Since it will be a bit longer now before you StarCraft fans get your hands on the long awaited StarCraft II, you might as well spend a little time reading up on what you can expect from Blizzard’s upcoming sequel. G4tv.com’s own Brian Leahy recently spoke with the game’s lead designer Dustin Browder, and found out quite a bit about what Blizzard has in store for the highly anticipated sequel.
Especially interesting is Browder’s discussion about easing newcomers into multiplayer. As anyone who isn’t a hardcore multiplayer fan knows, jumping into online matches can be a frustrating and terrifying experience, especially when it’s a game that features a large and dedicated multiplayer community. So to help minimize this all too common barrier to entry, Browder says that his team went with a graduated scale approach to get players comfortable with multiplayer before they actually jumped into full blown online matches.
“We’re encouraging you to take some baby steps. So, you’ve played the solo play. Okay, play some against the AI - hey look, there’s some achievements for that. You know, maybe you should try to get some of those. You know, maybe you should try this casual league. There’s no rushing on these maps, by the way, we’ve blocked everything off and made these maps just really no fun for the hardcore guys, but really fun for you, right, because you’re scared of being rushed. Play on that one a little bit, and oh, by the way, here’s a score screen with some really relevant stats. Hey, there’re some challenges, you should try these.”
Given the rabid fandom that surrounds StarCraft, having this kind of multiplayer design approach should prove highly successful in getting new players into all-out multiplayer battles far quicker than most other online RTS games, and ensuring that they aren't obliterated within a few short minutes. Of course, we’ll just have to wait and see if that ends up being the case when the game ships early next year.
And to find out more about what Blizzard is concocting for StarCraft II, be sure to check out Brian Leahy’s full interview.
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B1ack_Blob
the best way to get good at multiplayer in starcraft is too LAN it up with some friends and discuss strategies... basically you cant get good at this game unless you practice... alot. This games requires a lot of goddamned work to enjoy... oh but do I love it so...
Apsalus07
Old news, I read this quote weeks ago.
g4fan247
That sounds like a great way to get new players into an online multiplayer game that have not tried them before. Congratuations Blizzard!
RedRingsOfDeath
That sounds like a-lota fun, considering me, who loves to play online. (zerg rush, or cannon rush (my own style) i might play this before i get back into the Full blown matches. but this is a HUGE welcome. Congrats Blizzard Congrats!
tarbis
Zylowolfbane:
Indded. Halo is the most n00bish game I've ever seen. I never liked it at all.
If they're gonna achieve that, they need to return the LAN.
ZyloWolfBane
@KevinJames23
Coming from someone with a Master Chief icon, you did know that Halo is probably more noob friendly than any other FPS right?
Just throwing that out there, Blizzard wants to make money so they are covering all the bases, at least they arent following Bobby Kotick's example and just rushing the game out there for the sake of sales.
KevinJames23
Just what we need.. a Starcraft catering to noobs.
ZyloWolfBane
@Brian Leahy's reply (For some reason I STILL can use the reply option)
That sounds good, thats one of the main things I always wish they had back on the old SC.
Which is partly why I always stuck with the AoE series.
And for them to have stat tracking and achievements for doing skirmishes? yeah thats definitely going to reel in alot of new converts to the RTS genre and give alot of the vets more of a way to help out the newcomers.
Necronomoly
I am so happy that they are making it a little easier to get into competitive play. I am not a huge RTS gamer but I do enjoy them. I always found it hard to get into multi-player. Hopefully this will give me what I need to have fun in multi-player and not get crushed so horribly.
ZyloWolfBane
Yeah that does sound better, its better than how it is now if a new player had bought the Sc battlechest and got immediately owned by some korean kid thats been living this game for more than a decade.
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