20 years of Starcraft

[ragnarok]

This. Her memory loss was one of my top ten disappointments with the SC2 story. Though I'll admit that the only real redemption I ever wanted with Kerrigan is that she realizes what she's done, but is unable to return to humanity, and ultimately dies.

You know Nissa, that actually got me thinking: was that your plan for your Another World fic?

[Nissa]

I didn't really plan that story out that far, which was probably one reason why it didn't work out. True story: Another World was "based" on the album Another World by Paul Oakenfold. I would literally listen to the cds and then decide what happened in the plot based on the cds.

Heh, at one point I was considering killing Raynor. He would have either died or been in a coma.

[ragnarok]

I didn't really plan that story out that far, which was probably one reason why it didn't work out. True story: Another World was "based" on the album Another World by Paul Oakenfold. I would literally listen to the cds and then decide what happened in the plot based on the cds.

Heh, at one point I was considering killing Raynor. He would have either died or been in a coma.

Oh that would have been nothing new. I had considered killing him off myself after HotS's storyline, if nothing else than to see how long Kerrigan could last without him.

[Mislagnissa]

Kerrigan was never conceived to be a villain in Sc1 nor was redemption ever a possibility for her in BW. Her role in the narrative was to represent a "loss for the hero" and to help personify the Zerg.

The Zerg already had personalities in the form of cer-- screw it. As I have said many times before, I think the Zerg story is a complete waste.

The UED were to have a bigger role in BW, culminating with the Zerg invading Earth. The UED were going to be "a really big theme that was going to define the Starcraft franchise" but the "grand plan got walked back" for unspecified reasons.

It is a good thing my rip-off story went straight to the bugs invading Earth, rather than wasting words on explaining that the colonies were cut off from Earth then later revealing they really weren't.

Apparently, the idea of bringing in fourth franchise power during the development of Sc2 made less sense over time.

It always has made little sense. SC was originally intended to be a three-way conflict, at least before the writers kept diluting the themes and forgetting what they wrote. That's why my rip-off combined the protoss and xel'naga into one species.

The way Tassadar sacrifices himself was not pre-planned. That end cinematic was created last and the only one to reflect the written story whilst in all other cinematics, the story was written and/or changed to reflect them.

I was wondering why Enumerate decided to keep him alive. Honestly it makes more sense to keep him alive and have him found the twilight templar or whatever. Artanis is basically a bargain bin Tassadar anyway. You could change him to literally Tassadar and it would make no difference.

At one point in the early stages of development, the Protoss were more insectoid and Zerg-like in appearance.

That's too bad they scrapped it. I never really thought the humanoid design was particularly original or plausible, especially if they were supposed to have "purity of form" or whatever it was.

[Nissa]

Artanis is basically a bargain bin Tassadar anyway. You could change him to literally Tassadar and it would make no difference.

...A bold, rash, noble person is the literal equivalent of a young, inexperienced wannabe who only has his position because everyone better than him is dead? Okay...

[ragnarok]

The Zerg already had personalities in the form of cer-- screw it. As I have said many times before, I think the Zerg story is a complete waste.

It was meant to try to change them to become something else. You really think if Blizzard allowed you to write the whole SC2 storyline everyone on the planet would agree with you?

[Mislagnissa]

...A bold, rash, noble person is the literal equivalent of a young, inexperienced wannabe who only has his position because everyone better than him is dead? Okay...

It would certainly fit with Blizzard's overall quality of writing by that point, but that isn't what I mean. Something a lot of people forget is that Tassadar's original biography is completely different than how he is portrayed by current canon.

Fenix
Protoss, age 397
Templar
Praetor of the Protoss Defense Forces
Fenix rose up through the Templar ranks alongside his friend Tassadar. He is both cunning and powerful and has fought against the enemies of the Protoss in countless battles. Capable of strong empathy and tremendous rage, Fenix has long been one of Tassadar’s greatest supporters. Fenix is distrustful of Aldaris and the Judicator caste, and thus relies only upon the honor of his fellow Templar warriors and his own unparalleled skill in the theater of battle.

