Diablo's random dungeon generator is a cruel master. On some occasions, players can inch their way through the second dungeon level without incident. But sometimes, a vindictive roll of the dice plants a square stone edifice on the second dungeon floor. Peering inside its transparent top reveals a scene straight out of a slasher movie--floors covered in blood, torn bodies hanging from meat hooks and skewered on spikes.

Wise players ignored the wooden door leading inside and lived to fight another day. The tragically curious peaked in and were immediately assaulted by the Butcher, a gargantuan demon clutching an axe as tall as a man and charging forward while bellowing an infamous battle cry now burned into the brains of millions of gamers: "Ah, fresh meat!"

Read more: How did you kill The Butcher the first time? »

Only one more week until Shacknews posts a full chapter from Stay Awhile and Listen, David Craddock's upcoming book on Blizzard Entertainment. And to make the tease even more enticing, today's story from Craddock talks about a Diablo clone set in space.

Read more: Starblo, with a customizable ship »

We are getting ever closer to the October 29 release of the full chapter of Stay Awhile and Listen, David Craddock's upcoming book on Blizzard Entertainment. But, as with every Monday, we bring you a few more tidbits and recollections from Craddock about his research. Today's installment deals with why sequels are made and while Diablo was a success, there was an ulterior motive to making Diablo 2.

Read more: Online in Diablo was a nightmare »

It's Monday, and that means more stories from David Craddock's upcoming book, Stay Awhile and Listen, a behind the scenes look at Blizzard Entertainment. Today's revelations deal with the creation of the Blizzard cinematics group and the autonomy that group enjoys from the rest of the company, as well as a look at a Heroes of Warcraft model that never quite made it off the drawing board.

Read more: Diablo ending cinematic not Blizzard North's idea »

Three episodes of the Stay Awhile and Listen stories from author David Craddock are in the books, and today's new installment, we find out about several ideas for Diablo and Diablo II that never made it into the games.

Read more: Dividing the classes »

Author David Craddock has been working on a book about Blizzard Entertainment since mid-2008. Entitled Stay Awhile and Listen, the unauthorized book talks to nearly 80 former employees, including those who used to work at Blizzard, Condor (later Blizzard North), and Silicon & Synapse (Blizzard's original name when it was founded), as well as people who had regular dealings with Blizzard head honchos Mike Morhaime and Allen Adham. Shacknews is pleased to offer a steady stream of stories from the book leading up to its release early next year and published by Digital Monument Press.

Read more: Use body parts to make potions? »

Perhaps it's been too long since you've reset your password in a mad attempt to secure your privacy? Blizzard has announced that they have discovered "unauthorized and illegal access into our internal network."

In a statement, the company says that there's "no evidence" that any financial information, including credit cards, billing address, and real names, has been compromised. Blizzard notes that their investigation is ongoing, "but so far nothing suggests that these pieces of information have been accessed."

Read more: Time to change your passwords, folks »

Tickets for Blizzard's annual fan convention BlizzCon will be go on sale in late May in two lots, the developer has announced. If you're painfully desperate to go, you might want to book two days off work so you can sit in the queue.

The first batch of $175 tickets will go on sale at 10am PST on Saturday, May 21. The second round will be available on Wednesday, May 25 at 7pm PST. BlizzCon 2011 is on October 21 and 22 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. Read more »

As part of its 20th anniversary celebrations, much-loved developer Blizzard Entertainment has released a lengthy retrospective documentary delving into, and retelling, its history.

The 48-minute video spans from Blizzard's beginnings as Silicon & Synapse, formed in 1991 by a handful of UCLA graduates, through to the present day, when it's known and loved for series including StarCraft, Diablo and Warcraft. Heaps of Blizzard luminaries appear, offering opinions and anecdotes about the company whose games we so adore. Read more »

There's something magical about that aggressive opening chord of Diablo. It's probably fair to say that no sound was more burned into the minds of late-90s PC gamers than those first few gothic guitar strums.

That music is evocative of late-night looting and hushed duping; of our old friends The Butcher, and his pal King Leoric; of Fallen Ones, and Godly Plates of the Whale, and a peg-legged jerk named Wirt. Read more »

A new Diablo game announcement is almost certainly forthcoming based on a prominent notebook being handed out at Blizzard's World Wide Invitational in Paris.

The notebook (pictured left) was just handed out in advance of the event's opening ceremony, and was promptly captured by worldofwar.net. The show's banner image also features Diablo lording over StarCraft II's Kerrigan and Wrath of the Lich King's Arthas. Read more »