2016 Geek-A-Long: Diablo

The summer between my Freshman and Sophomore year of high school was devoted to Diablo II. My stepdad bought it the day it hit shelves. We took turns playing it while he was at work and we’d scramble to get off his computer when he got home, so he could log his hours. I played an Amazon, my brother chose the Barbarian, and my stepdad was a Paladin.

The only person not obsessed with Diablo that summer was my mother. She’d come home from her riding lesson, covered in dust, and would yell at us to “turn the war down.” Any loud noise made from a video game was referred to as “the war,” but my baby sister Alena didn’t understand that yet. She was only four at the time. We’d be sitting around my stepdad’s computer while he showed us a trick to beating one of the demons, and Alena would yell back at our mom: “It’s just Mephisto, Mom. He has to die!”

Other than our need to hack and slash our way to Diablo, it was just as much about looting and inventory management. For that, I present to you my husband, a recovering video gamer looter:

Hello, my name is Dave and I’m a Diabloholic. It’s been one year, two months, and fourteen days since I’ve had a piece of loot. Blizzard Entertainment, evil Big Loot corporation, is the king of the loot-driven RPG. Between World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, and their new IP Overwatch, nobody keeps you playing for longer hours hunting the next pieces of gear, cards, or vanities like Blizzard. But no game can keep you chasing the dragon like Diablo. Occasionally, it’s even a literal dragon.

Obviously there’s a deep story and lore to the game, but I don’t care! Shut up, Deckard Cain. I just want to score a new exceptional rank Dimensional Blade!

The gameplay is great. Whatever, I just need to shoot up my experience to reach the next level.

You can even play with friends, because obsession loves company. The addiction to the upgrade is real. You may only ever be better, yet never the best. The loot will drive you to play. So maybe I haven’t played in a while, but I’m afraid Diablo is a habit that can’t be quit.

Megan-Anne chose to honor Diablo by knitting the symbol of the Horadrim onto a 10 by 10 inch square. The Brotherhood of the Horadrim, also known as the Crusaders of Light, are only mentioned in the Diablo series. (To my knowledge, at least.) They were an ancient order of wizards and mages that were formed by the archangel Tyrael to combat Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal. When you start the game, Deckard Cane is all that is left of the Horadrim. In a way, I guess you could say that we’re honoring Mister Info Dump, himself, Deckard Cain.

Whether you’re knitting, crocheting, or cross stitching this square, you can download the Diablo pattern here. Instructions for both knit and crochet are listed in the pattern. When you’re finished making it, don’t forget to tweet or instagram your squares at me @jac_attacking or Megan-Anne @Doctor_Llama with the hashtag #geekalong!

If you’re having trouble with double-sided knitting, we have a how-to video here and a tutorial on crochet here. Want to hang out with other people making the blanket? You can find moral support in the Geek-A-Long group on Ravelry here.

~ Jac
“Stay a while and listen.” — Deckard Cain
“Say that phrase again, old man, and I’ll let Diablo eat you.” — Me

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If you enjoyed this post, please consider making a donation to Child’s Play Charity. Here is a direct link to our donation page benefiting the charity. Please help us raise $1,000 this year! No contribution is too small. Wanna make your donation go even further? Louet Yarn is donating 50 cents for every skein of Louet Gems Worsted purchased this year to make a Geek-A-Long blanket. You can get Gems at your Local Yarn Store or through Louet’s website. Just remember to mention the GAL at check out.