Diablo 3 designer apologises for "disrespect" towards franchise creator

Diablo 3 designer Jay Wilson has issued a public apology for his much-shared Facebook comment responding angrily to criticisms of the action RPG.

"I recently made a comment on Facebook about Dave Brevik. I want to make it clear that I am very sorry for what I said. I have higher expectations for myself than to express my feelings in such a rash way and disrespect a fellow developer like Dave, someone who deserves to be treated with greater respect," Wilson wrote on the Battle.net forums.

"What I said was expressed out of anger, and in defense of my team and the game. People can say what they want about me, but I don't take lightly when they disparage the commitment and passion of the Diablo III team.

"Dave is awesome. In Diablo and Diablo II, he made two of the games that have most affected me as a developer. I respect his vision for Diablo, but just like he said in his interview, the Diablo III team must drive a vision for the game that is true to us. We believe in Diablo and have stuck by it through years of hard development to make it a reality."

Wilson went on to discuss the credentials of the Diablo 3 development team, to defend the game from criticism, and also to promise further development to bring it in line with long-term series fans' expectations. Hit the link above to read the whole thing; it's kind of a must for any Diablo tragic.

Last week, Brevik gave an interview in which he criticised some aspects of Diablo 3's design and mourned the loss of the original development team at the shuttered Blizzard North. Blizzard staffers weren't exactly pleased by the comments, and in a Facebook post on the subject, Wilson responded with "F**k that loser". His comment was hastily deleted but not before news outlets screencapped it.

Thanks, Kotaku.