How did they screw up the single player that bad?

[Alar]

The people who wrote dialogue for Blizzard clearly left the company a long time ago

As much as I hate to admit this, I think this may be... well, at least partly true.
I wish they'd try getting some of their old writers back. I miss the fairly intellectual dialogues that were had in previous games.

Sure, they had cheesy lines and silly things back in those games too, but those were basically the icing on the cake.

[Eligor]

Um, isn't that kinda already the situation that exists in WOL?

In theory, but none of these themes are really touched upon or made apparent in any way, there's no feeling of the "Spirit of the Times" of the StarCraft universe. We follow Raynor around in his "space apartment" (supposed Battlecruiser and Centre of Operations) but we never really get a sense of the extent and strength of his forces, are they a rag tag group of several dozen Marines, Medics and Firebats with an occasional Siege Tank and a few Vultures thrown into the mix, surviving solely on guerrila tactics, or does he have a whole starfleet at his beck and call? Is the Dominion really failing or thriving? What's the poeople's general opinion on Mengsk is? The TV newscasts are just a joke that destroys any sort of suspension of disbelief the player might have had.

[Turalyon]

Imagine, the Korpulu Sector 5 years after the battle of Omega, the Protoss while still formidable are a shadow of their former might, the Dominion somehow manages to hold itself together mainly due to formidable bureaucracy and Mengsk's tyrannical rule so humanity's not at its best either.

At the time of BWs ending it was difficult to imagine that the remainder of the K sector had more than 1 year, let alone 4 or 5, before being consumed totally by the Zerg.

The writers have pretty much neutered the Protoss throughout BW. It is clear in BW that the Protoss are hardly (or ever were even) formidable considering their multiple and devastating defeats even when they were at the top of their game. They will have to retcon this to make them a plausible power against either Terran or Zerg, let alone the Hybrids and DV.

It's hard to imagine the Dominion could still exist when the UED crushed them and Kerrigan trashing the fleet Mengsk scraped up from his associates/favours. I, for one, wouldn't continue backing him after the debacle of an engagement that was Omega. If Mengsk was that weak he had to call in favours then, what chance does he have of making the Dominion a viable force again in the span of 4 years when WoL starts?

I'm not necessarily denying that there was no setup for a sequel, all I'm saying is that the setup for a sequel was more improbable given that the only thing stopping the inevitable destruction of the K sector (to me, it was quite palpable that Kerrigan would not wait long to begin this) at Kerrigan's hands would have to be a plot device - which is what we got.

Not necessarily, it was pretty clear that she wasn't interested in completely wiping out the Terran and Protoss almost out of apathy and security in her own position as ruler of the Swarm and one could write a story in which she loses her power littlle by little due to a combination of several factors.

It's debatable how clear it was that she did not want to wipe everything out. Given how WoL represents Kerrigan (as an all-out evil Queen of Blades), I'm actually surprised she waited this long to start the invasion since BW clearly paints her as an impatient and aggressive brute who prefers to attack hard and fast (see True Colours, The Reckoning and how she eventually deals with DuGalle). Even if the reason of the invasion was not ultimate conquest, I can't believe she started the invasion to only just find the artifacts because it beggars belief as to why didn't she just do this earlier.

And besides, the Hybrids could've been a VERY interesting "rabbit" had Blizzard decided to give them a more thorough and thought out treatment and focused on them rather than deciding to de-infest Kerrigan and make her the "star of the show" (the "superhero team" approach to writing that WoL adopted, where a few individual heroes take all the canvas and start deciding the fate of the universe)

I agree. The focus on Kerrigan is HotS is somewhat of a double-edged sword in terms of exploring the main threat of SC2 as it is doubtful we'll ever get a proper DV perspective unless it's been filtered through the lens of the campaigns current hero character(s). We all know how unsatisfying that approach has turned out (WoL's villains). For Sc1 and BW we got an insight into the antagonists from their own perspective in the 'middle' chapter, but in SC2 it looks like we won't get that because we're stuck with Kerrigan.

