OP-ED: Why Starcraft II’s Campaign Design Isn’t That Great · 8:45pm Apr 22nd, 2021
So yeah, this post isn’t going to be about writing. This post is one that has been on my backlog for around six months and I just never got around to it because there were other things to write about. Calling this is a “non-issue” is pretty accurate, really. Almost, but we’ll get into that. Starcraft II has been out for almost eleven years at this point, and there aren’t many people picking it up new.
However, because it’s been out for that long, I’ve had enough time to play through the title in question more than once and note the subject of today’s post.
But before I get into that, some quick news updates. First, Starforge. Starforge work continues to be the number one thing I’m working on right now, and I’ve almost finished up another major section. Likely will have by the end of this week/start of next week. Stranded remains a weekend project, as does another project, but once again I’ve been having burnout struggles, mostly because Starforge is a titan of a project that’s a bit all-consuming of my every thought and focus.
Speaking of which, I’ve now had multiple people in the real world notice that I’ve been “off” for a few weeks and tell me I need a vacation. Which … yeah I can’t deny. So I might be taking a week off sometime soon, just for mental health reasons. Though even that’s dicey because I’ve got so much to do …
Yeah … I think they’re all correct that I need a break of some kind. But Starforge! Both the cause and the solution, I think. After this, I’m going to write a few small books to relax.
In other news, speaking of small books, Axtara continues to review well, as do the rest of my books. Sales have hit a bit of a slump lately (someone suggested “summer” and people hoping quarantine was on its way out as possible reasons) but across my work the reviews are staying high. And outside of that? There really isn’t any news. So back to the rest of this post.
Okay, so this is one of those rare posts where I talk about one of my other hobbies, in this case gaming, and I want to talk about Starcraft II today. Now, as I said, this is an old game, but it still gets brought up a lot because it’s one of only a few RTS titles that still manages to have a decent following (the genre being somewhat dead these days).
Now personally, I’m not a huge fan of Starcraft II‘s approach to the genre. It’s a game that takes rock-paper-scissors balance to an extreme conclusion, an edge where a unit will do 250% damage (or more) to a specific unit it’s meant to counter, making army composition a case of “one-upping” the other guy with hyper-specialization (for the record, I prefer Relic’s Dawn of War approach where unit type bonus never exceeds 25% and other factors like accuracy and cover come into play).
But one thing I did enjoy was Starcraft II‘s (SC2) much-lauded campaign. At least … the first few times. But I still see it brought up as a stellar example of RTS single-player achievement whenever people bring up RTS campaigns. On the one hand, that’s good … but then on the other, I worry developers will take the wrong lessons.
Enough beating around the bush. Let’s dive into the meat-and-potatoes of SC2’s campaign and why it’s not as good as everyone remembers.
It's funny, the thing you talk about in SCII that supposedly is the important thing everyone loves is, in fact, not at all what I loved about it. I adored the Starcraft franchise, having owned all the games for it that ever came out. I was one of those people who was pumped when I saw the first SCII trailer. But it wasn't because of the gameplay, as much fun as I had with it.
I enjoyed Arcturus as a villain. I loved Kerrigan and her quest for revenge. I liked the relationship she shared with Rayner, both before and after her transformation. I found the aesthetic of the entire game entertaining. I still vividly recall Arcuturus Mengsk's coronation speech; Fenix's first fall to a Hydralisk; Kerrigan rescuing Jim from a prison ship; the betrayal of Tarsonis.
The gameplay was fun, but it was only a means to get to what I really cared about.
It is disappointing when you pull back the curtain and see a man pulling levers, instead of an actual wizard.
Here's hoping you can get to that vacation soon.
5504216
I love the setting as well, though I feel the game isn't the best vehicle for it, and I felt the story in II didn't always have the writing chops it needed for full impact, while still being fun. Part of that is how much extra there was from the first game in the manuals to back up the missions and dialogue and make it a more amazing setting, even if the lines could be corny at times. The cutscenes are awesome and visually stunning, and it is a fun adventure ... if a little cliche and heavy-handed with its retcons (and the retcon of a retcon, which I personally found hilarious).
But it is a fun setting, I 100% agree with you there. It's a shame we're never going to get a third installment.
5504220
Agreed. But I also desperately want to finish Starforge.
So you were going for the achievemen? Or just having fun?
5504226
Sounds like your boss is a jerk. : P
5504226
Perhaps, but as the Warcraft movie demonstrated, it may be best to take the medium we've got. At least so long as it's coming from the same writers.
5504227
Just playing to play.
5504228
It's less of a "boss" and more of a muse that I love but sometimes devote myself to a little too much, maybe? I dunno, I just really want to finish Starforge.
5504229
Oh, don't get me wrong, I still like the RTS genre, and I think they could do a lot more with the game to do more with the universe (if they care to is another question). Other entries into the setting would be neat to see, though (like what almost was with Ghost). But comparatively to other RTS titles like Dawn of War or Command and Conquer there's a lot of neat things Starcraft could "borrow" to go further. Though the between-mission segments, especially with Raynor and Artanis, are some of the best and every RTS with a story should look at trying to capture something similar.
As a genre whole though, I love the RTS and want to see more things pushed with it.
Nice post, I enjoyed reading it. I've probably beaten the various campaigns at least 3-5 times (depending on the expansion), and honestly I never really thought the campaigns were especially mechanically interesting (particularly Legacy of the Void felt rather repetitive compared to the first two), though I do see your point when comparing it to other campaigns in the genre.
Just out of curiosity, which mission are you referring to, here?
In any case, I don't think the railroading / lack of creative solutions is nearly as present as you claim. You can see a lot of very cool and unique solutions to the maps looking at speedruns or other challenge runs (e.g. GiantGrantGames' deathless runs). Beyond that, the achievements often present unique challenges that added some spice to the campaign over repeat playthroughs.
5504328
Pretty much all of them. The first one I noticed it in was a Heart of the Swarm mission (past that, I don't remember which one), but once I started testing the game for that behavior I found it evident through all three campaigns. The mission with the giant drill, for example, does the same. You can wipe out all the protoss and they keep coming from thin air. Just "pop" here we are.
In hindsight, it makes the assaults on Korhal mission gimmick of "Whatever you destroy during the surprise attack won't be rebuilt/send units at you" a lot easier to understand, as it simply would disable the spawn-trigger commands for respective units at each location if you wiped out the associated building.
You better not be insulting my Wings of Liberty campaign. That is pure king shit and my favorite SC2 campaign ever.
I like Terrans the most so Im admittedly biased