At Blizzard's recent Worldwide Invitational, Diablo 3's World Designer Leonard Boyarsky and Art Director Brian Morrisroe got on stage in front of a crowd hungry for details on Blizzard's latest project to talk about combining art and lore to expand the world give the player a deeper and more engaging experience. Diablo is a unique fantasy universe in that instead of having Dwarves and Elves, it has Angels and Demons. The game's setting makes it a dark fantasy environment that the previous games had only scratched the surface of.

Q&A with Leo and Brian

Q: In the end of Diablo 2 we went to hell, killed him, smashed his Soulstone and essence of him, Bael, Maphesto ... how do we justify him coming back?
Leo: You don't know for sure that Diablo is coming back. [Ed: ... !] We don't want to divulge too much of the story, we just want to say that it will be entertaining when you come to it.

Q: In previous game you had quests to achieve to get, say the Horadric Cube. Will there be similar quests? Will we be able to get the Horadric Cube again?
Leo: The way the process works is we look into the story, look into the lore, and we want that to drive the gameplay and drive the quests. I can say there will be quests related to lore. In Diablo 2 they didn't just set out to say "let's make this great cube," it came out of the design process.

For the World of Warcraft fans who might've missed some coverage today, here are some of the highlights, care of WoW Insider:

• Check out these awesome goodie bags
• A look at Lake Wintergrasp, a non-instanced Battleground, as well as new arena maps from the PvP panel
  
• From the Dungeons and Raids panel, we learned about the return of nonlinear dungeons in Wrath of the Lich King.
• A video recap of the first day of WWI, with some good footage of the costume and dance contest (start at 1:45 for that)
  
• Did we mention awesome goodie bags?

At the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Paris, Blizzard designers took to the stage to talk about the design goals and fundamentals behind their upcoming title, Diablo III. Jay Wilson, lead designer on the title, presented a rundown of the design philosophy behind the game, covering its origins, the game's approchability, and the design team's "better gameplay, less carpal tunnel" approach.

You can't escape World of Warcraft at Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational. Between class-specific panels and the giant WoW dev panel. Here's a look into the future of each of the classes, including a ton of information on the upcoming Death Knight class:

• Death Knight
• Druid
• Hunter
• Mage
• Paladin
• Priest
• Rogue
• Shaman
• Warlock
• Warrior

The buzz here at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles is all about Diablo 3. When will we have a playable demo? When can we expect a release? Blizzard, of course, isn't willing to commit to a date other than their standard "when it's done" answer:

• What classes are going to be available? Blizzard's answer: we're not ready to talk about that.
  
• Will there be a cow level? Blizzard's answer... well, more on that later.

Joystiq had a chance to catch up with Diablo 3's lead designer Jay Wilson (whom you may know from his work on a little game called Dawn of War) and pick his brain about how he got on the Diablo 3 project, what's in store for Battle.net, and the secret cow level.

The Murloc costume above only placed second in Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational 2008 costume contest. Interested to see what came in first? Check out WoW Insider's gallery of the costume (and dance!) contest, complete with their own colorful commentary.
When you get through with that, be sure to check out their major gallery of the WWI event, including some hawt ogre-on-ogre action.

The Diablo 3 FAQ is being hammered at the moment (we couldn't imagine why), but just in case you were worried, Blizzard assures us that the game will work on Apple computers. So sayeth the website: "As with all of Blizzard Entertainment's recent releases, Diablo 3 will ship for both Windows and Mac simultaneously." As for whether your Mac will be able to run the game, that's an as-of-yet unanswered query.

For those who can't make it out to Paris for this weekend's Worldwide Invitational, Blizzard is offering live streams of the main stage and tournament stage, in both low-resolution (400kbits) and high-resolution (1000kbits) modes. While the tournament stage might be less interesting, the main stage is where Blizzard is expected to make its big announcement.