[Laurentian]

Let us not forget that the hybrids are introduced in a way that was very hard to live up to expectations, what with the ancient conspiracy of a "higher power" that will change everything. Not to mention Kerrigan was involved with them...somehow. And defeating the UED and killing the Second Overmind was necessary...for some reason. I doubt the writers of BW had any real idea what the hybrids were going to be about. And I gather a lot of people here weren't very fond of what they did end up writing.

And this plot was somehow going to have to be connected with Kerrigan and Mengsk when little more could be done with them other then to have Raynor kill them. Killing Kerrigan would also require pretty much exterminating the zerg which would make SCIII rather hard to make. They already did the "Mengsk is the lesser of two evils plot" so there was nothing more to do with him except to kill him off. They made Kerrigan the messiah but this suffered the rather serious flaw in that she is completely untrustworthy and it is pretty difficult to argue that the Protoss and Terrans are better off being consumed by the zerg rather the hybrids so they had to make her good. WOL is the writers attempt at dealing with this, and not too well mind you.

[Eligor]

At the time of BWs ending it was difficult to imagine that the remainder of the K sector had more than 1 year, let alone 4 or 5, before being consumed totally by the Zerg.

The writers have pretty much neutered the Protoss throughout BW. It is clear in BW that the Protoss are hardly (or ever were even) formidable considering their multiple and devastating defeats even when they were at the top of their game. They will have to retcon this to make them a plausible power against either Terran or Zerg, let alone the Hybrids and DV.

The way I see it is that the Protoss are very reduced in numbers (several tens of thousands at the most, so they can't risk retaking Aiur or storming Char) but still possess their psionic abilities and weapons of mass destruction. So they can't hope to win in a battle against Kerrigan as she is at the end of BW, but they can certainly go out with a bang and take a terrible toll out of any enemy that tries to exterminate them.

It's hard to imagine the Dominion could still exist when the UED crushed them and Kerrigan trashing the fleet Mengsk scraped up from his associates/favours. I, for one, wouldn't continue backing him after the debacle of an engagement that was Omega. If Mengsk was that weak he had to call in favours then, what chance does he have of making the Dominion a viable force again in the span of 4 years when WoL starts?

The reputation of very charismatic leaders can be nigh unshakeable by military defeats, Napoleon suffered a catastrophic defeat in Russia, lost much of France, was forced to abdicate and go into exile, and still returned to reign for his 100 days. And even after his ultimate defeat at Waterloo they had to exile him to such a middle of nowhere as St. Helena to keep him from attaining followers and becoming a threat. So Mengsk's persistence at staying at the top is not as miraculous as it may seem (nations need figureheads, even tyrannical ones). We don't know the Dominion's civilian population and the extent of its industry. Mengsk could replenish his strength by forced drafts into his armies and military factories, something which would certainly make him a figure tyrannical enough (again, if Napoleon could redraft an army almost from scratch after Russia in the span of a year in 19th century France, then Mengsk could certainly do it in five years and with billions of people at his disposal).

I'm not necessarily denying that there was no setup for a sequel, all I'm saying is that the setup for a sequel was more improbable given that the only thing stopping the inevitable destruction of the K sector (to me, it was quite palpable that Kerrigan would not wait long to begin this) at Kerrigan's hands would have to be a plot device - which is what we got.



It's debatable how clear it was that she did not want to wipe everything out. Given how WoL represents Kerrigan (as an all-out evil Queen of Blades), I'm actually surprised she waited this long to start the invasion since BW clearly paints her as an impatient and aggressive brute who prefers to attack hard and fast (see True Colours, The Reckoning and how she eventually deals with DuGalle). Even if the reason of the invasion was not ultimate conquest, I can't believe she started the invasion to only just find the artifacts because it beggars belief as to why didn't she just do this earlier.

In the end cinematic of BW Kerrigan is pretty clear about her "unlikely allies" not meriting much attention even if she may want to "test their resolve and their strength" later on. WoL is a whole different can of worms.

