StarCraft: The past, present and future

Post by Steko » Mon, Nov 09, 2015, 9:08 PM UTC

nemo44x wrote: post #50

terda12 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO, the game works great on Windows. I can't imagine playing games like SC2 or CSGO on OSX. It's just not economical for Blizzard to do an OSX port. The game has been kinda dead for a while now, because it's so unaccessible to the general population. Games like Dota and League of Legends have taken the place of Starcraft 2 because it's pretty accessible to newbies yet offers a very high skill ceiling for those who w…

I played SC2 heavily when it came out and for some time after and I loved it. But you're right - the game does not allow someone to be casual or even semi-casual. It is an unbelievably stressful game and you have to not only master all 3 races abilities but understand numerous and ever changing strategies around them, have excellent macro skills and understand timings, etc. If you don't keep up aggressively with prac…

Post by tgb » Mon, Nov 09, 2015, 9:54 PM UTC

cryoshon wrote: post #42

venomsnake wrote: post #25

Blizzard's initial offerings were surprisingly dark and mature - both diablo, warcraft I&II and starcraft. Only starcraft's tone has not been degraded much so far (although the writing is weaker). I guess legacy of the void concludes a chapter of the company history. They are a e-sports company now. Their three latest games are gameplay driven with barely any story at all. Overwatch, HoTS and HS. Diablo III got a pas…

Yeah, Blizzard had a gothic tone in a lot of their early games. Unfortunately, they've replaced it with cartoony stuff for the most part. Writing wise they've fallen a long way, but it doesn't matter. Blizzard's primary success since their early games (pre-WoW) is understanding and abusing the psychology of addiction and creating videogames around that concept. They make ultra-streamlined (sometimes to the point of b…

Post by thaumasiotes » Mon, Nov 09, 2015, 10:22 PM UTC

mattlutze wrote: post #54

padobson wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This sort of brings us to a philosophical problem of determining where game design ends and writing begins, sort of how movies have often had difficulty delineating between the responsibilities of a writer, director, and producer. The actor was ad-libbing in that scene, should he get a writing credit? The director picked his own DP, Editor and half the cast, should he get an executive producer credit? When Miyamoto i…

And blurred lines like you illustrate above are a good argument why we can't say video games should be primarily considered performance art pieces in the realm of interaction design, as well as why we can't say video games should be primarily considered story delivery mechanisms. The video game is both interactive and passively consumed. Machinima exists because of how enjoyable experiencing a story through a video g…

Post by venomsnake » Mon, Nov 09, 2015, 10:47 PM UTC

tgb wrote: post #93

cryoshon wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, Blizzard had a gothic tone in a lot of their early games. Unfortunately, they've replaced it with cartoony stuff for the most part. Writing wise they've fallen a long way, but it doesn't matter. Blizzard's primary success since their early games (pre-WoW) is understanding and abusing the psychology of addiction and creating videogames around that concept. They make ultra-streamlined (sometimes to the point of b…

Warcraft 2 was arguably their most cartoony pc game. Maybe excepting heartstone. Writing probably peaked around Warcraft 3 but was pretty simple pre-Starcraft. So I don't see nearly as much doom and gloom about the state of blizzard as you do. Except the music. The twangs of diablo 1, the perky tunes of Warcraft 2, the terran theme of sc1...!

Post by catshirt » Tue, Nov 10, 2015, 12:29 AM UTC

froo wrote: post #35

catshirt wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i played SC2 and CSGO on OSX just fine for years. when i switched to better graphics hardware on Windows my CS rank jumped from MG2 to LEM, but i can't attribute this to the OS at all. also, having only one hero to control only gives you the illusion that Dota/LoL is easier. it takes just as much effort to be "remotely good" at Dota as SC2. this is why most people who play casually are trash. MOBAs have so many playe…

> at least in SC it's obvious. I watched Life in the World Championships on the weekend do like 300APM constantly. I'd honestly be going GG at about 1 minute in I think.