Just done a critique of solidsamurai's worldbuilding analysis. Feel guilty about it too, because while it's easy to criticize ideas, it's harder to come up with your own. That, and because I need an excuse to spare me a few minutes from research into open cut mines (don't ask), thought I may as well vent my own creative spleen. Namely, story predictions for Blizzard's main three universes rather than recreating them. Respond, flame...just something to do I guess. And beware of spoilers too I guess.

Warcraft

There's two realms of games one has to deal with Warcraft. The first is the remaining expansions of WoW. Expansions that I think will wind down at some point to make room for Titan. What also hampers speculation in this regard is that there was a plot projection leaked years ago and so far the series has stuck fairly true to it. In that spirit, I forsee there being at least two more expansions-one to deal with the Old Gods, another to deal with Sargeras. Something to wrap up Azeroth and its sister worlds/realms.

For me, that would be an ideal ending. If a series is based on a continuous storyline, I like to see that storyline end at some point rather than having it go on indefinately. Problem is, there's the knowledge that Warcraft IV will be released at some point. So what would constitute that?

My guess would be something that's inherantly external. So far, WoW has dealt with the internal. With plot points that have been laid down beforehand. Even Pandaria has its origins with The Frozen Throne and RPG books. So overall, I think Warcraft IV would need something new. Or...it could go back to the Old Gods. Old Gods besides the ones on Azeroth, which were established to have arrived on the world, and are not indigenous to it. I could see the Alliance and Horde being a faction each with the Old Gods being a third, probably based around faceless ones and the like. Not a plot point I'm dying to see be carried out for the reasons mentioned above, but one I could see be done.

Diablo

This is problematic for me. On one hand, if the series had ended with Diablo III, I would have been satisfied. However, it's been established that the overall story will continue. And to be frank, there's some obvious connotations and hints as to what the expansions might hold. Malthael, Leah, Imperius...basically the rest of the Prophecy of the End of Days.

So looking to the future, I basically three scenarios that could be done. The first is effectively role reversal, and was a misgiving I expressed about D3's ending awhile ago. Hell's been defeated. Heaven's set to "stand with Man." An alliance that I think wouldn't go down well with the Priests of Rathma or to an extent, the Shaptev Monks. This is a plotline I'm not fond of however, because as stated, it's role reversal, not story evolution.

The second option is the worlds scenario. This dates back to the Sin War Trilogy, with Trag'Oul referencing worlds outside Sanctuary, and that they were depending on it. This was further fleshed out in Book of Cain, where it was established that Sanctuary is really the only succesful world in Creation because angels and demons created it, not just one side. With Trag'Oul having departed Sanctuary...could some worlds still exist? Not sure what can be done without the Worldstone, but as humanity is to balance as Heaven and Hell are to Order and Chaos respectively, maybe hope exists. I actually see this as the most likely of the three options, but I'm not that fond of it. Warcraft has already dealt with multiple worlds, whereas Diablo is more centralized IMO.

The third option is the one I'm most fond of, dubbed the purgatory option. So far, Heaven, Hell and Sanctuary have been dealt with. Each effectively a realm of its own. However, and this stems from Book of Cain, there's so far one realm that hasn't really been explored yet. The 'afterlife,' or whatever you want to call it. The place where Anu went as well as the souls of humans. What might this realm hold? Would there be evil to deal with as well as good? And what of Tathamet? Whereas his fate wasn't as clear cut as Anu's, as concept art of both of them appear in The Art of Diablo III, I could see him becoming resurgent. Maybe with the Great Evils defeated, their 'essence' could revitalize him or something.

One thing I will note is that I don't see it necessary to bring back Diablo himself. "Diablo" translates as "devil," so as long as the title is justified in some sense, we don't need the Lord of Terror to make it happen. And again, I'd be happy to leave the series where it is. Still, as it will continue, the above are some ideas.

StarCraft

This is based on a number of assumptions post-Legacy of the Void. I assume that the zerg will have gone their own way effectively, the protoss will have (re)achieved unity, the Dark Voice/xel'naga/hybrids arc will have been dealt with and Valerian will be leading a more democratic Dominion. Course this could change, but for the sake of argument, I'll assume that these things will have distinctly occurred. And while again I'd be happy if the series ended there, there's also plot points to deal with. Basically, I see there being two scenarios with a third that could fit into either one.

The most likely scenario IMO is the UED. Certainly it was hinted at as such when I think it was Metzen who mentioned toying around with imagery of the zerg invading Earth. However, I hope this remains imagery, because I'm going to get this out right now-under a UED scenario, the zerg and protoss aren't needed. To me, under the assumed ending for Heart of the Swarm, the zerg's story has been told. They've gone their own way. They've reached their 'destiny' and there's only so much you can do with a species with them. Likewise the protoss. They've presumably got unity. They've presumably got Aiur back. They're whole again, and in not much condition to wage war anyway. To a lesser extent, I see the protoss story as being told.

So, this leaves the UED and Koprulu terrans. Their antagonism was sparked by alien powers, but with those powers either dead or gone, their last gripe would be with their estranged cousins. Certainly it's been mentioned they intend to do more. So whatever the reasoning, I see terrans finally getting the spotlight, without the zerg-xel'naga-protoss conflict looming over them (though WoL did this quite well already IMO).

The second scenario is Void-based. While LotV will presumably deal with the Dark Voice, there's still the question of the Void itself. If we treat the Dark Voice as a Void-entity, along with the Voice in the Darkness...how many other entities are there? What about the Supreme Watchmaker? What about...I don't know, but it's not a point I'd really like seen done in a game. Bit too fantasy-based, W40K did it with the Warp and so far, much of the basis for this scenario has appeared in EU material only.

The bridging scenario is that of other alien species. This is really something I only see working in game terms. Assuming the games stick to three species each, and under my argument that the zerg and protoss will no longer be needed in a war/RTS sense, then at least with scenario 1, we'd need a third faction, maybe two if the UED and terrans are treated as basically the same race bar specific units in campaign or something. Certainly numerous races have been mentioned/hinted at over time. I could see the tagal filling in for the zerg in that they seemed to feature weight of numbers, and hopefully they got some more tech since the Dannuth VII incident. There's also the kalathi, provided they recovered from the Kalath Intercession. However, if a new race was to emerge, I think it would have to be compeltely new, because almost all of the sapient species outside the "big three" have been of low technology and/or decimated.

Conclusion

And that's it. Flame, feedback, your choice.