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How Blizzard makes the StarCraft 2 races so iconic
The StarCraft 2 preview for Heart of the Swarm on display at BlizzCon 2011 last week was pretty much the same thing we saw a few months ago on the Blizzard campus. Fun as it was, we instead used our short time talking with with Blizzard's lead art director Samwise Dider to have him let us in on just how Blizzard is able to make StarCraft's three races so darn iconic. His answer was pretty simple. "Protoss," he says, "they're basically elliptical and circular. Terran are basically angular and square, and Zerg are very erratic and organic and spiky." Sounds plain enough. But when one of the game's new units (specifically the Protoss' Tempest, a strong capital ship with some heavy anti-zerg ability) showed up on the screen during the Opening Ceremony, players immediately knew the 'toss were getting a new toy. Is it as easy as shapes? "With Protoss," says Didier, "as long as you have a few of the basic things; big golden arcs and sweeping sort of angelic-looking wings and surfaces, you can make almost anything into Protoss. With Terran, they're all about the clunkiness, boxes, utilitarian. You take em out of the box, they're ready to go." And the Zerg? They're "just a gumbo of teeth and snot and bile," according to Didier. "We wrap them in the movement of a snake or a spider or a roach, there's your Zerg stuff." Boiling these races down into their elements like that is just another reason why this company, and its games, are so incredibly popular. "It's very easy to tell these races apart, because they are so diametrically opposed," Didier concludes, before deconstructing the series completely: "Gold, gray, brown." %Gallery-137265%
BlizzCon 2011: Opening Ceremony Liveblog
We'll be live blogging the opening ceremony at BlizzCon 2011. The start times for this liveblog is as follows: Pacific Time zone: 11:00 a.m. Mountain Time zone: 12:00 p.m. Central Time zone: 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time zone: 2:00 p.m. We're expecting a lot from this BlizzCon opening ceremony, including the Mists of Pandaria expansion, some StarCraft expansion announcement, and potentially an announcement concerning the Diablo 3 release date. Stay tuned! We'll start liveblogging soon. 10:42 a.m. - Patch 5.0 will introduce a new talent system. 10:42 a.m. - Initial reports are that the expansion will be playable at BlizzCon today. The rest of the liveblog after the break!
World of Warcraft makes inroads into southeast Asia
World of Warcraft may be slipping in the subscription department over this past year, but a recent deal may change all that. Blizzard has signed a contract with game publisher Asiasoft to bring the title to three additional countries: Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. Blizzard's Paul Sams sees this move as a great way to expand ever further: "One of our top priorities is ensuring that our games are easily accessible to players all around the world. We are confident that as a leading online game services provider in southeast Asia, Asiasoft will help us reach many new players in this growing region." Asia is one of WoW's biggest markets, with countries like China producing massive amounts of players who are into the game. Under the terms of this deal, Asiasoft will get the rights to publish World of Warcraft and all of its expansion packs to the three countries, as well as Starcraft II and Diablo III.
Yoogames yoinks assets from EVE Online and others, faces retribution
Let's get ready for a lawsuit! Yoogames has been called out on the EVE Online forums for using images from EVE in order to promote its own game, Planet War. But it's not just EVE Online getting ripped off here; keen-eyed forum-goers have spotted pictures of StarCraft 2's Protoss Yo-Mommaship and Star Wars' Trade Federation space station. What will become of this, no one knows... oh, who are we kidding? This is lawsuit city. CCP's own CCP Fallout stopped by the thread to thank the OP for pointing out the infringement and to say that he is "notifying the relevant parties in the company." So grab some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the show. We'll be sure to bring you the latest in courtroom entertainment as it develops.
Blizzard to release six 'proven' properties over next three years
Blizzard will release six "proven property" titles over the coming three years, Activision Blizzard COO Thomas Tippl said at the Citi 2011 Technology Conference. Tippl named five of these six expected releases: Two World of Warcraft expansion packs, two StarCraft 2 titles and Diablo 3. Tippl also pinned a Diablo 3 expansion as the possible sixth title. Blizzard said it is immediately focused on updates for Cataclysm, releasing Diablo 3 and finishing StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm. It would satisfy our OCD if these six games would release two-a-year at six-month intervals for three years, and it would satisfy our ADHD if all six titles dropped on the same day, but Tippl didn't provide any more specific dates. Titan, the mysterious next-gen MMO from Blizzard, wasn't mentioned, but it's not a "proven" property and could still launch in its rumored timeframe of late 2013.
