Short Story - In the Blood

[TcheQuevara]

Oh, so now you guys start discussing it. Just leave my first post out in the cold why don't you?

For what it's worth, I thought it was well done. The events felt a bit hazy towards the end, sort of lacking the 'intensity' of the earlier sections, but overall, I enjoyed it. Not my favourite short story on the site, but still an enjoyable one.

Something I also noticed that I feel inclined to mention is the 'feel' of it. Could just be me, but it had a very SC1-era 'feel' to it IMO. As much as I like WoL (yeah, flame me), I'll admit that the original games had a more gritty feel to them. The story felt like something belonging to that era more than the SC2 one.

Not that this is necessarily a pro or con, but it was an interesting 'old school' experience for me.

Spot on, Hawki. I'd like to know what other rabious WoL haters like moi thought about the short story. It remembered me of the times when Starcraft was more about grit, and less about epicness.

Also, as far as I could understand, you are supportive of Starcraft new, more epic direction taken since WoL. And you disliked that Blizzard was cowering from some of their lore decisions due to fan reaction (I don't believe this happened so much in the Q&Aa, btw, but that's another thing). Well, right now I am sure the bittersweet darkness of this story was called as a reaction to criticism against WoL.

What do you think? And do you like that SC may be going back to its previous atmosphere?

[Hawki]

Also, as far as I could understand, you are supportive of Starcraft new, more epic direction taken since WoL.

Sort of. Trying to keep these responses succinct (previous attempts devolved into rambles), but long story short, I thought the 'less grit, more epic' approach in WoL was suitable for the story itself. As far as a universe outlook goes, it's more mixed. Partly because I feel Flashpoint took WoL's concepts to the extreme, partly because my general approach is 'story before lore.' The approach was suitable for WoL, but not necessarily the universe as a whole.

And you disliked that Blizzard was cowering from some of their lore decisions due to fan reaction (I don't believe this happened so much in the Q&Aa, btw, but that's another thing). Well, right now I am sure the bittersweet darkness of this story was called as a reaction to criticism against WoL.

It's kind of hard to say. If anything, the story (and A War On, also 'gritty' to the point of reaching 'grimdark' territory IMO) reflects the product it's meant to promote. Devils' Due and Flashpoint represented elements of WoL (space cowboys and epics respectively), so the HotS short stories are meant to be representing the game they're based on. Grit and grimdark.

Looking at development, my suspicion is that HotS took a turn during development at some point. These are all just suspicions, but IMO, at some point the "zerg are free now" ending was dropped. At some point, it became linear. At some point, I noticed, there was emphasis in interviews as to how 'dark' it was (when compared to WoL). The Q&As you mentioned are part of this IMO.

What do you think? And do you like that SC may be going back to its previous atmosphere?

At this point in time, the atmosphere of SC seems to vary in accordance with the story that's being told (which doesn't bother me - I generally hold story above lore). WoL had its own 'feel', HotS seems to have it as well. Dark, arguably 'gritty.' But as for how I feel about it? Um...you can ask me after HotS is released. I don't mind the 'gritty' feel. 'Grit' worked well back in SC1 for the terrans (corrupt Confederacy, cynical rebels, etc.), the lack of it worked in WoL (idealistic rebels, and an empire that, Mengsk aside, can still be a force for good). If HotS wants to be 'dark' and 'gritty,' that's fine, as long as it reflects the story and its themes. I guess the one thing I would mind would be if HotS went full grimdark to the extent of unraveling everything WoL did (e.g. Kerrigan fully the same as her old persona, Dominion completely destroyed, etc.), to the extent where it's really just a copy of the zerg campaigns of SC1 or BW rather than being its own thing. There has to be a middle-ground between "zerg, my beautiful creatures" and "death to all who oppose the Swarm! Your universe is doomed!"

[Turalyon]

I didn't know going "full grimdark" for HotS meant that it was necessary for everything in WoL to be unraveled nor that it could only going turn out as rehash of Sc1. A good story should be able convey atmosphere (ie: "full grimdark") that is wholly independent of certain plot points (ie: Kerrigan being the same as before, Dominion being trashed, etc.).

[Hawki]

I'm kind of throwing terms around, but "grimdark" is, by my definition, 'dark' lore/setting to the extent that it prevents the status quo from really changing (off the top of my head, 40K and arguably the Alien series are two such examples) for the better. A full grimdark HotS would, by definition, negate WoL, because WoL improves the status quo, and the criteria for grimdark necessitates a status quo that not only remains static, but remains 'dark' as well (in contrast, a franchise that's simply 'dark' can alter the status quo and even improve it).

Yeah, semantics I know. So much for trying to avoid rambles.

[Telenil]

Personally I'm all for going dark and realism, because that's what made Starcraft stand above other stories to me - just like I always remember Warcraft 3 for his good orcs and the fall of the Alliance strongholds. The moments of Brood War that really struck me when I was young were Fenix's death and the utter destruction of the UED fleet, because they were things I did not normally see in stories.

Obviously I'm not asking for a story where the bad guys win every time and nothing can ever improve, but I expect the "vilains" to have victories at some point, and more generally to be shown as dangerous. In other words, I'd ideally take a bittersweet ending over a happy ending. This is not a definitive, I'm also fine if the writers want to do a happy ending for a change. But Kerrigan being magically returned to her human form, Kate Lockwell being promoted instead rather than jailed and Arcturus' rule being shaken by an audio recording that could have been faked in the 20th century is pushing things a little far.

[Turalyon]

I'm kind of throwing terms around, but "grimdark" is, by my definition, 'dark' lore/setting to the extent that it prevents the status quo from really changing (off the top of my head, 40K and arguably the Alien series are two such examples) for the better. A full grimdark HotS would, by definition, negate WoL, because WoL improves the status quo, and the criteria for grimdark necessitates a status quo that not only remains static, but remains 'dark' as well (in contrast, a franchise that's simply 'dark' can alter the status quo and even improve it).

Ah, I see. Sure, "grimdark" is associated and coined from 40k but I didn't know it also extended to maintaining the status quo. The natural extension of a grimdark world is that things should actually get worse and worse such that a new and final status quo would be achieved (that is, the state where the "bad" things have reached a level that is, in-universe, insurmountable). Therefore, I would think that the current status quo should actually change in a "full grimdark" universe, just in a more "negative" way.