[Turalyon]

The reputation of very charismatic leaders can be nigh unshakeable by military defeats, Napoleon suffered a catastrophic defeat in Russia, lost much of France, was forced to abdicate and go into exile, and still returned to reign for his 100 days. And even after his ultimate defeat at Waterloo they had to exile him to such a middle of nowhere as St. Helena to keep him from attaining followers and becoming a threat. So Mengsk's persistence at staying at the top is not as miraculous as it may seem (nations need figureheads, even tyrannical ones). We don't know the Dominion's civilian population and the extent of its industry. Mengsk could replenish his strength by forced drafts into his armies and military factories, something which would certainly make him a figure tyrannical enough (again, if Napoleon could redraft an army almost from scratch after Russia in the span of a year in 19th century France, then Mengsk could certainly do it in five years and with billions of people at his disposal).

That's a very nice parallel you draw between Bonaparte and Mengsk. There was a time when I could've believed that Mengsk would be able to pull something as miraculous as you've described based just off of his charisma. However, Mengsk's portrayal starting from BW and continuing on in WoL's makes the possibility of his Dominion coming back and thriving (afterall, Napolean's accomplishments were quite short-lived despite his resilience to hardship) hard to swallow. I'm actually surprised that the K-M Combine or some other powerful Terran organisation hadn't stepped in to fill the temporary power vacuum (much like Mengsk himself did in Rebel Yell against the Confederates) following Mengsk's displacement by the UED invasion and the later defeat of his 'reserve' army by Kerrigan in Omega.

[phazonjunkie]

TI'm actually surprised that the K-M Combine or some other powerful Terran organisation hadn't stepped in to fill the temporary power vacuum (much like Mengsk himself did in Rebel Yell against the Confederates) following Mengsk's displacement by the UED invasion and the later defeat of his 'reserve' army by Kerrigan in Omega.

I think that would've been a much more interesting set up for a sequel, and would have ultimately made much more sense. Mengsk and, by extension his Dominion just seems like so much dead weight to the SC storyline, I'm actually surprised he hasn't been killed off, or at least faded into complete irrelevance already; especially considering Metzen's own admission that his story had been told, his character fully developed. There's nothing else they can really do with him. Whatever plot armor he still has really doesn't serve much of a purpose anymore.

[Turalyon]

or at least faded into complete irrelevance already

In terms of Mengsks portrayal and role as a meaningful character in WoL, some would say that this has already happened

[Laurentian]

Whatever plot armor he still has really doesn't serve much of a purpose anymore.

The purpose is making the game longer. Oh and making sure that Raynor never accomplishes anything. Having the main character never accomplishing anything makes it GRIMDARK or mature or whatever.

especially considering Metzen's own admission that his story had been told, his character fully developed

Which is why they are not killing him off until it appears the end of part 2. I guess his story has not in fact been told.

I think they made a big mistake in not having Kerrigan kill Mengsk in Brood War. That would have meant that BW would have actually accomplished something and possibly Raynor might have accomplished something since he would be in a position where he could rebuild Terran society. This would have given them a lot more freedom to develop the Terrans in SCII.

As it stands in WOL we give up on killing Mengsk in order to deinfest Kerrigan. At least I think that was what WOL was supposed to be about. Kerrigan it appears will reinfest herself so she can kill Mengsk. So erm what was the point of that plot cul de sac? Besides the fact that otherwise the story would be much shorter that is. Also she will apparently reinfest herself in order to get revenge on Mengsk...for infesting herself in the first place. Irony or just bad writing? Oh and "evil" Kerrigan didn't seem all that mad at him for some reason yet "good" Kerrigan wants him dead so erm why didn't she kill him before?

[phazonjunkie]

As it stands in WOL we give up on killing Mengsk in order to deinfest Kerrigan. At least I think that was what WOL was supposed to be about. Kerrigan it appears will reinfest herself so she can kill Mengsk. So erm what was the point of that plot cul de sac? Besides the fact that otherwise the story would be much shorter that is. Also she will apparently reinfest herself in order to get revenge on Mengsk...for infesting herself in the first place. Irony or just bad writing? Oh and "evil" Kerrigan didn't seem all that mad at him for some reason yet "good" Kerrigan wants him dead so erm why didn't she kill him before?