Jazza Shares Some Insight On Making A Magical Friend For Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred

For attendees of PAX Australia just a few short weeks ago, they might remember an imposing figure that found itself looming over visitors on the convention floor.

As part of the Blizzard presence at the event, a display for Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred was on hand – with a full scale version of the new Spiritborn class displaying glowing eyes and extremities. The Spiriborn is a brand new class to the Diablo franchise, striking down foes with visceral ferocity with glaives, quarterstaves, and polearms while channelling the unique and incredible power of the Eagle, Gorilla, Jaguar and …Centipede. So if you love the strength of the jungle (or squiggly leg bugs) you are likely having a great time.

The dude looks pretty great in the crafted flesh, and you likely passed him while enjoying the PAX experience:

Well the cool backstory behind this impressive figure is that it was crafted from equal parts creativity and destruction – starting with a crew of phenomenal Aussie creators (HexSteph, Bajo, Caleb Finn, Jordan Rasko, Fasffy, and Tim Collins) visiting a Diablo-themed smash room where they got to physically smash through an object of ‘hatred’ (check out Bajo trying to destroy Melbourne’s Humidity).

The resulting rubble then being given to the artistic paragon of Aussie YouTube Jazza to turn the ‘smashed crap’ into something resembling the Spiritborn – utilising every crumb of his creative skill to bring the centipede slinger to life. Being Jazza, of course there is a full length video going over the process  – everything from carving foam, to setting up lights and of course the usual terrifying process of working with resin.

Brilliantly, Jazza was cool enough to drop us a line and share a little insight into his history with the Diablo franchise, and just what got his motor running when looking into the Diablo IV expansion for his partnered artpiece.

WellPlayed: So what is your history with Diablo?

Jazza: I have played every Diablo game from start to finish multiple times. My obsession with Diablo started when I was a young teenager – I was instantly drawn to the world and the aesthetic, there was just something so real and gritty about the vibe especially. In the early days when games hadn’t dared to venture that dark before – and teenage me was really drawn to visceral aesthetic styles – I just fell in love with the idea of becoming an adventurer in this dark reality

WP: What were you most excited about in Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred?

J: Definitely the Spiritborn, APEX PREDATOR of the Nahantu jungle. They channel the immense power and abilities of the four Spirit Guardians (Eagle, Jaguar, Centipede, Gorilla) in battle. And the Den, a quartet of mercenaries that can join you on your quests.

WP: What are your thoughts on the visual style of the expansion?

J: The new region of Nahantu is a super lush jungle environment. The new expansion really brings back memories of Kurast in Diablo 2 – whose act had a unique and different style. So it really brought me back to that vibe, but also presented it in a totally new way that really captivated me

WP: How was it working with Blizzard for this marketing campaign? It’s a pretty unique one, being that stuff had to be smashed for you to build your piece.

J: Yeah! Participants were given the chance to physically destroy objects of their choosing that symbolised their hatred. 

At the time of making artwork, the expansion hadn’t been released except for the teasers, which of course reminded me of act 3 in Diablo II, so a lot of my visual inspiration (apart from referencing the concept art that was given to me) was directly drawn from Kurast, with the murky greens and vibrant colours that were choked by nature. 

Kurast was a vibe. A hot, sticky, vibe.

A huge thank you to Jazza for sharing some of his Diablo history with us – a long while back I did comment that Diablo as a series feels a bit like a milestone game for many, given that it existed and offered something that just didn’t really exist during it’s initial release. While he never revealed what class he plays, I am going to assume that Jazza was rocking a Necromancer.

Because, y’know, they like creating things.

Get it?

Again, really appreciate Jazza sharing some details with us – make sure to check out his plethora of incredible arty content via his YouTube channel, and if you want to check out Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, well – it’s available online here.