing for D2, I decided that somebody needed to do it. :)

Bolty:  Do you plan to keep updating your guide with new information as it's discovered, and for the expansion pack as well?

Yes.

Bolty:  Are you new to the Diablo scene with Diablo II? You seem to have come right out of the woodwork, so to speak. What makes you a fan of the Diablo series?

Actually, I first started playing Diablo I in December 1997. I played only single player, mainly because I had no internet access until the summer of '99. Starting then, I began lurking on the DSF. I don't remember posting at all while I was there. I picked up D2 not long after it came out and began lurking on the Lounge a few days later. I've been around since late June (I think), but haven't started posting until about two months ago.

When I got my first computer in January '97, I honestly never dreamed that I would own a game like D2. At that time, I still considered games like these "too violent". When my uncle got Diablo 1 for me as a Christmas present, though, I immediately fell in love with it. From the time I first heard about the upcoming release of Diablo II, I was impatient. In the summer of last year, though, I finally spotted it in an Electronics Boutique and felt annoyed because I didn't have the money to get it right there and then. :) It didn't take long, though.

Bolty:  What do you think of the violence in the Diablo series (and that technically you're "underage" for the game)? Do you feel the standards of the ESRB are a good thing for the industry and that games like Diablo should not be played by children?

Well, the violence factor really isn't too high (after all, it's not like you're shooting them with AK47s). I mostly agree with the ESRB standards (though I can't see why they gave The Sims a "Teen" rating...it's not like you actually SEE anything), but I think that if a kid's parents say it's okay, that should pretty much settle the matter.

Bolty:  What other games do you enjoy playing?

I'm a big fan of the Sim series, and currently have 11 of those games, including The Sims, SimCity 3000, and SimThemePark.

Bolty:  I'm showing my age here, I know, but I remember staying up all night when I was your age playing the original Sim City...ah, 256 color action! You young'ins don't know what a real game is, dagnabit! :)

You know, that was the game that originally got me hooked on the series. Back in late 1997, my cousin had acquired a copy of SimCity Classic. I played it for a few minutes and was instantly hooked. As soon as I returned home, I told my mom to get it for me immediately, and it just kept going from there. I just hope it doesn't take them too long to release SC4K... :)

Bolty:  If you could make changes to the gameplay in Diablo II, what would you change?

I would probably change some of the quests, mainly the ones that require you to collect items. Those quests are entirely too time-consuming (for the most part) and, in some cases, absurd (I'm thinking of the Khalim's Will quest here).

Bolty:  What kind of quests and quest rewards would you prefer to see instead? Imagine yourself as Tyler Thompson, able to command the legions of Blizzard North with iron will, and that you wanted to make a change, no questions asked. What would it be?

A couple weeks ago, I remember a post on the Lounge forum that talked about the possibility of random quests (i.e. find a certain item and receive a reward, but the item would change in each game). I agree with this. As far as rewards go, a gold reward would probably be almost useless (except for gambling). Maybe there could be a reward that would allow you to take, say, five points from your Str/Dex/Vit/Nrg and redistribute them - sort of like the shrines in D1, only with a little more control.

Bolty:  What's expected in the next release version of your guide?

Mainly some bugfixes. There might be a few new things (possibly the effect of multiplayer games on experience), but most of the "new stuff" will be in v1.02 and beyond.

Bolty:  If you had to do it all over again, would you compile the guide a second time and go through all that work?

No. Many times, I found myself yelling at my computer because something wasn't working right (this was a frequent occurrence when I converted it to Word format), and I'd rather just add new things than begin again from scratch. Besides, it took four months to do all that, and if I went through that again, I'd probably lose whatever sanity I have left (wait...do I have any left?) :)

Bolty:  What is it that you think makes the Diablo games so addictive and popular?

One major aspect is probably the fact that it can appeal to almost any type of gamer, from the simple "find-the-best-way-and-use-it" type to those who look for new ways to do things and use strategy to overcome obstacles instead of saying "I can't do it" and starting over. Also, the multiplayer abilities greatly enhance the scope of the game (although I rarely use them - it's amazing how I can get so much lag with a computer I've only had for two months).

Bolty:  What's your favorite character class in Diablo II? In Diablo 1? Why?

My favorite D2 character is probably the Amazon. For one thing, there are two distinct paths to take, allowing you to focus more fully on the skills that can enhance the path you've chosen (either Bow or Jav/Spear). Also, some strategy is required to play the Amazon effectively and safely (for example, if you see a Multishot LEB, you do not use Jab on it, and you need to know when it's best to use Multishot or Strafe, or Freezing or Immolation Arrow). My very first character was an Amazon, and my highest one also is (clvl 40).

In Diablo I, I almost exclusively played the Warrior. This is probably because at the time, I wasn't very good at firing missiles - back then, I took a more simplistic approach to the game. I would invariably start a Warrior, make my way through and kill Diablo (dying many times along the way, heh), and finally stop at about clvl 27 because I had no multiplayer capabilities; even though I later got internet access, I felt uncomfortable playing with people I didn't know. I tried the Sorcerer on occasion, but never made it nearly as far. Same goes for the Rogue.

Bolty:  What do you think of the Assassin and the Druid, based on what we know of them so far?

It seems like both of them are pretty cool, but I'll probably be spending more of my time as a Druid. It just seems cool to be able to turn into animals and everything. Even if he isn't the strongest character, the "fun factor" will probably be pretty high, which is what really counts.

Bolty:  Thanks for taking the time for the interview, Addiction!

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