Stracraft 2 is now three games

[Moatilliatta]

Starcraft 2 is now three games as announced by Blizzard at Blizzcon.

Blizzard drops bombshell and says real-time strategy sequel is now three separate games.

 

ANAHEIM--Blizzard dropped a bombshell at the 2008 Blizzcon today by announcing that StarCraft II, the highly-awaited sequel to the smash hit 1998 real-time strategy game, StarCraft II, has been split into three. The company said that StarCraft II now consists of three different stand-alone titles--one for each faction campaign. The first of the StarCraft II trilogy will be StarCraft II Terrans: Wings of Liberty. The second will be StarCraft II Zerg: Heart of the Swarm, with the third and final installment of the main trilogy being StarCraft II Protoss: Legacy of the Void.

 

Blizzard says it made the change to make each story that much more epic and to flesh out the StarCraft universe. By splitting the game, the company says that players will access more story content, more characters, and more customization. Rob Pardo, executive vice president of game design, said that each game will be approximate in size to the original StarCraft. Each game will be a stand-alone installment

[Moatilliatta]

More info:

"[The second and third games] will be like expansion packs, but we really want them to feel like standalone products," said Blizzard's Rob Pardo.

 

Each campaign will be very different, with Pardo announcing the Zerg campaign will contain RPG elements. The Protoss campaigin will likewise be differentiated by elements of diplomacy. In addition, the Terran campaign will feature a Protoss mini-campaign.

 

The campaigns are planned as concentrated, epic storylines, with enough content to justify a full release. As a result, the games will now feature more in-game cinematics and story content.

 

Blizzard added that the plans for the multiplayer component are unchanged by the splitting of the campaigns. However, some units will now be unique to the campaigns and will not be playable in multiplayer.

 

Pardo noted that the decision was necessary to maintain the quality of the product, the alternatives either being a long delay of the game, or a scaling back of the campaigns.

RPG elements in the Zerg campaign?

[Moatilliatta]

Triple posting for the win?

 

Here is Chris Sigaty telling us in greater detail what this is about:

Don't think of it as a split. That's main point StarCraft II lead producer Chris Sigaty was trying to get across during our brief interview following the StarCraft II panel at BlizzCon where it was announced that the single player campaign would be delivered as three separate products - first Terran, then Zerg, and finally Protoss. "Effectively each game in the will be an expansion," Sigaty explained when I told him of our reader's initial concerns about buying the same game three times with a different single player component. Think Warcraft III's The Frozen Throne, or the original StarCraft's Brood War.

 

So essentially the 2nd and 3rd campaign has been delegated to expansions... I think.

Edited October 11, 2008 by Moatilliatta

[Maria Caliban]

I'll pick up the Zerg one. Who cares about humans or Protoss?

 

That said, I think people who are concerned about this have nothing to worry about. Instead of getting one Starcraft game, they're going to get three.

[Moatilliatta]

Anyone who cares about the entire plot?

 

Edit: Zeratul could beat up your dad, that's why you should care. Badass.

Edited October 11, 2008 by Moatilliatta

[Maria Caliban]

I don't know who Zeratul is and my father is dead.

 

The Zerg game will have an entire plot.

[Tigranes]

RPG elements in the Zerg campaign?

 

I suspect 'RPG elements' in the sense of levelling up, having abilities, skill points, etc.

 

That's a massive WTF, but I can see how it might work out. What a project.

[neckthrough]

Will all 3 campaigns be released simultaneously? Or staggered over time?

[Strix]

I suspect 'RPG elements' in the sense of levelling up, having abilities, skill points, etc.

 

I hope not, I've seen too many RTS games try that system only to have it fail to have much confidence in it...

[Tigranes]

Must be staggered, you can't handle 3 releases at once.

[Magister Lajciak]

I like it. Yes, I get to pay three times, but I also get three times more single-player content and enhancements to multi-player content, which is well worth it for me. Much better than having to wait another ten years for Starcraft 3.

[Morgoth]

I've no problem to fork out three times the money for a Blizzard game. I'm gonna pick up all three for sure.

[Deraldin]

I'm not impressed with having to fork over money three times for this. No doubt each package will be the full $50. Personally, I'd rather wait and get it all at once. I've waited 10 years already, whats another couple years?

[Oerwinde]

No doubt each package will be the full $50.

 

Considering its still 40 bucks for Burning Crusade, a year old expansion pack, I wouldn't doubt it either.

[Deraldin]

No doubt each package will be the full $50.

 

Considering its still 40 bucks for Burning Crusade, a year old expansion pack, I wouldn't doubt it either.

The comments about each subsequent product bringing multiplayer improvements is another sore point. That just screams "If you want to keep playing online, you'll have to fork over more money for singleplayer campaigns that you may or may not have any interest in."

[Morgoth]

I'd rather wait and get it all at once. I've waited 10 years already, whats another couple years?

Boy, I wish I'd have this patience. No way, the waiting is killing me. Must get game at day one.

[mrmud]

Normally things like this might make me upset. But this is Blizzard and they can have my money any day of the week. Ill gladly fork over any kind of money for the quality of their products.

 

Oh and it is obviously going to be a staggered launch. In the interview they said that the reason they are making 3 games is trying to fit it all into one game would delay the release by several years.

[Pop]

In this case, given the general slack-jawed nature of battle.net I'm going to get the games... second hand for the single player campaigns, which I don't expect to be any good. The last good product Blizzard produced was the original Starcraft, and from the looks of it the sequel is going to be chock full of the same ruinous wank that Warcraft 3 introduced. Micromanagement of single unit abilities in real time just isn't all that enjoyable.

 

No studio's worth that sort of blatant through-the-nose fleecing. Not anybody, certainly not Blizzard.

Edited October 11, 2008 by Pop

[Pope]

this is interesting

 

if anyone can pull it off it's Blizzard

[Meshugger]

Blizzard will probably be able to pull it off, maybe even make it worthwhile. But i still think that it is a bad move by them against the customers.

 

-Insert [Don't like it, don't buy it]-dickmove here.

[Pope]

So if I get this right, the reason they're doing this is because otherwise it would delay the game for too long. So first we're getting the Terran game, and then we have to wait (ideally) a year for the Zerg game, and then (again ideally) another year for the Protoss game.

 

That means at least another 3 years before I can play the Protoss campaign

[Musopticon?]

Yay, more content.

 

A large nay for the complete customer fleecing though. It's great to have a comprehensive and unique campaign for all the races, but I'll wait for a gold edition release, or Battle Chest rather, if all the games are priced 40+ euros.

[Nick_i_am]

If this 'trilogy' means that each campain is playable in coop, then you won't see me complain, being that that's the only thing that will really get me to play 'traditional' RTSs these days.