Chris Sigaty on StarCraft II
Blizzard's lead producer opens his mind to us
What do you believe are the pillars of the StarCraft series, and how will trademark credentials be embellished in this game?
There are a number of aspects that characterize the StarCraft franchise. Perhaps the most important of these are the three completely unique, but balanced, races. The fact that the Terran, Zerg, and Protoss played so differently, and did not share a single unit between them, was attractive to players and contributed much to the depth of strategy in the original game. With StarCraft II were looking to add units and abilities that differentiate the three races even further, while still maintaining the balance of the original game.
The Protoss for example, have the ability to use warp-in, which is a technology upgrade. This allows the Protoss to beam in infantry anywhere on the map where they maintain a base or power grid. This powerful ability feeds into the high-tech nature of that race, providing opportunities for players to reinforce their army almost anywhere on the map. The Zerg on the other hand, maintain a carpet of slimy creep in their bases and wherever their Overlords choose to create it. When on creep, Zerg units move much faster creating a totally unique dynamic to their race playing right into their insectoid nature. The speed enhancement allows Zerg players the ability to quickly move defending units where they need them when their bases are attacked. We're sure that many new tactics will emerge where fast movement on creep will be employed in various offensive strategies as well.
How important are the visuals in an RTS game - what is the key role they play?
Visuals in an RTS game are important to different people for different reasons. At the core level you want to see your commands executed in a satisfying way. When you send a group of Viking aircraft and marines to destroy an enemy carrier or battlecruiser, you want to see that ship explode in a flash of light and chunks of fiery debris. When you set your siege tanks into artillery mode to defend your base from a rush of 100 zerglings, you want to see fountains of zerg blood and giblets as your tanks fire into the oncoming horde.
At the same time, competitive players need to be able to glance at the screen and read the battlefield - they need to understand at all times what is going on in a battle who's winning, where are the lines holding and where are there holes in the enemy defence that can be exploited? With StarCraft II running at such a fast pace, there's often only a few moments open to react, so if the battlefield is too obscured with flashing lights, particles, and smoke, all those pretty effects can actually be a detriment to gameplay. Balancing the desire for attractive visuals against the need to read and react to whats going on in the battlefield is a tricky thing. It's this balance that our artists and animators are acutely aware of, and theyre constantly adjusting elements in order to hit just the right note.
How do you plan to evolve Battle.net to support a new generation of online players? Do you look at rival services like Steam?
Blizzard is a company full of avid gamers and technology buffs and we are big fans of many of the newer online services and social web sites that have become popular over the last several years. It's still a little early for us to go into details about our plans for Battle.net, but our intention is to make it the ultimate online destination for gamers. We have a lot of great features and ideas we want to implement to make communication between all Blizzard gamers easier and more convenient, with the aim of uniting all Blizzard gamers under a single service umbrella. We also have some exciting plans as far as improved support for eSports and competitive gaming, while at the same time making the online experience more inviting and less intimidating for casual players.
Finally, when can we hope to sink our teeth into this eagerly awaited sequel, and do you have a timescale for subsequent campaigns?
We're targeting the end of 2009 for the release of StarCraft II, but as with all Blizzard games, we won't release a game until we feel it meets our high standards and the expectations of our players. As for the expansion sets for StarCraft II, we don't have a timeline for those games, but with much of the groundwork done in Wings of Liberty, we're optimistic that we can develop those games on a more accelerated schedule than the core StarCraft II game.
Thanks very much for your time, Chris.
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