Tassadar
Protoss, age 356
High Templar
Executor of the Koprulu Expedition
Tassadar exemplifies the growing rift within Protoss society. Born into a new generation that looks ahead to a dynamic future, Tassadar is frustrated by the stoic view that his elders hold of the past. Tassadar feels that the unbending nature of the Protoss and their inability to re-evaluate ancient traditions will be the doom of his race. Fascinated by the power and mysticism of the renegade Dark Templar caste, Tassadar hopes to find someway to bridge the gap between these exiles and his masters.

Artanis
Protoss, Age 262
High Templar
Praetor of the Protoss Defense Forces
Artanis is the youngest Protoss to achieve the coveted rank of Praetor. Despite his youth and relative lack of experience, he is a bold and dynamic leader. Although Artanis was a strong believer of the former Conclave and the destiny of the Protoss, he still harbors a deep respect and admiration for Tassadar and the Tribal unification for which he fought. Artanis hopes to become as great a hero as Tassadar...a hope that may lead the young warrior to forsake his better judgment in his search for glory.

Artanis is the youngest to achieve the rank of Praetor (although what this really means is never explained) yet only about a century younger than Tassadar, and since Protoss can live for thousand years or something this difference is not that great relatively speaking. Tassadar is actually a young dude and part of a new generation with newfangled beliefs.

Another oddity is that these biographies foreshadow future plot points that were never picked up. For example, Tass' bio implies he is contact with (or at least searching for) the nerazim before the expedition arrives, while Art's bio foreshadows him making a huge tactical mistake... which he never does?

I have mostly given up on criticizing SC in favor of making a rip-off which recycles interesting plot points from the original which were forgotten by the sequels. The Protoss schism is a plot point that I think was terribly under-explored and badly handled in canon.

It was meant to try to change them to become something else. You really think if Blizzard allowed you to write the whole SC2 storyline everyone on the planet would agree with you?

I never would have bothered to write it. BW had already radically altered the setting by killing off the Conclave, killing off the cerebrates, and introducing Earth and Duran as new factions. It no longer had the philosophical conflicts that made the original interesting. Pretty much every installment is basically a completely different story with completely different themes which make no sense as part of a cohesive universe, shoehorned into the same brand to make money for Blizz.

Most old school fans want to see BW2, but I am even older school and prefer Enumerate's take on things even though that is an obscure and unpopular opinion. I am so old school that I prefer super obscure elements of SC's development like the Protoss originally being non-humanoid; even before I learned that from the interview, I wished they had not looked so humanoid.

I have since given up on criticizing all the parts of SC that I do not like in favor of discussing a SC clone which recycles all the stuff I found interesting about the original that was forgotten during development and in the sequels. Stuff like cerebrates, judicators, non-humanoid protoss, cyberpunk terrans, protoss empire's client races, the zerg as the big bad, etc.

I hope I have made my viewpoints clear. I do not wish to repeat myself in the future.

[Equiliari]

From the article:

"they did end up linking the two races as both creations of the Xel’ Naga in Starcraft II."

Or, you know, in the manual of the first StarCraft.

[ragnarok]

From the article:

Or, you know, in the manual of the first StarCraft.

Yeah but they didn't have to make it so that Amon was the one who did all the uplifting. Even if they HAD to put that point in there, what they could have done was this:

The SC1 manual said that when the Xel'Naga began to depart Aiur, the Protoss weren't happy about this and rebelled. Hundreds of Xel'Naga were killed in the process, what what Blizzard could have said what was the Protoss ended up killing all the Xel'Naga loyal to the cycle they had been dedicated to, which meant the ones that survived were all the ones loyal to Amon.

[Pidr]

Another oddity is that these biographies foreshadow future plot points that were never picked up. For example, Tass' bio implies he is contact with (or at least searching for) the nerazim before the expedition arrives

Actually, not necessarily. Manual's bios sometimes incorporate some important events that happen to the characters within the game itself. For instance, Raynor's bio mentions him defecting to the Sons of Korhal. Thus, Tassadar seeking to bridge the gap between his people and the Dark Templar may refer to the events that happen after his meeting with Zeratul on Char and up to Aldaris and the Executor arriving to arrest him. Of course, he has probably already started to lean towards that before the expedition.

The Artanis thing doesn't have to be foreshadowing, it's rather just describing his character. Forsaking his better judgement may also refer to him working with Kerrigan against the Renegade Zerg and becoming too trusting of her.