Watch Major League Gaming's Raleigh Championship Sunday, live on Joystiq!
Smell that? That gentle, wafting scent in the breeze? That unique blend of concession-stand popcorn, USB and pwn? It's a specific, enticing fragrance that can only mean one thing: It's time for Major League Gaming finals, and you can watch it all live on Joystiq! All day today, teams from around the globe will be competing for thousands of dollars in prizes across 4 games: Starcraft 2, Halo: Reach, Black Ops, and making its MLG debut, League of Legends. It's an exciting day for pro-gaming, so strap on your beer hat and big foam finger and head on through for the day's full schedule.
Blizzard quashes speculation about a potential World of StarCraft
There's a very good reason why the now-infamous World of StarCraft mod had so many people so excited -- it seems like a pretty obvious project. After all, Blizzard has certainly made a big impression on the MMO world with World of Warcraft, so it seems like a no-brainer that their science fiction RTS might follow a similar path. Unfortunately, those of you waiting for just such an announcement have been told the exact opposite -- Blizzard currently has no plans to adapt the StarCraft setting to an MMO. According to senior VP Frank Pearce, it's not so much a case of not liking the idea as not having available staff and time to pursue the angle, with the company's teams currently occupied by Diablo III, the mysterious Titan project, further sequels to StarCraft II, and of course World of Warcraft. While the title remains in Blizzard's trademark arsenal, it doesn't look as if the company will be using it for a game any time in the near future. It's good news for players who want the series to remain as an RTS, but bad news for the many fans hoping to make their own mark on the galaxy.
Study: Positive correlation between piracy and game review scores
Pirates may be dirty, pillaging fiends, but they have high standards, according to a study from Copenhagen Business School and University of Waterloo. The study tracked 173 new games on BitTorrent over a three-month release period, finding 127 of these were downloaded by 12.7 million unique peers, and that a torrent's popularity was directly correlated to its review scores. The 10 most-downloaded games comprised over 5.3 million downloads, or 42 percent of the 127 pirated games. Fallout: New Vegas had the most downloads (962,793) and an average review score of 83.7, followed by Darksiders (656,296) with a review score of 82.7. Tron: Evolution had the lowest score of the top 10 at 59.5, yet came in fifth place (496,349). StarCraft 2 had the highest review score at 89.5 and landed in seventh place (420,138). Review scores can't trump a title's notoriety, reputation or core fanbase, but researchers found "Metacritic Scores explain 10% of the variance in the unique peers per game on BitTorrent." In other words, the only vessel that these pirates are sailing on is a statistically positive relationship.
'StarCraft 2: Starter Edition' replaces Wings of Liberty demo
The StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty demo has been replaced by StarCraft 2: Starter Edition. The new version allows players to play four levels of the campaign, the first two challenges, access the terran race in custom games and single-player vs. AI, and play four of the custom maps. All campaign progress and achievements are saved to the player's Battle.net account, so they can pick up from right where they left off, if they decide to buy the full game. Already have a Battle.net account? You'll find the StarCraft 2: Starter Edition in Account Management under "Your Game Accounts." Who says drug dealers don't do house calls and make it easy to get hooked up anymore?
Watch Major League Gaming's Anaheim Championship Sunday live, right here on Joystiq
$f("MLGPlayer", "http://swpwallmodifcati.appspot.com/static/player.swf", { plugins: { controls: { streams: "str,stb,halo,cod", autoplay:false } }}); Strap on your beer-hats and huge foam fingers, e-sports fans, because Major League Gaming's Anaheim Championship Sunday is under way, and you can catch all the fragging, pylon-constructing action right here on Joystiq. Championship matches for Starcraft 2, Halo: Reach, and Call of Duty: Black Ops will take place all day long on 4 different streams, so make sure you've got enough overpriced concession-stand munchies to last you a while. Head on through for the day's full schedule, and be sure to let us know how you feel about competitive gaming coverage on Joystiq, either in the comments or in the poll. This sort of post is a new jam for us, and if you like it, we'll do more!
