Why the SC2 Story Was a Disappointment

[Kimera757]

Not sure why everyone on this forum insists on theorizing about how the free will works when the game spells it out pretty clear. He's not allowed to even think about violating the directive:

• when he touches minds with zeratul and retracts away all information of him being enslaved even though Zeratul looked directly at his origins.
• pretty much all the dialog in SC1. When he communicates psionically with the cerebrates, who are technically a part of him, he avoids thinking about his slavery or "raging in his mind".

I don't know why Zeratul didn't pick up that info, but there's no way the Overmind is going to tell his cerebrates he's a slave. There's nothing indicating that he could tell them that. Their behavior in Brood War (creating a second Overmind and opposing Kerrigan) didn't seem like they knew anything about that. (If they did, the smart thing would have been to let themselves die, and hand control of the zerg to Kerrigan.)

Tassadar said that the Overmind raged in in his own mind, but that's just him being unhappy that he's enslaved. That's not him trying to find a loophole out of the directive. He should have raged in SC1 and the cerebrates should have known about it, which is why it's a retcon.

I disagree. He did find a way around the directive, by arranging his own death. There's no reason (or even ability, for all we know) for him to rage to the cerebrates or publicly express his rage.

Sure, if Blizzard made it clear that the directive was simply an order and that the Overmind could still make its own decisions then it would have at least made sense. But that's not what happened.

It is what happened, and it says so right in-game. See the quotes below.

But this is not the common definition of free will. If everyone used that definition it would be a pretty worthless qualifier. A guy with no free will has no choice. A guy with a gun to his head has a choice, even if his choice is basically already made for him. Choice is what free will is.

Blizzard shouldn't have used the words "free will". But see below:

Tassadar: The Overmind was formed with thought and reason... but not free will. It screamed and raged within the prison of its own mind.

Zeratul: Who did this? Why?

Tassadar: I know not. But the Overmind found a way to resist its all-consuming directive. It created a chance... a hope of salvation.

Tassadar: The Queen of Blades.

Tassadar contradicted himself. He says the Overmind has no free will, then says the Overmind found a way to resist its directive, implying it had free will. (Perhaps it regained its free will somehow, and Tassadar's initial statement applied to before that moment. But we don't know.)

Blizzard did the same thing in Warcraft III. Ner'zhul was a slave to the Burning Legion, but he found a way to free himself. (For a short while. Arthas put an end to that.)

So in short, we're arguing over semantics, and you know where that leads to.

[Gradius]

I don't know why Zeratul didn't pick up that info, but there's no way the Overmind is going to tell his cerebrates he's a slave. There's nothing indicating that he could tell them that.

The Cerebrates should know because they're a part of the Overmind itself, especially Daggoth. They're a hive mind. In Queen of Blades Daggoth outright states that he coexisted with the Overmind as the same entity on occasion. When Zeratul killed Zasz, the Overmind went into remission because it was an attack on itself. This effect might have also helped the Protoss after they killed the Cerebrates in the Shadow Hunters mission.

Their behavior in Brood War (creating a second Overmind and opposing Kerrigan) didn't seem like they knew anything about that. (If they did, the smart thing would have been to let themselves die, and hand control of the zerg to Kerrigan.)

Right, which proves that it's a retcon.

I disagree. He did find a way around the directive, by arranging his own death.

Tassadar contradicted himself.

Which is why it's bad writing. He can think of ways to violate the directive but he can't find an easier way to kill himself or even let anybody know that he's being mind controlled? They couldn't have taken a few moments to nail down what exactly it is they're trying to convey and not have Tassadar contradict himself?

Tassadar contradicted himself. He says the Overmind has no free will, then says the Overmind found a way to resist its directive, implying it had free will. (Perhaps it regained its free will somehow, and Tassadar's initial statement applied to before that moment. But we don't know.)

It's not just Tassadar that implies that the Overmind has no actual free will. There's the Zeratul & Cerebrates thing I mentioned earlier. There's also the fact that he communicates mentally. When the Overmind says "i really do want to assimilate the protoss," it indicates that his very thoughts are being manipulated by the directive. Why would he be hiding his real motives from any of his cerebrates if this wasn't the case?

