General Gaming Discussion Thread

Fulcrum29 said:
It is understandable why this isn't an RTS. Blizzard, and in extension Activision Blizzard and its parent, XBOX, want an IP that sells to the masses. There is very little currency, or rather monetisation, in RTS. This is just something that the market needs to accept. The more we move into the online and community spheres, the less relevant some genres will become.

I do think that it is strange that StarCraft II isn't being remastered, and even more so that they chose to add an expansion to WarCraft III: Reforged, rather than StarCraft II. Reforged wasn't exactly a success story, and there is big gap between StarCraft II and this new StarCraft (Dominion?) IP in terms of player-audience engagement. I am unsure whether the game will be called Dominion, and there is a possibility that multiple factions could be added over time. Dominion might be the first tease of things to come in 2030.
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Been meaning to reinstall and play SC2 for a trip down memory lane.
 
I guess my suspicions were wrong?


StarCraft is a narrative-driven shooter with 'a definitive ending' and 'not a seasonal game'​


The shooter will have a "beginning, middle, and end," according to StarCraft GM Dan Hay.

Following the announcement of a new StarCraft game at BlizzCon's Opening Ceremony, GM and creative director Dan Hay (best known for Far Cry 3-6) spoke to Korean media about the open-world shooter.

Based on Inven Global's transcript, it sounds like StarCraft will be a shooter along the lines of the Far Crys, though with a customizable lead character, and not a live service multiplayer game.

"If I were to describe the overall structure we currently envision, it's a 'box product,'" said Hay. "It is a narrative-driven open world shooter where players create a character, name them, and follow that character's story. The story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

"You can roam around and explore a rich open world, but our story has a definitive ending. Think of it as purchasing a standalone boxed game, playing it, and experiencing its story. We hope players enjoy it, love it, and return to us later. At the very least, what we are building right now is not a seasonal game."

...

Later in the conversation, Hay reveals a little more about StarCraft's structure, distinguishing between "serious missions" with narrative consequences and open world exploration, saying that "if a certain mission feels too difficult, you can return to the open world and engage in other activities at your own pace."

"If you lack adequate gear, you can head out into the world, scavenge for what you need, deck out your armor, and try again," Hay said. "... I like wandering around slowly, exploring, discovering new things, and encountering unexpected turns."

Hay also said that StarCraft is set 70 years after the events of StarCraft 2, which freed them up narratively.
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I have an idea that this game is going to have an identity problem during its phases of development. When was the last time Blizzard Entertainment pushed out a game that was not a single-player experience? Sure, Diablo is an exception, but it is neither there nor here, being a single-player game first. There is a reason why it is seasonal.

However, I can see where they are coming from, given Dan Hay's pedigree. I just can't see this game without an online component, not from Blizzard, not from Activision Blizzard, and definitely not from Microsoft given this IP.

For now I am not going to speculate, but I don't think they know what this game is going to be. Teasing this four years before a potential release date is like putting out a feeler. I love this IP, and I hope that they execute it with all the respect they have.

Who among the Terrans will still be alive 70 years after the events of StarCraft II? Maybe there is some gene splicing involved, but otherwise I just see them crafting all new characters for this IP. Telling a whole different, and evolving, story from what is known from StarCraft I and II.

Damn, this is 100% going to have seasonal content. Space Marine 2 has seasonal content, and so will 3. We might have Space Marine 4 by the time this game launches.
 
Fulcrum29 said:
It is also strangely a reboot of StarCraft, since it’s just called StarCraft. They did this with Call of Duty.
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I guess I was sort of correct,

(paygated article)


Uncertainty aside, Blizzard fans will leave the weekend excited over the new announcements. The return of StarCraft, in particular, will elicit strong reactions from fans of the sci-fi franchise who haven’t seen a new game in more than a decade.

I asked Faries: Why simply call this new game StarCraft? Is the implication that this is a new road for the franchise, that there won’t then be another real-time strategy game called StarCraft III?

“We came out with a strong belief that this is a StarCraft for the modern, next generation of players without departing from our RTS roots,” she said. “And we’ll have more to say about that, you know, over the years here.”

It’s a “broadening” of the franchise rather than a replacement, she added. “We like sort of just stamping it StarCraft and starting a new conversation around it,” she said.
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This is 100% a departure from their RTS roots for this IP. Ghosts, which never happened, was a parallel project, thus "Ghosts". I am a bit bamboozled by the game's director, because he is referring to the game as a narrative shooter, whereas Blizzard's president refers to it as a game for modern au... sorry, the next generation of players. Now, just going by trends, the next generation of players is for multiplayer experiences, especially for an IP of this type.

From the Bloomberg article, the game is not Dominion, but just StarCraft. StarCraft (I) and II will be legacy products. Blizzard did exactly the same with Modern Warfare I, II, and III. Though the latter was intended to unify the Modern Warfare franchise with Black Ops.

I don't have an issue with this if it is executed well, but I don't think Blizzard knows what this game needs to be in four years time. Still, Blizzard does seem to leave the door open for StarCraft RTS, though that could also have been said to keep the RTS former-generation players at bay.

IMHO, RTS is wiped off the whiteboard at Blizzard. This is not only a bean-counter thing, but game marketing has long suppressed a variety of gaming genres. Whatever this new, broadening game will be, has to be a cash cow for... XBOX.

I just hope that in four years’ time, the XBOX platform will still be broad and not confined to the next generation of consoles.
 
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