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Comment by vyrotek | Hacker News Reader

It's basically a very pretty slot machine. I played quite a bit of D2 and D3. The thrill comes from grinding for hours (and hours and hours) and finding that one item that earns you hundreds of dollars. (Yes real dollars) You can thank the the Real-Money Auction House for both destroying the game and being the one thing that keeps so many people coming back for more.

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I loved Diablo 2 and probably spent a good portion of my high school hours playing it. I was very excited for Diablo 3 and tried to get into it but just couldn't.

I felt that they just took a ton of ideas from WoW and implanted them into Diablo. Sure it may have made them more money but it made it a lot less fun.

I've heard Path of Exile is a worthy successor to D2.

For this very reason I must on no account ever install it.

its a great game with its own economy issues. since the open beta started its gone downhill.

If you liked Diablo 2, Torchlight 2 was made by the same people, and is the spiritual successor to Diablo 2.

Thanks for mentioning. I'll take a look.

Marvel Heroes is made by David Brevik - He had the original idea for diablo 1 and played a bigger role in diablo 2 than the guys that made torch light 2. Lets no mention his failed project with bill roper on hellgate london though.

> It's basically a very pretty slot machine.

I didn't see the connection so clearly until now. How is D3 even legal?

Why would it be illegal?

Because it could seen as online gambling. You spend money to buy items to then grind to find more items to hopefully cash out.

I'm honestly surprised that they haven't been so classified yet. The theory-wonks had made this connection as far back as 2005, and the IRS wasn't entirely blind to it. (Though when Dibbell published Play Money in 2007, they had no clue how to deal with it.)

I guess with all the hysteria about video game violence, no one has had time to actually look at what's going on.

ETA: I'm guessing that the fact that there's some skill involved makes it more okay. Like a fly-fishing tournament.

How is clicking on monsters to get drops different from a slot machine or pachinko? - Those are illegal in many jurisdictions.

Probably something to do with not having to pay to play. That's a pretty big difference.

Because you aren't likely to lose money clicking on monsters.

Also, by that logic, buying a pack of baseball cards is gambling.

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