So in short, we're arguing over semantics, and you know where that leads to.

Blizzard has confused many fans with its poor semantics. I guess your guys' viewpoint makes sense if we pretend the original games didn't happen, and give Blizzard the benefit of the doubt for using the word "free will".

But my main problem is that an entire chapter & character of SC1 has basically been erased.

[Turalyon]

I disagree since reasoning comes in. Using the example of the guy with a gun to his head, he would be more likely to give a stranger (in this case: the guy with the gun) the contents of his wallet than if he didn't have the gun to his head. Yes, he can say no but that represents a false choice since most people wouldn't choose to die needlessly.

"Likely" and "false" (or any motive whatsoever) have no bearing on choices based on free will. The guy with the gun can choose to comply or not (with many reasons for either decision - if you're struggling for the latter instance, the guy could feel he could overpower the man with the gun before he can fire or he's insane or he secretly wants to die, a greater benefit will arise from his refusal, etc.), the actual freedom to choose either option is free will. Besides, your weighting of the encounter (the guy dying if he should refuse as a negative to be avoided) is misleading.

As such, I would go so far as to say that with the possible exception of babies, no one has complete free will.

So no-one has free will, eh? The game never puts the question of whether free will exists (which is something completely different and beyond the scope of what the game is actually saying) or not since Tassadar explicitly says the Overmind has no free will - therefore it must exist if you can say with confidence that it does not exist, right? Makes you wonder why Tassadar would labour that point then... Then again, as Kimera mentioned, Tassadar did seem to contradict himself straight after he said it.

Even if you don't define 'free will' as such, I still think it is an acceptable lay term for 'autonomy' (much the same way as a 'heart attack' is an acceptable lay term for an 'ST elevation myocardial infarction). It conveys the right idea to the listener. Using the term 'autonomy' would have been inappropriate since there would be a number of people (e.g. your average 12-year old) would not understand what the former word meant. Moreover, it would felt unnatural in conversation. As such, 'free will' is an appropriate alternative.

There are many more appropriate synonyms for the Overmind's "condition". I've been saying in many previous entries that Tassadar could simply say the Overmind was enslaved, compelled, or coerced and many more appropriate, direct and easily understood ways of saying that if that's what they were aiming for.

Besides, I don't see why the term "lacking autonomy" is any less desirable, less understood or less unnatural in conversation considering how archaic and flowery the language of the Overmind (overweening anyone?) and some of the words the Protoss use in Sc1 ('entropy' is something that a general 12-year old would understand?) were.

What Blizzard should - and easily could - have done is then define what the Overmind meant by 'free will' since as can be seen by this thread, people have different understandings of the term.

No, they should have consulted a dictionary and used a more appropriate word. If they had to start defining what they mean as "free will", you're already in a world of trouble...

Even if free will does exist on a spectrum as you say (which is much like saying you're a little or a lot pregnant as Gradius had quoted from someone else, elsewhere), Tassadar states the Overmind's condition on the extreme of that spectrum - no free will means just that, not slightly or more or whatever. And if Tassadar meant "lacked a little bit of free will" (that would be truly some facepalm worthy writing there), surely there would be a better word for it than saying outright, "no free will" (which strangely enough is not what he supposedly meant?!). For example, we don't go saying that something that is always hot but we find that it's not, "not hot" or (worse) "cold", we say it is warm or cooler.

Which is why it's bad writing. He can think of ways to violate the directive but he can't find an easier way to kill himself or even let anybody know that he's being mind controlled? They couldn't have taken a few moments to nail down what exactly it is they're trying to convey and not have Tassadar contradict himself?

This is the major problem with the directive - it seems ineffectual despite what we are being told about what it can do. It is all encompassing, yet everything is going the way the Overmind wanted. What dictates what it can and can't do? The logic of it is so wishy-washy. Due to the success rate of how the Overmind can manipulate this directive to it's own ends, makes you wonder if the Overmind was really in any danger in the first place.

It's not just Tassadar that implies that the Overmind has no actual free will. There's the Zeratul & Cerebrates thing I mentioned earlier. There's also the fact that he communicates mentally. When the Overmind says "i really do want to assimilate the protoss," it indicates that his very thoughts are being manipulated by the directive. Why would he be hiding his real motives from any of his cerebrates if this wasn't the case?

