Writing a New Starcraft 2 storyline

[Robear]

Normally don't comment on stuff like this, but, yeah, Heaven's Devils was a bad book. Shortly after buying it I donated it to a free book bin thing and swore to never buy a Starcraft novel again.

[ragnarok]

Normally don't comment on stuff like this, but, yeah, Heaven's Devils was a bad book. Shortly after buying it I donated it to a free book bin thing and swore to never buy a Starcraft novel again.

Did you like Devil's Due better then?

[Robear]

Did you like Devil's Due better then?

You know, I never actually read it, or Flashpoint. Eventually I guess I ought to, but Heaven's Devil's was the last one I read.

I probably would though, I like Christie Golden's writing better, based on Lord of the Clans (from WC). And even though I didn't like the Aeon of Strife in the DT Saga, I didn't think they were poorly written.

Edit: oh man, didn't mean to derail the thread. Didn't realize when I clicked on it that it didn't take me to the last page, I was responding to stuff on like page 3. Sorry!

[ragnarok]

You know, I never actually read it, or Flashpoint. Eventually I guess I ought to, but Heaven's Devil's was the last one I read.

I probably would though, I like Christie Golden's writing better, based on Lord of the Clans (from WC). And even though I didn't like the Aeon of Strife in the DT Saga, I didn't think they were poorly written.

Edit: oh man, didn't mean to derail the thread. Didn't realize when I clicked on it that it didn't take me to the last page, I was responding to stuff on like page 3. Sorry!

I liked Devil's Due. The DT Saga wasn't bad, I liked it, it was just a shame Blizzard couldn't decide at that point whether Valerian should be good or evil, so Christie Golden was forced to write him VERY vague.

[RODTHEGOD]

I always thought "My life for Aiur" by Cronoss was a great story. I thought it really captured the epicness and chaos of the star craft universe. At one time, I wanted to make a campaign based off it and Loomings but then I looked at the Star craft 2 editor and was overwhelmed. I could probably do it in the original Star Craft but some of the things I wanted to do campaign wise, I don't think are possible.

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I always thought "My life for Aiur" by Cronoss was a great story. I thought it really captured the epicness and chaos of the star craft universe. At one time, I wanted to make a campaign based off it and Loomings but then I looked at the Star craft 2 editor and was overwhelmed. I could probably do it in the original Star Craft but some of the things I wanted to do campaign wise, I don't think are possible.

[Nissa]

Such untopic-ness. tsk tsk.

Uh, well Gna, thing is, I'm a bit confused as to how a proper sequel to Starcraft would go. I totally understand Blizzard's conundrum with creating the end of their series. They kind of painted themselves in a corner with BW. Thing is, a classic three act story starts with the setup (SC), then the next act is the darkest part where everyone loses hope (BW), and then the third act brings it back for the story. By waiting so long to create another sequel or expansion set, they lost both the inspiration and the coworkers to really finish Starcraft in the way it should have been -- and by finish I mean bring Starcraft to a point where the story could pause. Like, they could still create sequels if they wanted, but if they didn't, the story would be satisfactorily concluded.

To make it worse, how do the races recover from BW? Mengsk's authority has been mocked and shattered, Artanis isn't experienced enough to lead his politically fragmented people, Raynor doesn't appear to know what to do with himself, Kerrigan's bloodlust is satisfied but now has no clear motivation, and finally, how does someone make scary hybrids without them dissolving into the "we're gonna destroy the universe" cliche? The whole Sector is at a standstill, so no one really knows what to do next. What needs to happen is that a completely outside factor gives everyone, especially Kerrigan, a motivation to move. That's what SCII attempted, to a degree, but given that Amon is boring and brought about by retconning, he's a failure. That, and the hybrids were the laziest monsters ever conceived.

So, essentially, Starcraft needs to be approached from a character/race perspective. Like, where is everyone, and where can they go?

- Artanis and the Protoss are easiest, in that their motivations are more or less clear. Artanis is obviously someone who admires Tassadar too much, and is overwhelmed by the great and powerful personalities he's been around: Tassadar's passion, Fenix's resolve, Aldaris' resolution, and Zeratul's subtle calm. Artie has none of those things, and yet he's expected to handle all the stuff his people is going through.

Clearly he needs to be overwhelmed and attempt to do too much, while some Protoss encourage his daring and others caution him for restraint. At some point, Artanis should decide to allow the Protoss to fragment, allowing the people who disagree with him more to depart with Protoss civilians to attempt to create a haven for the Protoss elsewhere. This should be Artie's idea, to show that he is coming to the point where he can make rational decisions without trying to be someone else.

Also, there needs to be more Protoss characters. There needs to be a Judicator, one who is a close assistant of Artanis and constantly warning him of impatience on the Khala side. He also clearly needs to be a calm, rational person, because too often Blizzard has punished the Judicator and made the cartoonishly stupid. Thing is, if they were that stupid, then the Templar would be even dumber for listening to them. This Judicator clearly does not need to be a clone of Aldaris.

There needs to be two Templar. One should be a more irrational, passionate guy who wants to punish the Zerg. Perhaps an older general who has seen too much suffering on Aiur. The second should be similar to the first in age, but instead focused on defense of Shakuras. There should also be a Khalai character, one who was a nobody under the caste system, but has become invaluable to Artanis in talking about the civilian/economic side of the Protoss situation. Then we need another Dark Templar, one who is rash and unlikely to trust the Khala 'Toss, though is unwilling to create real conflict. We also need to see the Dark Templar rise more in a battle sense, that is, as a once scattered, universe-exploring people becoming a real covert-ops team that is capable of some madness. Like, how DT battle strategies have changed since the war began.

