Diablo News

IRVINE, Calif. – July. 26, 2001 – Blizzard Entertainment® announced today that Diablo® II: Lord of Destruction™ has surpassed 1 million units sold worldwide, according to NPD INTELECT* and key retail accounts from around the world. Over two million units of the game have been shipped to retail to satisfy demand for the fastest selling … Read more

[B]Touching Darkness[/B] I think I understand the player killer culture a bit more now. For the uninitiated, there actually is a subculture that has developed around player killers (strange, but true). I’ve so far been able to identify at least two levels: the player killer, and the player killer killer, who only attacks player killers. … Read more

[B]Back to the Beginning[/B] The date was early June, and while searching on the Internet to find some gainful employment (unfortunately, the life of a professional writer also contains the occasional dry spell; I was in the middle of one of those), I came across a name I hadn’t heard in almost a decade. Legend … Read more

[B]Fortuitous Ephiphaneia[/B] Drandimere wrote 17 installments of this column, before retiring in 2003 to spend more time with his remaining brain cells. He can still be seen lurking about the forums from time to time, most often in the D2 Single Player forum. Full column listing: Missing Time of an RPG-Kind—Nov 12, 2002 Moths to … Read more

[B]Fortuitous Ephiphaneia[/B] Drandimere wrote 17 installments of this column, before retiring in 2003 to spend more time with his remaining brain cells. He can still be seen lurking about the forums from time to time, most often in the D2 Single Player forum. Full column listing: Missing Time of an RPG-Kind—Nov 12, 2002 Moths to … Read more

[B]Shades of Grey[/B] A couple of days ago, I was toying around with my DVD player, watching a rather wonderful movie titled 2010. For those who haven’t seen it, I heartily recommend it. It is a sort of hard Science Fiction that is very rarely seen on the screen in this day and age. What … Read more

[B]Books for the Diablo Fan[/B] There is a certain atmosphere to Diablo, a sort of dark, epic, mythological feel that truly makes it worth playing. It’s something that I, at least, can’t help myself from coming back to, either in films, literature, or gaming. So, having already given you my recommendations for some good films, … Read more

[B]Small Matters[/B] I have a confession to make: I think I have an addiction. You see, there’s something I have to do in order to feel complete, to help give my life meaning. No, it’s not cigarettes. Nor is it alcohol, or sex, or Barneyphilia (a truly sick addiction involving a cute purple dinosaur). Instead, … Read more

[B]Through a Glass, Demonically[/B] In August 2000 I received the most challenging writing assignment of my life. In fact, I don’t really think I will ever write anything more difficult. Even so, I got to fulfill a couple of dreams, and have the time of my life. For those who haven’t worked out what I’m … Read more

[B]More Emails from the Edge[/B] Well, it’s that time again…time for me to write my favorite part of the column. You see, one of the reasons that I write Garwulf’s Corner (currently the only writing I do that I’m not paid for), is the reader mail. Not only do I get a lot of it, … Read more

[B]Hackers at the Gates[/B] I am now longing for the days when hackers weren’t a problem on Battle.net. Oh, they were a problem, but just not a problem. Sure, you got player killed by some hacker invoking an act of God (usually around some strange magic item, just to torment you). Occasionally somebody would walk … Read more

[B]Garwulf’s #12: The Devil in the Details[/B] So it’s early February, and I’m sitting around the house with nothing to do. Having just seen The Ninth Gate for the umpteenth time, I decide to wander onto the Internet and look at its official website. It’s a nice site, and there were some fairly interesting links … Read more

[B]Garwulf’s #11: Changing the Guard[/B] Well, as I write this, it is the day after Ad Astra, and I’m still processing some of what has happened. Let me just say that I had a wonderful time; I got to meet some of you, and I got to spend time with some of the better authors … Read more

[B]Cutting Through the Dung-Pile[/B] It isn’t easy coming up with topics sometimes. In fact, it can be really difficult. You see, I have this philosophy about Garwulf’s Corner: I believe that you, my dear readers, are intelligent human beings who want to read about something just a bit more important and insightful than another strategy … Read more

[B]Staring at the Top Rung[/B] Finally able to discover the wonders of Battle.net with my USWest barbarian, aptly named Garwulf, I ventured online during a snowy New Year’s Day to stretch my character’s legs and have a look at the new ladder rankings. Ever since I first began playing Diablo II on Battle.net, I have … Read more

[B]I Am NOT Harlan Ellison[/B] “I am NOT Harlan Ellison” It was on a strangely warm day in January, while coming home from picking up a new volume of Ellison stories (which I will no doubt use to induce insomnia, regardless of my best intentions), that I came up with the subject and hook for … Read more

[B]Emails from the Edge[/B] Right before I begin, I have a bit of administrivia for you. For those who would like to meet me in person, I will be a panelist at the Ad Astra convention in Toronto, February 23-25. This is a literary convention, and promises to have quite a few rather good fantasy … Read more

[B]Walking with the Dead[/B] I see dead people. They wander around, pass me in shopping malls and on the street, not even aware of what they are. They may still have breath in their lungs, but they are dead. There are two kinds of death: there is physical death, which can only be reversed by … Read more

[B]Millennial Thoughts[/B] What a remarkable year this has been. It is quite literally the last year in the millennium, and not only are we seeing the return of mythical fantasy to the screen (in the form of the recently released Dungeons and Dragons movie), but we can also gaze at the maturity of fantasy in … Read more

[B]Films for the Diablo Fan[/B] Right before I get to the meat of this installment, I’d like to harken back to Garwulf’s Corner #2 (The Royal Circlet and the Hacker). This particular column managed to generate a fair bit of reader response, most of which complimented me on the column and shared a story about … Read more

[B]Revelations from The Exorcist[/B] Although it will be an event that occurred a couple of months ago by the time you read this, recently I did something fairly stupid. You see, my little brother was in for a brief break from his incredibly exciting life at the University of Waterloo (a life that I am … Read more

[B]The Royal Circle and the Hacker[/B] Sometimes, it’s enough to make me wonder why people are playing. Perhaps I should explain. I was on Battle.net venturing through a Diablo I dungeon, when a player (who shall remain nameless) entered the game. He came down to the caves to join me, there was a moment of … Read more

[B]Harlan Ellison, Diablo, and Insomnia[/B] Someday I’ll learn: no more Harlan Ellison stories right before going to bed. It isn’t that they are poor stories; indeed, I wish I could write like Ellison. Unfortunately, they’re just too good. I read a story or essay by this wonder of modern SF, and my mind starts to … Read more

LONDON, ENGLAND – September 1, 2000 – At the European Consumer Trade Show starting today, Blizzard Entertainment® announced plans for the Diablo™ II Expansion Set for its number-one selling game, Diablo II. Diablo II has sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide since shipping just two months ago, making it the biggest PC game this year. In … Read more

[B]The Ninth Circle[/B] was written from 2002-2006, by David Kay, and with 58 installments it was the longest running column in Diabloii.net’s history. The Ninth Circle covered computer gaming, RPGs, fantasy novels, the gamer’s life, and other related issues. Full column listing: A Patch or a Crutch?—Nov 12, 2002 Baang: Or Why I No Longer … Read more