Taking this further, if we can't even take for granted the Overmind being metaphysically free, how can we expect it for any other character? What, only humans and human-like entities (Protoss) are allowed to have free will without a measure of doubt?

[Visions of Khas]

What it comes down to is this: The Overmind was a slave, meaning it could perform certain actions but not others. There was a system of parameters that restricted the Overmind's actions. What those were are, of course, unknown and poorly defined. You restrict a slave too much, and you have a pretty useless tool. Give a slave too much freedom, and you don't have much of a slave, now do you? It would be a pretty delicate process of constructing a psychology to perfectly fit such long-termed goals.

I am not defending the writing in StarCraft. We ALL KNOW this is a retcon, and a poorly constructed one at that. Of course there would be no reference to the Dark Voice in StarCraft I or Brood War -- it was never conceived back then! There could be no foreshadowing.

It's badly written, leaving us now with making up excuses and speculations.


What I'm interested in, however, is the continued existence of this directive. The Overmind died, but I think some of you may agree that Kerrigan was in the thrall of something. Tassadar stated that the Zerg still need to be freed from this "Directive". So is it some sort of biologically programmed instinct? Something put into the subconscious, "psychic substrate" of the Zerg? A dormant entity unto itself that enforces its will from time to time? Now That would be interesting. It's the curious thing, and how the Overmind expects Kerrigan to break it.

[DarthYam]

I think that each arc was meant to tackle one of Raynor's personal demons and allow him to finally face his ghosts and move on.

Ghost 1: Guilt for failing to save Kerrigan. Kerrigan was one of the people Raynor loved and considering that according to the EU he had been growing his sorrows in alcohol prior to Mengsk recruiting him he maybe saw her as a second chance at happiness. What's more, Kerrigan became infested because he failed to realize what Mengsk was planning to do until it was too late. As such her crimes could easily be seen as deaths he could have prevented. One thing I noticed was that when Zeratul said that "only she can save us." Raynor gets angry and starts yelling at Zeratul whereas before he was happy if a little surprised to see him. This shows that on a level her actions weren't forgotten. The photo scene at the beginning could be seen as him having fond memories of human kerrigan but viewing the QOB as a monster to be put down like an animal.

Ghost Two: Lack of Idealism: Considering all of the betrayal and heartbreak Raynor has endured it's no wonder he's largely burned out. This is tackled in the Rebellion missions and too a lesser extent in the colonies mission. Fanatic Templar described the scene where you finish Breakout

Ghost Three: Hatred: Raynor feels intense disgust and hatred for Mengsk; even though they were only allies for two months it’s not unreasonable to say that they might have actually been friends in that brief time. He most certainly believed in Mengsk’s cause, which made Mengsk’s revelation of his true nature at Tarsonis even more upsetting. The fact that Mengsk hurt the woman he loved (Kerrigan) only adds to this hatred. A better way would have been for Raynor to have been presented full honest proof that the spectres were psychopaths (Hanson could have run tests that confirmed that Nova was telling the truth). Tosh would have than tried to win Raynor by saying that the soldiers will grant Raynor an advantage against Mengsk. This would force Raynor to question just how far he was willing to go to destroy Mengsk. Would he be willing to sink to Mengsk’s level to stop him?

Rebellion: For years Raynor’s been powerless, and no through the luck of god he has a weapon that can damage Mengsk; if he proves Mengsk’s involvement in Tarsonis than he will loose one of his main rallying points and most of his support. While the media being unintentionally comic was lame it might actually serve propaganda to allow a “token” to give the impression of fair news media. By keeping her on a muzzle he gives the impression of fair speech while allowing the people to think they are getting truth. If they had gone with that route than the scene where Lockwell plays the recording of Mengsk’s sector will burn speech would have more weight. Loosing the propaganda weapon has irrevocably weaked him because while Mengsk is secure he’s never going to be as secure as he was prior to WOL.