The stream requires the Octoshape browser plug-in; if you're planning to watch the event, we recommend getting everything ready ahead of time. Don't forget to vote in our predictions poll and keep an eye on WoW Insider for extensive WWI coverage.

[Via WoW Insider]

All it took was some clever server hacking to find out the final ending to Blizzard's splash teasers. (Thanks, DarkNessBear) Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Exclusive Q&A with Marc Whitten on Microsoft DRM tool
Joystiq Podcast Extend Extra: Metal Gear Squabbling
Joyswag: C&C 3: Kane's Wrath (Xbox 360) giveaway, Day Three
Off the Grid Special: Game Design 101
Pokemon invade the Sporepedia
Scared stiff: Why should we care about Project Origin?
See how the Xbox DRM tool works, in photos and video

News
GameTap Thursday: Civ IV Warlords, Descent 3 and American Deer Hunter
Eyes appear in Blizzard splash screen
PS3 movie downloads coming to US this summer
Samba de Amigo gets patently nutty trailer
EA announces girl-friendly Boogie SuperStar for Wii
Check out video of Street Fighter II HD XBLA beta
See the beginning and epic ending of Limbo of the Lost
Schizoid, Soulcalibur pages appear on Xbox.com
OMGS4: Three million copies shipped worldwide
Microsoft: Xbox 360 'ahead of PS3' in Europe
GSC clears the sky on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. follow up
Confirmed: Mega Man 9 a retro fit for WiiWare
Fix your XBLA DRM mess! Microsoft DRM tool now available
Ubisoft unveils Prince of Persia: The Fallen King for DS
PS3 graphics chip going 65nm this Fall
Castlevania comes to Wii as a 3D fighter
PSN Thursday: Still sifting through MGS4 database edition
State of the PlayStation: Second-half FY07 numbers
LucasArts cuts hit Force Unleashed team after all
EA Sports drafts Wii 'All-Play' lineup
Blizzard's WoW Authenticator to be revealed at WWI
'Lifestyle' apps key to PSP's non-gaming growth
inFAMOUS looking imPRESSIVE

Rumors & Speculation
Rumor: Microsoft green-lights 360s from other companies
Rumor: Xbox 360 dropping to $299.99
Rumor: Microsoft to introduce Home-like My GamerPad

Culture & Community
Happy belated 17th birthday Sonic
OMGS4: Watch someone earn Big Boss emblem in under 3 hours

If you visit Blizzard's website right now, you'll get this splash page. Is the company hinting at an out-of-the-blue announcement? Perhaps, but don't forget this week is the Worldwide Invitational in Paris, so that there's a chance for big news is somewhat a no-brainer (remember at last year's WWI in South Korea they announced Starcraft II). When the news breaks, Joystiq and WoW Insider will have everything you need. Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Metareview -- Battlefield: Bad Company (360, PS3)
The Joystiq Free Game Club: Elephant Rave
Joystiq hands-on: Ferrari Challenge
Joystiq hands-on: Legendary
Joystiq impressions -- Call of Duty: World at War
Joyswag: C&C 3: Kane's Wrath (Xbox 360) giveaway, Day One
Scared stiff: Why should we care about Alone in the Dark?

News
Call of Duty: World at War co-op multiplayer detailed
Metal Gear Solid 4 Database to educate Europe this Thursday
Sci-fi shooter Gyrostarr targets WiiWare
New games this week: Battlefield: Bad Company edition
Full track list from Guitar Hero Aerosmith released
See first trailer from Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels
Report: Comp-related degree enrollment down 50%
Grand Theft Auto 4 patch: multiplayer and freezing fixes promised
Activision and MTV Games in talks for Beatles catalog
Call of Duty: World at War screenshots
Call of Duty: World at War 'not a different game on the Wii'
Treyarch: Call of Duty isn't going 'back' to WWII
Call of Duty: World at War producer on why it's not 'CoD 5'
This Wednesday: Ticket to Ride and Happy Tree Friends ride onto XBLA
Call of Duty: World at War is 'next-gen only baby!'
Virtual Console picks Burning Fight with Alex Kidd
Dead Space loses limbs thanks to 'Strategic Dismemberment'
Tiga re-requests UK tax breaks in wake of Wisconsin incentives
Halo 3 body count surpasses Earth's population

