Stay Awhile and Listen

A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the storied history and development of Diablo and the early days of Blizzard Entertainment. 

–Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder of BioWare

Stay Awhile and Listen shows that there was a potent mixture of talent, opportunity, and personality that drove the meteoric rise of Blizzard Entertainment from its earliest days.

–Julian Gollop, creator of X-COM: UFO Defense 

David Craddock's Stay Awhile and Listen masterfully retells the tale of the game development Camelot created by the founders of Blizzard Entertainment. David's book offers a rare glimpse into the mystery of how such a company is built, and tells the story in a playful style worthy of the playful products Blizzard is known for.

–Richard "Lord British" Garriott, creator of Ultima 

Stay Awhile and Listen is a rare and intriguing look into the people and experiences behind some of my favorite video games of all time.

–Randy Pitchford, co-founder of Gearbox Software

Stay Awhile and Listen weaves the words of the creators of Diablo into a compelling narrative and opens a window into the strange and wild world of the games biz. Reading this tale reminded me why I decided to leave the games business, and why I had to get back in.

–Glenn Wichman, co-creator of Rogue

As the company that ushered American gamers into the age of the Internet, Blizzard has a history worth knowing.

–Steven Kent, author of The Ultimate History of Video Games

Stay Awhile and Listen flows almost like a documentary film. During the narrative parts, it's easy to imagine a group of young developers hunched in front of faintly glowing screens. During the quotations, you can picture the older and wiser industry veterans sitting in front of a camera and explaining those early days with smiles on their faces.

–Slashdot.org

David Craddock's Stay Awhile and Listen is able to enchant any reader with its short and clearly written passages, genuine and involving storytelling, and an abundance of facts and information straight from the source.

–DiabloFans.com

Stay Awhile and Listen is an entertaining,detail-packed, and well written book that reads like a really fun novel. The writing is breezy and draws a reader in, like a bunch of friends sitting around and listening to a good story.

–Writer's Digest

Stay Awhile and Listen tells how passion, maxed-out credit cards, and sleepless nights spawned a gaming phenomenon and unearths the game design secrets that made Diablo an enduring classic.

–Tristan Donovan, author of Replay: The History of Video Games

Craddock takes his time introducing each person, and by the time he explains their contribution, I felt like I knew them as human beings, not as developers—what they were like as kids, where they came from, and what their aspirations were.

–Venture Beat

Framing a fast-paced narrative around personal anecdotes shared by the developers responsible for shaping the foundation of the WarCraft and Diablo franchises, David L. Craddock establishes a fireside chat-type atmosphere to tell a tale as engaging as it is informative.

–Lorne Lanning, co-creator of the Oddworld series

Not only does Stay Awhile and Listen give us insight into one of the industry's biggest juggernauts, it also sheds light on the harsh reality of game development in a way that feels like a novel rather than a quote filled biography.

–Video Game Writers

Stay Awhile and Listen succeeds in evoking the sense of excitement, possibility and camaraderie game developers enjoyed in the game industry's early years.

–Awesome Out of 10

Craddock presents his prose in the form of freely flowing text interwoven with quotes from a plethora of people related to Condor Games and Blizzard Entertainment. Readers gain insight into the thought processes that were going through the developers' heads.

–Gamnesia.com

For gamers that also happen to have a love of technology and a passion for computers and programming, the book works double-duty—not only recounting the stories of late-night inspiration gaming sessions, but of the struggles of day-to-day development tasks. For others, it provides insight and perspective into an industry that can be as mysterious as the catacombs below Tristram.

–Bakuenryu! gaming blog