Colonists: This is where Raynor has to partially get over his guilt for failing to save Kerrigan on Tarsonis. The colonists are in Kerrigan’s position where they where thrown under a bus due to expediency. Can Raynor in good conscious stand aside and let it happen when he has a chance to stop it? I doubt it. It’s also this that motivates him to stand against Selendis in Safe Haven. The last time he gave up hope in that situation Kerrigan was turned into the Queen of Blades, and people died. He has only started to regain his hopeful attitude so he’s not willing to let another potential tragedy unfold when there is still a chance, however small.


.
Prophecy: I actually didn't mind the retcon that the Dark Voice was the one who forced the over mind on a path of destruction. I felt there were enough ambiguities in the manual and that it explained some of the bone headed things he did in the campaign (though ymmv). I do think that it could have been better executed. A better choice of dialogue, dialogue making it clear why he would have been able to subvert the DV's directive while allowing him to be a slave (almost total control except for a loophole to exploit). My take was that the OM's plan was originally to forcibly assimilate other species before naturally merging with the protoss like the xel'naga intended, and all the om really did was redirect the Om's instincts for his own ends. That allows the DV while keeping the essence intact. The om did have his plans and was amoral, but he wasn’t as monsterous and destructive as the Dark Voice. I get that the guy’s over the top attitude in the flash back is annoying, but at that point he’d essentially won and the heroes couldn’t stop him. Quite frankly he had earned the right to gloat.

Final battle: This is the culmination of Raynor’s struggles. In a way, all of his arcs reach a crescendo here. First his guilt and hatred for Kerrigan are finally addressed. Kerrigan is fully and finally laid to rest. The artifact has provided him a way to return her from the monster she is now to the powerful but ultimately good person she once was (at the very least it’s a tangible chance). If this happens Raynor can finally undo the failure at Tarsonis that has haunted him for years. Everything he has ever loved has either died or become warped into a monster (Kerrigan, and to a lesser extent Mengsk because the implications are that Mengsk may have been a good man before he let his lust for vengeance consume him). If he pulls the artifact stunt than he will be able to save someone he loves, showing that he can attached to something without it dying

It also allows him to fully face his cynicism: Even if Valerian has an agenda, there is something good to come out of it. If he pulls it off, the Zerg leadership will be crippled and the zerg rampage will halt. If that happens billions of lives will be saved. Also, by saving Warfield and the Dominion soldiers and singlehandedly molding them into a force that could stand Kerrigan’s onslaught he managed to gain allies (Warfield, a powerful general respects him and many dominion soldiers may now be forced to reevaluate their opinions of him. Finally his hatred of Mengsk is finally put to test in the remains of Kerrigan’s shattered Hive Base. When Tychus moves in for the kill the only gun that can be used to save Kerrigan is the pistol with the bullet to kill mengsk. He’s faced his guilt, and regained the fire that he lost now that has rebellion has gained power. He no longer hates Kerrigan, though there are some doubts but he realizes that she needs to live. All that plagues him is his fear that he will become another mengsk. In the moment that he uses that bullet on Tychus he transcends that hatred; by wasting the bullet to save Kerrigan (the one who will rise to defeat the Dark Voice) he put the fate of the universe above his petty vengeance. He has proven fully that he is not Mengsk, and he has regained the fire he lost years ago. That’s why he’s smiling as he walks across the battlefield; he has finally overcome his inner demons; he has been…..liberated if you will.

If properly executed than it could have been in it's own way as deep and powerful as SC1.

[phazonjunkie]

Blizzard has confused many fans with its poor semantics. I guess your guys' viewpoint makes sense if we pretend the original games didn't happen, and give Blizzard the benefit of the doubt for using the word "free will".

Yes. That's pretty much what we're all supposed to do. Just now figuring that out are you? Sheesh.

But my main problem is that an entire chapter & character of SC1 has basically been erased.

It happens. Don't feel bad. (DCU & Marvel universe comes to mind)

[Twilice]

DarthYam

/Thread.

I've read most post's that was positive, I've seen them "burned down" with good arguments. But this was imo. and excellent review of what I think the Starcraft 2 thought when they did this. Somewhere along the course though they lost track of how players would view it. They of course who knew the story would see it.

I've been thinking about it, and I can perfectly see it that this is what the story developers had in mind. I've also started to think the story wasn't so bad after all, and hopefully we will see similar insight that you provided from Raynors point of view. From Kerrigans side why she acted so strangely aggressive without thought in some of the missions. (the missing link) Okay the second missing link is those Tal'darim guys I don't really know anything about just that they are evil and crazy, oh just like Kerrigan.