I'd really rather pretend the Tal'darim don't exist. Either that, or they are a Xel'Naga cult that worships them instead of the Protoss gods. But...them not existing is really better.

- Mengsk needs to have more conflict. While surely this master of propaganda (SCII doesn't count) has managed to hide his darker past, people should still be reluctant to trust him, especially now that Duke is dead, because that gives Mengsk a greater impression of weakness. There should be attempts at an election on Korhal, where Mengsk should have a legitmate rival -- one who either doesn't survive or is forced to flee in the end, because the real Mengsk does not tolerate dissent once cameras stop recording. Mengsk should use his economic know-how to manipulate people into thinking he's great and magnificent.

Mengsk should also attempt to negotiate with the Protoss, or that can be what his opponent was attempting to do before Mengsk defeats him. Either or works, but in both situations, the Protoss should be reluctant to agree to anything more than the promise of not shooting one another. For TvP missions (this is a game, after all) we can either have Terran/Protoss sects fighting, or have Mengsk cross the line one way or another.

- Also, we need to know what the Umojans and Kel-Morians are thinking. Too often they are ignored completely. I have in my head the idea that the KMs are closer to the Protoss in terms of territory, and this kind of sort of get along with them (hence it being easier for Fenix to raid Moria in BW). Moria's guild system offers unlimited potential in terms of Terran skirmishes.

Since Raynor doesn't really have much to do after BW, it's a good idea for him to disappear into the Kel-Morian Combine to brood and think. He can also develop friendship with a guild and use KM antipathy for the Dominion to get help from them. Or at least just hide from Mengsk until he figures out what to do.

Overall, since Raynor clearly doesn't have the means to destroy Kerrigan right away, and probably wouldn't be able to convince the Combine to help him destroy Kerrigan (I have it in my head that KM allowed Dominion to bear the brunt of the wars), he should focus on helping the outer worlds of Terran space. Mengsk should obviously be focusing on Korhal and the core worlds, virtually ignoring the outer planets. Raynor, on the other hand, instead of rebelling, should be focused on helping these people live. He shouldn't be organizing a rebellion (what makes Raynor politically powerful enough to pull that off?), or attempting to steal Protoss artifacts for money (he's done doing the dirty work for people he doesn't understand).

I'd go on, but it's late and I have to do dishes.

[Visions of Khas]

Since Raynor doesn't really have much to do after BW, it's a good idea for him to disappear into the Kel-Morian Combine to brood and think. He can also develop friendship with a guild and use KM antipathy for the Dominion to get help from them. Or at least just hide from Mengsk until he figures out what to do.

I like this, it gives Raynor a base of operations, economic base, and pool of volunteers. Moreover, the one subtle theme I really enjoyed in Wings of Liberty were the parallels drawn between Raynor and Mengsk, which probably accounts for Raynor's current look. More than anything, I would want to seize upon this. Perhaps, ultimately, StarCraft II's largest, overarcing theme is Cycles -- cycles of revenge, violence, life.

[DonnyZeDoof]

In my headcannon, Mengsk forms a Dominion-Protoss alliance. Both factions are weak after BW so they come to make a deal: the Protoss help Mengsk maintain his power and in return Mengsk will help the Protoss liberate Aiur. For once, Mengsk actually keeps his word and the Protoss-Dominion alliance liberates Aiur from the Zerg. This also puts Protoss like Zeratul and Artanis at odds with Raynor who still sees Mengsk as an enemy. Only Mengsk is capable of bolstering the Protoss army enough to liberate Aiur so they have to choose what's more important: their planet or their human friend.

I'm not sure what the zerg can be doing all this time.

I would probably also reintroduce the UED with DuGalle's son (he did say he had children) but I'm not sure what I can do with them.

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In my headcannon, Mengsk forms a Dominion-Protoss alliance. Both factions are weak after BW so they come to make a deal: the Protoss help Mengsk maintain his power and in return Mengsk will help the Protoss liberate Aiur. For once, Mengsk actually keeps his word and the Protoss-Dominion alliance liberates Aiur from the Zerg. This also puts Protoss like Zeratul and Artanis at odds with Raynor who still sees Mengsk as an enemy. Only Mengsk is capable of bolstering the Protoss army enough to liberate Aiur so they have to choose what's more important: their planet or their human friend.

I'm not sure what the zerg can be doing all this time.

I would probably also reintroduce the UED with DuGalle's son (he did say he had children) but I'm not sure what I can do with them.

[GnaReffotsirk]

Yeah. To make a proper SC2 sequel, we need a good backstory. You guys post some cool stuff.
I'll wait in line for developments.

[Visions of Khas]

I would probably also reintroduce the UED with DuGalle's son (he did say he had children) but I'm not sure what I can do with them.

We could always revisit the UED survivors and how they've eked out their existence in Koprulu space.

I've always played with the idea of the UED and how they invaded. I began working on this story that documented the fall of the UPL and rise of the UED. The UPL/UED had agents in Koprulu Sector space help procure information and resources, and seed discontent; Earth Psychics witnessed the battle of Aiur and the death of the Overmind with remote viewing; and a gigantic gateway was established on a beach-head world just outside K-Sector space. Another story I developed for a defunct-campaign witnessed the Zerg enter that portal and infest much of Human space.