Some developers create games. Others, such as Blizzard Entertainment and Blizzard North, create experiences that stick with us forever. Millions of gamers have commanded armies and raided dungeons across the world of Warcraft, waged intergalactic warfare amid StarCraft's galaxies, and chased Diablo into the pits of hell (or more recently, the high heavens). Some of us have spent dozens of hours playing Blizzard games, others hundreds. No matter your level of fandom, DM Press wants to hear your best Blizzard stories.

Regale us with memories of playing Warcraft 2 over Kali, the battle that claimed the life of your favorite hardcore character in Diablo 2 or 3, the Zerg build order that earned you your 15 minutes of Internet fame, the raid your coordinated in WoW, or your quest to score a copy of Blizzard's latest collector's edition box at midnight on release day. Do you prefer one Blizzard game above all the rest? Tell us why. Everyone's got a story about one Blizzard game or another, and we'd love to include yours in our first book, Stay Awhile and Listen.

Read more: Winning entry will be in the book »

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? »

You read the exclusive chapter from Stay Awhile and Listen by David Craddock. Now, we chat with the author about putting the book together, including more tidbits from Diablo 2, World of Warcraft and StarCraft.

Read more: A fascination with Blizzard »

We've known that Blizzard had scrapped a project called Nomad, but we didn't have too many details other than it was to have been a squad-based affair. Author David Craddock has been able to fill in a few details from his in-depth interview with Shacknews.

Read more: A more user-friendly answer to EverQuest »

In part 2 of our exclusive look at chapter 8 from Stay Awhile and Listen, we went behind closed doors to take part in Condor's "work hard, play hard" culture. Today, Condor and Blizzard Entertainment lock horns over how Diablo should play.

While the team plugged away on the projects that kept the bills paid, Dave and Erich spent hours each day holed up in Dave's office hashing out Diablo's design. Their first order of business was to retire the game's design document to a desk drawer. They had written the document to attract a publisher with deep pockets. It had served its purpose.

Read more: Allen Adham gets involved »

In part 1 of our exclusive look at chapter 8 from Stay Awhile and Listen, Condor co-founders David Brevik and Max and Erich Schaefer lined up two additional projects to hire more staff and start on Diablo, and Eric Sexton was left hanging, waiting for his dream job. Today, we go behind closed doors to take part in Condor's "work hard, play hard" culture.

Read more: The corporate culture »

Setup for Chapter 8 - The Velvet Hammer: In September 1993, programmer David Brevik and artists Max and Erich Schaefer pooled their scant resources to found a game studio, Condor, Inc. Securing meager contracts to develop Justice League Task Force for the Sega Genesis and NFL Quarterback Club '95 for the Game Boy handheld, Condor's income was just enough for the guys to start growing their team. As they worked, they hoped to one day devote resources to their dream project: Diablo, a turn-based game set in randomized dungeons where players fought demons and searched for magical treasure.

Read more: Creating a team for Diablo »

Today, we kick off a week of coverage on David Craddock's upcoming book on Blizzard Entertainment, Stay Awhile and Listen. He has been working on the book since mid-2008, and he 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.

Here's the schedule:

Read more: Chapter 8 Monday through Wednesday »

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 »

The Stay Awhile and Listen series continues with author David Craddock as we lead up to the October 29 reveal of a chapter from his upcoming book. Today's stories revolve around a possible second expansion for Diablo 2 and a Diablo game for handhelds.

Read more: Diablo Junior was planned »

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 »

In our last two chats with David Craddock about his upcoming Blizzard book Stay Awhile and Listen, the author has given us stories about Diablo 2 hardcore mode and details on Blizzard North's early desire to create a sports division. Today, we get a bit more meat on the Warcraft series.

Read more: Warcraft 2 with jets? »

In last week's chat with author David Craddock about his upcoming book, Stay Awhile and Listen, about the behind-the-scenes look at Blizzard Entertainment, we learned that hardcore mode almost made it into the original Diablo. This week, we turn back the clock a bit further to find out a bit about Condor, the company co-founded by Dave Brevik and Max and Erich Schaefer.

Condor had published three games after it was formed in 1993. Two of those games were sports games, NFL Quarterback Club '95 and NFL Quarterback Club '96.

Read more: Sports division for Blizzard North? »

Welcome back from the long weekend, Shack. Hope you had a relaxing Labor Day. While I was supposed to have the holiday off, I still got a few hours in yesterday on a project I have been working on for more than two months, and you finally got to see the start of it yesterday.

Read more: Behind-the-scenes of a story »

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? »