Starcraft II - Design Philosophies Article
Demigod Forums
IGN has posted an interview with Dustin Browder, Starcraft II's lead designer. I found it interesting to read how the game was approached and the thinking behind it, and how it's focus is more on the hardcore players than the casual crowd although they are striving to appease both.
I find it rather interesting that the issue of online only mutliplayer wasn't addressed, as it was recently announced that Starcraft II would feature no LAN support of any kind. It's clear that they are focusing on competitive play much more than any title they've worked on to date, and this feels counter-productive to me.
In any case, I feel that Starcraft II will have Blizzard's trademark production values and polish, and will be critically well received and of course sell like hotcakes, however in terms of the actual game I still can't help but feel it's lacking. 10 years after the original's release, and we're still seeing the same Rush focused RTS game that has dominated the genre since Dune 2 made it popular.
The closed beta is nearly upon us, and it'll be nice to hear the feedback of the player base - however, judging from their Targeted audience of hardcore fans and despite their 'Casual League' idea, I can't help but feel online play isn't going to be something one enjoys so much as something one endures. Hopefully I'm wrong.