Rumors & Speculation
Rumor: GameStop taking over New Zealand's Gamesman
Rumorang: Forza 3 'core game' will be on one disc
E3 Rock Band invite resembles Rock Band 2 concept cover
Rumor: PS3 'trophy' screen leaked, looks like Gamercard

Culture & Community
New study compares 360, PS3 consumers

Were you planning on promising a loved one a "second honeymoon in France" only to abandon her at the airport and beat cheeks to Blizzard's 2008 Worldwide Invitational? Unless you've already reserved your spot you can expect to spend a lot of time sightseeing with your lady: Tickets are all gone, selling out in less than a week.

Even if you can get a refund on your plane fare, we'd suggest you still go ahead and take your significant other to the City of Lights. After all those nights coming home from work and finding you asleep in front of the computer, lit only by the dull tan of the Barrens, encased, mummy-like, in a sarcophagus of sweat and Dorito crumbs ... hasn't she earned it?

For their World Wide Invitational 2008 in Paris, Blizzard has turned the French city into a stylish World of Warcraft map, perfect for a desktop background. (Via WOW Insider)The WWI isn't until June 28, but tickets are on sale now. Check out the highlights for the weekend:

Joystiquery
Japanese hardware sales, March 10 - March 16: The Great Egg Hunt edition
Weekly Webcomic Wrapup celebrates Easter

News
Valve, Nunchuck release Ninja Reflex over Steam
SOCOM Confrontation's Special Forces organizations revealed
Professor Layton DLC already on the cartridge
Japanese Mario Kart Wii video smorgasbord
Halo 3's Heroic Map Pack to be free this Tuesday
New Crisis Core trailer shows off summons, butt rock
PS3 Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 plagued with online snafus

Rumors & Speculation
Sega confirms Sonic Unleashed after video and screenshot leaks

Culture & Community
Microsoft apologizes for 360 'cleaning' with Bill Gates-signed replacement
History Lesson: The Original Video Game Easter Egg

Tickets for the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational convention and tournament being held in Paris, France, will go on sale this Thursday The event will be at the Porte de Versailles Exposition Centre on June 28 and 29, with tickets costing €70 / £55 ($110). Attendees will get hands-on time with WoW expansion Wrath of the Lich King and StarCraft II.

The tournament will have $100,000 in prizes, but all we really care about is the big announcement. Blizzard has a habit of revealing big things at its special events, as it did at last year's invitational in Korea when it announced StarCraft II. Then again, Blizzard could just make us sad Pandaren by neglecting to reveal anything at all.

[Via WoW Insider]

It all lead up to this: StarCraft II. After months of speculation Blizzard announced today at their World Wide Invitational in Korea that their next big project is StarCraft II for PC.

Blizzard president Mike Morhaime says, "With StarCraft II, we'll be able to do everything we wanted to do with the original StarCraft and more ... We recognize that expectations are high following the long-running popularity of the original game, but we plan to meet those expectations and deliver an engaging, action-packed, competitive experience that StarCraft players and strategy gamers worldwide will enjoy." Meanwhile, IGN's man in Korea, Charles Onyett says, "SC2 looks, at least visually, strikingly similar to SC1 - both in unit and map designs."

This has been Blizzard's longest gap between releases. Blizzard had a consistent two-year release schedule (not including expansion packs) since 1994 with the original WarCraft. That streak was broken in 2006 when StarCraft: Ghost was killed indefinitely postponed. Although no release date has been given for StarCraft II, hopefully gamers won't have to worry about another installment of the series being "postponed."



[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]