Videogame Deathmatch Nerdfight: Leah the Zergling vs. Kevin the Elder (Scroll) Bring You StarCraft vs. The Elder Scrolls

Videogame Deathmath is smack in the middle of Round Two, giving you plenty of time to get out there and vote. Don't just vote, vote hard. Make it mean something. Every one of you out there makes a difference, and we need to hear your voices loud and proud as they declare one franchise to be better than another. Because you know that they are.

Case in point. Our own Leah Jackson loves all things StarCraft with a deep and eternal flame. But, she's claiming that it's better than the entire Elder Scrolls series of games. With Skyrim about to appear on the horizon, how can this possibly be true? We argue it out down below, but you can still head over and tell us which one you think is better.

Do it now!

Kevin: Select unit. Click. Tell them to do something. Select unit. Click. Tell them to do something. Repeat 100,000 times and you have a match at StarCraft. And an infinite amount of boredom. Each new match brings you thrilling events! Like exactly everything that happened before in the last match, only maybe now from a slightly different view. Borrrrrring. Comparing StarCraft to The Elder Scrolls is like comparing Your Highness to  the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy of films. It just can’t be done. One has a rich history and backstory full of interesting characters. And the other one just wears out mouse buttons.

Leah: Interesting characters? How about when MarineKingPrime came back from losing two games in a row to oGs.MC, the best StarCraft player in the world to defeat him 3-2? Or international SC2 pro Dignitas.NaNiwa going almost undefeated in MLG Dallas? (26-2!? OMG!) Elder Scrolls might have interesting characters within the game, but StarCraft pits real life talent against one another all the time and breeds interesting characters with true stories every single day. Just because you’re ignorant of the intricacies of pulling off a complex build order and it’s all “click click click” to you doesn’t make it boring to people that actually know what’s going on. 

Kevin: Sorry? What’s that? I couldn’t hear you because you keep playing “Banelings” at full volume over and over. And guess what, when I want to immerse myself into a video game, I don’t care to go up against real life talent. I want to jump into an entirely different world and immerse myself into something deep. The Elder Scrolls provides that many times over, and don’t forget that The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim (the fourteenth game!) is due out soon …. when’s that next StarCraft 2 game coming out? Oh right. No one knows. There are thirteen Elder Scrolls games you can play right now, with tons of branching directions to take your character in. Booyah.

Leah: Man, this is too easy. It’s because no one is even playing the other fourteen Elder Scrolls games anymore that they have to come out with Skyrim whereas even though SC2 is out, there are millions of people still playing StarCraft: Brood War all over the globe. And you’re saying that Elder Scrolls is played in more different of a world than StarCraft is? Please, SC takes place in outer space while Elder Scrolls takes place in Tamriel, they’re equally different than the weirdo fantasy world you live in. And you want to talk about diversity? Pick any of the three races in SC2 and I’d bet money you don’t even know half of their units or how to use them properly. Sure they don’t each have backgrounds and stories, but they’re not supposed to. Also, don’t knock “Banelings, Banelings, Banelings” because that song is amazing. That’s another thing that StarCraft has over Elder Scrolls, the creativity and passion in the SC community is second to none. 

Kevin: You want to talk creativity? The Elder Scrolls owns mods with their Elder Scrolls Construction Set.  This allows players to fundamentally change the entire game. You can build rooms, mansions, entire new areas, and create new NPC characters and create new quests. Basically, you can do nearly anything you want. There’s a rampant line of creativity that runs throughout the entire Elder Scrolls fanbase, and it’s been around longer and stronger than StarCraft ever has been. The Elder Scrolls has been around four years longer than StarCraft, and it didn’t take Bethesda well over a decade to give us a new game to play. They’ve kept the story and world of the Elder Scrolls living and breathing this entire time.

Leah: And Blizzard hasn’t kept StarCraft living and breathing for over ten years? Riiiight. Sure Elder Scrolls has a thriving mod community, as does StarCraft. There are hundreds of unique custom games to play if you’re tired of playing ladder games ranging from things like tag customs all the way to epic RPGs all within StarCraft 2. Blizzard is even making their own custom maps to inspire creativity within the community.

But I’ll admit that StarCraft isn’t really about the mods or the single player, it’s all about the eSports. StarCraft is a more than a game, it’s practically a spectator sport. If you want to be good at StarCraft then you need to constantly put in the time to practice, to observe others, and to take your losses and learn from them. I don’t even play much StarCraft but I’ll spend 30+ hours a week just watching others play it because it’s that much fun. Nothing really compares to it in this way, and I can’t imagine that it’s fun to watch other people chop wood or pick berries in Elder Scrolls. 

Kevin:  So, you’re in the business of admitting things, eh? Just admit that you got pwned. The rich, fantasy-driven story of The Elder Scrolls is much richer experience than the “HA! I TOTALLY ZERG RUSHED YOUR BUTT” experience that StarCraft offers up to players. Blizzard themselves have admitted that they don’t even know how to consider the story, while Skyrim is having discs printed up soon. Hell, I’d even buy more horse armor if they tossed it my way. I’m so excited for Skyrim, that I’ve pulled Oblivion out and blown the dust off. This game is going to rock. Plus, your games are only available on ONE SYSTEM. PCs. Awwwww, snap. Served. 

Leah: Even I’m excited for Skyrim, that doesn’t make Elder Scrolls a better franchise than StarCraft. And, duh StarCraft is only available on PC, would you rather it be available for Kinect? How is that even a valid point? What it comes down to is two completely different things: if you love the absolute best, most strategic competitive gameplay then StarCraft is the best franchise you’ll ever find, if you want to go off gallivanting through a forest then yes, Elder Scrolls might be for you. In the meantime, me and my hardcore buddies will be waiting to wipe the floor with you when you come a-ladderin’. And we won't say gg when we win. Just saying.