MSI outs its latest GE620DX gaming laptop, orcs prepare for virtual slaughter
Spilled Mountain Dew on your last laptop during that marathon session of Starcraft II? MSI's got your back buddy, with its newly announced GE620DX. There's a serious bit of dedicated gaming punch lying under this notebook's brushed metal finish thanks to its 2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, an NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M card and the audio tag team of MSI Premium Sound and THX's True Studio Pro. In addition to its 15.6-inch 1366 x 768 HD display, this "dream machine" sports a 720p camera, an HDMI out port and USB 3.0. The company's also thrown in a GPU Boost feature, which frees up the internal graphics chip should you be running any graphics-intensive apps. Unfortunately, your zerg Swarm-slaying hands will have to wait for an official price and retail date, but when you do get a hold of it, make sure to keep that caffeinated brew far from the keyboard.
BlizzCon 2011 will host two StarCraft 2 global tournaments and more
Blizzard has shared the plan for two big e-sports events at BlizzCon in Anaheim, CA, and it looks like there's going to be a full plate of noobs, ownage and ggs yet again this year. Not only will the Global Battle.net Invitational showcase some of the best StarCraft 2 players from Blizzard's online multiplayer service, but the 2011 Global StarCraft League Final matches will be held at the same event, pitting the best of the best at the game against each other. Those are just the two StarCraft 2 events -- Blizzard traditionally also holds contests and tournaments for World of Warcraft arena matches and the World of Warcraft TCG at BlizzCon, and though we haven't seen an official announcement yet, it's possible we'll see some Warcraft 3 or even Diablo 3 e-sports play as well. Outside of competitive play, Blizzard usually also offers new content for attendees to play through, so Diablo 3 specifically, plus any other unannounced games, may be playable too. Tickets for the October 21-22 event are sold out, but the tournament play will likely be streamed online through "virtual tickets" later on this year.
The Lawbringer: The odd future of bill S. 978
Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Mathew McCurley takes you through the world running parallel to the games we love and enjoy, full of rules, regulations, pitfalls and traps. How about you hang out with us as we discuss some of the more esoteric aspects of the games we love to play? The machinima and streaming communities built around World of Warcraft are filled with some of the most talented and creative people in gaming, from awesome musicians to dedicated streamcasters. The first time I ever got to experience the WoW beta back in 2004, I was watching someone stream footage of their human warlock messing up mobs in (if I remember correctly) Westfall. Streaming is beneficial to gaming, MMOs, and e-sports because of video games' competitive nature and spectator-oriented design. You've probably heard of Senate bill S.978 already, most likely from many video game blogs and news outlets or YouTube campaigns fighting against the passage of this bill. Bill S.978 aims to institute a "10 strikes" policy, making the unauthorized streaming of content a felony, resulting in potential jail time. The main purpose of the bill is to strengthen the law and punishments available to organizations such as the MPAA and other content conglomerates to stop illegal streaming of millions upon millions of dollars in stolen entertainment. As is the way of things, gamers might be caught in the crossfire. Some of you fine readers sent me a few messages on Twitter asking me to weigh in on the 10 strikes streaming bill and maybe give a basic analysis of the thing, so I shall oblige. Lawbringer this week is all about the odd future of bill S. 978 and what it could mean for MMOs and WoW.
Blizzard Dota still on the way, has undergone 'some massive overhauls'
Blizzard Dota, the Defense of the Ancients-style official mod that was shown off at last year's BlizzCon, is still a work in progress, according to lead producer Chris Sigaty. The other three mods shown last year were released a little while ago to the community, but the Dota mod, which pits all kinds of Blizzard franchise characters up against each other in a real-time battle, needed a little extra work, apparently. "We basically put it back up in the shop and did some massive overhauls to some things, which I'm not going to go into specific detail about," Sigaty told Joystiq at a press event last week. "But yeah, we are working on Blizzard Dota, and we do intend to launch it at or around the time of Heart of the Swarm, but the official details will be online later." Will the mod eventually require the upcoming Heart of the Swarm expansion to play? Sigaty's got nothing yet: "We're not even talking about the business level decision of it at this point." But rest assured that, somewhere on Blizzard's Irvine, CA campus, there are still developers fighting over who'd win in a fight, Thrall, Diablo, or Tychus Findlay.
StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm preview: Kerrigan, again
When Blizzard announced that StarCraft 2 would be split into three different games years ago, there was quite a bit of weeping and gnashing of teeth -- lots of complaining that the new corporate entity of Activision Blizzard was triple-dipping our wallets. But time heals all wounds and in this case, the great reviews of the full-featured first title didn't hurt either. So it may come as something of a surprise to be reminded that as much fun as StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty was, you've got two more campaigns coming your way. At a recent press event inside Blizzard HQ in Irvine, California, we got to take a look at two single-player missions from Heart of the Swarm, the first expansion pack-priced followup, focused on the popular Zerg race. One note of warning before we begin: There are story elements revealed in these missions that will sorta, kinda spoil the plot of Wings of Liberty if you haven't finished it yet. If you aren't done with Jim Raynor's Terran campaign, play that and then come back. Otherwise, feel free to read on.%Gallery-124602%
StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm teaser shoots its way onto the Internet
We're not sure what the original distribution plan for the 45-second teaser for Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm was, but we're pretty sure it wasn't "Let it leak onto every video site on the Internet." Regardless, we're glad it's here -- and after watching it below, we wager you will be, too.
StarCraft 2 headlines game-related Lightning Deals on Amazon
It's time once again to save on a seemingly random selection of nine games -- the Amazon Gold Box is loaded with game deals today. The Deal of the Day is Starcraft 2 for $39.99, but if that's not the craft you're after, you can also pick up the World of Warcraft Battle Chest right now (until 11AM EST, at least) for $18. Hints for upcoming deals suggest that savings for Dragon Age and Kingdom Hearts games are on the way, along with Bulletstorm. Find the full schedule, with hints, after the break.
Blizzcon 2011 tickets on sale (briefly) in May
Start working out your index finger now, you've only got until May 21 to get into top clicking shape and secure your tickets to the Nerd-vana that is Blizzcon 2011. But there are two bits of good news for slow-pokes: (1) A second swath of passes will go on sale on May 25 and (2) Blizzard has upped prices by $25 to $175. That should knock out some your penny-pinching competitors, right? If you want a start with either the May 21 or 25 batches, start refreshing Blizzcon.com feverishly at around 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. PST, respectively. You'll also want to make sure you can make it to Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California on Oct. 21 and October 22, otherwise, what was the point? If all else fails, you could wait till May 28 and pay $500 to gain entry to an exclusive Blizzard charity dinner and the convention. What would the dinner conversation be like with people who have that kind of cash to drop on Blizzcon? We've got no guesses, but suffice to say we'd love to be a Darkmist Silkspinner on that wall.
Blizzard releases three official StarCraft 2 mods
Blizzard has finally released three of the four official StarCraft 2 mods it announced at BlizzCon last year -- though, the one that didn't make the cut might surprise you. Players can now download Aiur Chef, which might possibly be the world's first cooking/RTS title; Starjeweled, a gem-swapping puzzler with a few light strategy elements thrown in for good measure; and Left 2 Die, in which players build up their base and train units to defend it when hordes of infected Terran come to play at night. That leaves poor little Blizzard Dota standing alone out in the cold, with no indication of when it might get an official release. Don't worry, little guy -- we don't think the multiplayer online battle arena genre's gonna get stale anytime soon.
Rise and Shiny recap: 2029 Online
You can't win them all, as they say. I suppose that has to be true in any field or occupation. I try to find the coolest indie, free-to-play and odd little games to show you guys in this column, but of course I don't always play them ahead of time (I haven't played every single game in existence yet), so I might wind up with a dud occasionally. I try to give them a fair chance, though, and will play them as long as they let me. Unless, of course, a game fights me almost every step of the way. If there is one person who is understanding and who will give a fair chance to pretty much any game on Earth, I'm the one. I will forgive glitches and mistakes in smaller or lesser-known games because I have to. If I had some of the standards of some of our readers and writers, I would only be talking to you about RIFT and Lord of the Rings Online. There's nothing wrong with that, but I think it's safe to say that even broken games like 2029 Online deserve a chance. So I gave it one. Heck, I gave it several. Click past the cut and I'll tell you all about it.
