Hey Gradius, good post. I liked your original analysis of WoL, and enjoyed this one too.
I'm actually working my way through the SC1 campaign right now for fun. I gotta say, it's damn good! I'm finding the overall writing quality stronger, with characters that are actually interesting and properly motivated (not to mention dialogue that IS bearable lol). I often see the argument that the "perceived quality" of older Blizzard titles is really just nostalgia, but I personally didn't play SC1 much when I was younger (was more of a Warcraft/Diablo fan). I did read several books though :)
So now, going through the SC1 campaign, I can just feel it's better (mind you, from a STORY point of view... not necessarily mission design and so forth). Basically, like how the first Matrix was versus its sequels. It's hard for me to describe I guess (though you quantified much of it in your original WoL article). I realize that many people disagree with my opinion on SC2, and I seriously do consider those opinions, because I am trying to understand why there is such polarization between those who enjoyed the newer stories versus those who didn't.
I wish I didn't have to be so critical (I'd prefer to just praise Blizz and eat up everything they make like I used to), but every game post-WoW so far hasn't really hit home for me. Not that I didn't get anything out of SC2, but I've generally found a lot less to like in the newer Blizz titles than say, D1/D2/War1-3/WoW/SC1. I still play War3 at LANs, so many great custom maps lol!
Well, I'm getting off topic here, but I definitely feel something has changed with their games, maybe it's the huge team-size instead of the 10-40 man they used to have (which leads to fewer hallway-ideas/development, and more hierarchical corporate directions perhaps?). Who knows, maybe it's just different people with different visions. Either way, they are still outputting solid products, but I don't feel *mind blown* anymore lol.
Hey Gradius, good post. I liked your original analysis of WoL, and enjoyed this one too.
I'm actually working my way through the SC1 campaign right now for fun. I gotta say, it's damn good! I'm finding the overall writing quality stronger, with characters that are actually interesting and properly motivated (not to mention dialogue that IS bearable lol). I often see the argument that the "perceived quality" of older Blizzard titles is really just nostalgia, but I personally didn't play SC1 much when I was younger (was more of a Warcraft/Diablo fan). I did read several books though :)
So now, going through the SC1 campaign, I can just feel it's better (mind you, from a STORY point of view... not necessarily mission design and so forth). Basically, like how the first Matrix was versus its sequels. It's hard for me to describe I guess (though you quantified much of it in your original WoL article). I realize that many people disagree with my opinion on SC2, and I seriously do consider those opinions, because I am trying to understand why there is such polarization between those who enjoyed the newer stories versus those who didn't.
I wish I didn't have to be so critical (I'd prefer to just praise Blizz and eat up everything they make like I used to), but every game post-WoW so far hasn't really hit home for me. Not that I didn't get anything out of SC2, but I've generally found a lot less to like in the newer Blizz titles than say, D1/D2/War1-3/WoW/SC1. I still play War3 at LANs, so many great custom maps lol!
Well, I'm getting off topic here, but I definitely feel something has changed with their games, maybe it's the huge team-size instead of the 10-40 man they used to have (which leads to fewer hallway-ideas/development, and more hierarchical corporate directions perhaps?). Who knows, maybe it's just different people with different visions. Either way, they are still outputting solid products, but I don't feel *mind blown* anymore lol.