Okay, after thinking a bit more there ARE a lot of flawed things left in the campaign. But I think the overall story is good. The execution is not though, they wanted to have such a fun and repayable campaign that every map had to use some kind of gimmick, preferably time gimmicks. So every enemy sort of felt RUSHED, evil and crazy.

So much for that appreciation, I just wanted I liked your post very much Darthyam.

[Turalyon]

What I'm interested in, however, is the continued existence of this directive. The Overmind died, but I think some of you may agree that Kerrigan was in the thrall of something. Tassadar stated that the Zerg still need to be freed from this "Directive". So is it some sort of biologically programmed instinct? Something put into the subconscious, "psychic substrate" of the Zerg? A dormant entity unto itself that enforces its will from time to time? Now That would be interesting. It's the curious thing, and how the Overmind expects Kerrigan to break it.

I think they've already potentially 'solved' this particular problem (poorly I might add) with the introduction of the artifact. One could think of Kerrigan's deinfestation as also the cleansing of the "directive" (if she was indeed still under the influence of it while being the QoB) as well. If every single Zerg also has the directive, the newly reformed and free (for real this time!) Kerrigan would then be able to use this artifact to then free the rest of the Zerg as well.

While this would conceivably tie it up plotwise, the suggestion of the remainder of the Zerg being 'under the influence' could seriously bring into question the nature of what the Zerg are in a most negative way... that is, that the Zerg maybe ultimately be revealed as misguided, misunderstood and at it's worst, that they are fundamentally good race. The retcon of the "Overmind being revealed as not really being the Overmind" was enough as it is, I don't think the suggestion that the "Zerg being revealed as not really being the Zerg", if this directive is pervasive across the entire Zerg swarm as you suggest, would sit well to anyone.

I've read most post's that was positive, I've seen them "burned down" with good arguments. But this was imo. and excellent review of what I think the Starcraft 2 thought when they did this. Somewhere along the course though they lost track of how players would view it. They of course who knew the story would see it.

I've been thinking about it, and I can perfectly see it that this is what the story developers had in mind. I've also started to think the story wasn't so bad after all, and hopefully we will see similar insight that you provided from Raynors point of view.

I agree with your assessment of this as well. Even the most mundane and simplistic of stories can be great when taken from a certain point of view. Part of the story's job is to foster that certain point of view since a story is only as good as it is told. Arguably, Sc1 does this more effectively than Sc2 atm.

[DarthYam]

If Blizzcon is to believed Kerrigan's beasts will be adressed to an extent.

If the trailer is right, than Warfield will call her out on her rampage, while Raynor saying "Sarah" in a disappointed tone shows that he's worried that she's becoming a monster once more. This ties in with an analogy I used in the past.
I used the "knife's edge" analogy to describe what will most likely involve Kerrigan, and I think it stands. In some clips she shows genuine guilt for her sins, while in others she is determined to regain her power and take Mengsk down no matter the cost. In essence, how far is she will go to avenge herself

Blizzard said the themes of this expansion were Fury revenge and hatred. I think that they will be featured by asking how far will she go to get revenge. Will she fall to darkness and become a monster or transcend her past and achieve redemption for her sins? Will she become the leader the Swarm needs? That's what I think the final exchange between Kerrigan and Mengsk in the leaked ending refers to. At the start Kerrigan was indeed after him for vengeance. By stories end she's executing Mengsk because he's a monster who needs to be stopped rather than vengeance. In that context it makes more sense and explains her "keep the bargain" line. Though she may or may not be the Queen of Blades again, she's transcended the darkness in her heart and become a better person. In Brood War she betrayed her allies on Korhal and committed one of her greatest atrocities. Now she's in the same place in similar circumstances.......Only now she's not the monster she once was.

[Louis]

The writing made me cry, and the scale was too small. Apart from that I'm going to keep an open mind. The premise of fighting a big bad is just fine, it's very derivative, yeah, but what isn't? The trick to making it work is good writing and direction. How narrow minded do you have to be to completely dismiss the SCII premise as shit by default?