Posted July 23, 2015
It is indeed puzzling! I analyzed this some more and I came to the conclusion that due to the generic and unnaturally stiff branch silhouette and general abstraction of leaf size, shape and foliage density one can't conclusively identify this tree from these screenshots. One thing is certain, it is a fairly young tree.
Regarding the leaves, one can't rule out tree types with slightly pointy lobes because at that abstraction level and low resolution, the leaves could just as well be 3-pointed (or even 5 pointed) maple leaves with slight lobes. Not all maple leaves look like the stereotypical ones on the Canadian flag with very pointy lobes.
Or they could be beech leaves, or even oak leaves - keep in mind that there are many different species of trees for each type, with considerable variation in terms of leaf shape. It would already be sufficiently tricky to clearly identify a tree from a good photo, from these low res graphics of simplified trees it is somewhat impossible.
If you showed me a real-life tree, perhaps I could be of more help because as a landscape painter I've spent a fair amount of hours over the years closely observing all kinds of trees while drawing & painting them. Two of my trips to Japan were made primarily to paint Japanese maple trees in autumn and another trip to paint the famous Japanese cherry trees in full bloom during spring. One time, I spent so much time painting an illuminated willow tree at a park in Kyoto that I missed the last train to my planned next destination and had to stay in town overnight, unable to find a cheap hotel room as it was during the absolute peak season. Ended up having to spend $80 on a business hotel room - all because I wanted to paint that willow tree at night. Trees are dangerous, not only can they fall on you and you can fall from them, they can also result in you having to spend a lot of unplanned money!
Anyway, your best bet is to email one of the 3D artists at Blizzard North who worked on the in-game graphics, here are the credits:
http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/diablo/credits
If you explain to them why you need to know and have a compelling reason, chances of getting a reply might be higher. It can't hurt to try, only way to know what kind of tree they were trying to depict, if they even had a specific type of tree in mind, at all :)
Regarding the leaves, one can't rule out tree types with slightly pointy lobes because at that abstraction level and low resolution, the leaves could just as well be 3-pointed (or even 5 pointed) maple leaves with slight lobes. Not all maple leaves look like the stereotypical ones on the Canadian flag with very pointy lobes.
Or they could be beech leaves, or even oak leaves - keep in mind that there are many different species of trees for each type, with considerable variation in terms of leaf shape. It would already be sufficiently tricky to clearly identify a tree from a good photo, from these low res graphics of simplified trees it is somewhat impossible.
If you showed me a real-life tree, perhaps I could be of more help because as a landscape painter I've spent a fair amount of hours over the years closely observing all kinds of trees while drawing & painting them. Two of my trips to Japan were made primarily to paint Japanese maple trees in autumn and another trip to paint the famous Japanese cherry trees in full bloom during spring. One time, I spent so much time painting an illuminated willow tree at a park in Kyoto that I missed the last train to my planned next destination and had to stay in town overnight, unable to find a cheap hotel room as it was during the absolute peak season. Ended up having to spend $80 on a business hotel room - all because I wanted to paint that willow tree at night. Trees are dangerous, not only can they fall on you and you can fall from them, they can also result in you having to spend a lot of unplanned money!
Anyway, your best bet is to email one of the 3D artists at Blizzard North who worked on the in-game graphics, here are the credits:
http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/diablo/credits
If you explain to them why you need to know and have a compelling reason, chances of getting a reply might be higher. It can't hurt to try, only way to know what kind of tree they were trying to depict, if they even had a specific type of tree in mind, at all :)
