So, I've spent many years of my life on the internet... probably more than is healthy... posting on various forums, and thus participating in various aspects of internet culture, primarily among other gamers.
As a result, I've noticed something more and more in internet culture, that may or may not also be a very popular thing to do in other communities. It royally pisses me off.
"But it's my opinion - it can't be wrong!"
This is what I call "the opinion defense." It's very common for somebody, in any discussion, on any forum, about any topic... when two people have opposing opinions, for one person to make such a claim. That their statements are opinion, and thus can't be wrong.
I am so sick of hearing it! If you were arguing about which color is the most awesome color, or perhaps the best suited to a particular class in an MMO, sure - your opinion literally cannot be wrong.
Because in that situation, that's preference, that's taste.
But if you're going to run around making statements of fact, such as... let's use something extreme, like whether the world is spherical or round. Bear with me, I'll get to something less delusional. Sorry folks, but if science can prove you wrong - you're wrong. Doesn't matter if it's your opinion or not. That magical word does not protect you.
By extension, there's plenty of smaller, less delusional things that science and math can easily disprove, and I shouldn't have to go into more detail on that.
Okay, but maybe we need something closer to home, to... well, bring the point home?
How about, say: what if you held the opinion that Britney Spears influenced music more than Mozart did?
Any person making such a claim is either seriously trolling you, or a complete moron - and you really shouldn't be listening to a single thing that person is saying. I seriously should not have to explain why this is the case. If you had a proper education, you know who Mozart is and how important he was.
That's probably still a rather delusional example, though - who in their right mind would think that? Maybe somebody who didn't pay attention in school.
This one is easier: Some people hold the opinion that Osama bin Laden is actually not dead. We know that he really is dead, though, as there's video evidence of his death, not to mention the reports on the mission, and the statements of the soldiers who actually performed the act.
Hell, there are actually some people who still believe that 9/11 was a government conspiracy. That's their opinion, and it's wrong.
Still probably not the best example, I'm afraid - conspiracy theories are too insane to believe all the evidence involved behind that.
I could probably go on, and rant on even further with more and more examples, but I've ranted the frustration out for now, and certainly made my point. More examples would just be beating a dead horse.
If you still believe otherwise, you're as stubborn as a mule. Or else you're actually a dead horse, instead of a real person.
I suppose if you wanted to get specific - once I've proven your opinion wrong, it's no longer an opinion, but simply incorrect information... however, I see that as splitting hairs, and doesn't really change that fact that you were wrong. Frankly, Plato was an idiot, and I don't see why we continue to use his thoughts and ideas so many centuries later when society has evolved well beyond him (let alone beyond Greece). Proving your statement wrong does not suddenly change the statement - it's still an incorrect statement, that you happen to believe (thus making it your opinion), perhaps in denial of the evidence around you, (which makes your opinion wrong).
Accept it: you were wrong.
3/13/2012
1/29/2012
Tesla predicted cell phones
It is intended to give practical demonstrations of these principles with the plant illustrated. As soon as completed, it will be possible for a business man in New York to dictate instructions, and have them instantly appear in type at his office in London or elsewhere. He will be able to call up, from his desk, and talk to any telephone subscriber on the globe, without any change whatever in the existing equipment. An inexpensive instrument, not bigger than a watch, will enable its bearer to hear anywhere, on sea or land, music or song, the speech of a political leader, the address of an eminent man of science, or the sermon of an eloquent clergyman, delivered in some other place, however distant. In the same manner any picture, character, drawing, or print can be transferred from one to another place. Millions of such instruments can be operated from but one plant of this kind. More important than all of this, however, will be the transmission of power, without wires, which will be shown on a scale large enough to carry conviction.
Just sayin. This man was a genius, and well ahead of his time. He wrote those lines in 1908. He predicted the existence of cell phones about a century early. All of the work he did helped build us up towards modern day cell phones, and he even predicted it happening - the only thing yet to happen is a world that is provided with free non-wired sources of power.
I personally believe world peace would be possible if mankind were to set up this "wireless transmission of power" successfully and reliably.
1/22/2012
Sexism, Racism, and being different in general
So, to start off this random rant of mine, I have a link to share: http://tinyurl.com/6m5fkwg
And really, I think I've finally snapped:
Really, our society is getting just plain ridiculous. On that particular article, I have only this to say: That kid's parents are going about it all the wrong way. I can understand their reasons for doing it, but I still think it's a terrible idea. There's nothing wrong, inherently, with being a stereotypical male. There's also nothing wrong with being stereotypically gay, or stereotypically African-American, or any sort of stereotype.
What's wrong is discriminating against it, or discriminating against others because of it. And they should have instead tried to raise their child to understand that, rather than treating him like some kind of experiment. There is nothing wrong with fitting a stereotype. In a way, those parents are discriminating against the stereotypical male, perhaps even stereotypes in general, and teaching that child that it's wrong to be a stereotypical male.
Which leads me on into the rest of the rant that has been brewing in my mind for a while: I can't take feminism seriously.
I can't take any of those social movements seriously. You know, the ones fighting for "equal rights" between two social groups? Whether it's about sexism, racism, or the LGBT movement... I can't take it seriously.
You know why that is? Because we have become a society of vengeance.
What I specifically mean by that can be easily explained:
"It's only sexist if men do it."
"It's only racist if a white man does it."
And that little phrase is pretty much the basis for my whole rant here. Society accepts that, apparently. Society seems to think that just because men have a history of treating women as the inferior gender, it's okay for women to respond in kind. It's used it as justification. That's called revenge. Which is something nobody should support. The only thing worse than instigating a conflict, is "finishing" a conflict. Hopefully I don't have to explain my meaning here.
I'm perfectly willing to admit that not everybody who fights for equal rights is that way... but way too many women that support the feminist movement, are women who literally hate men, and discriminate against men. Which means they're not fighting for equal rights at all.
It happens in the other movements as well, but you just don't see it as much. In the case of racism, it's much more subtle these days. Whether you're willing to believe it or not, everybody is perfectly willing to accept sexism against caucasians, simply because of the history of slavery.
That, again, is not justification - that's vengeance, and it's just as wrong.
To put it all together, however... there's nothing inherently wrong with being different. Fighting for equal rights does not mean we should fight for everybody to be like sheep. If we want to treat others as being equal, we first need to respect what makes them different.
And really, I think I've finally snapped:
Really, our society is getting just plain ridiculous. On that particular article, I have only this to say: That kid's parents are going about it all the wrong way. I can understand their reasons for doing it, but I still think it's a terrible idea. There's nothing wrong, inherently, with being a stereotypical male. There's also nothing wrong with being stereotypically gay, or stereotypically African-American, or any sort of stereotype.
What's wrong is discriminating against it, or discriminating against others because of it. And they should have instead tried to raise their child to understand that, rather than treating him like some kind of experiment. There is nothing wrong with fitting a stereotype. In a way, those parents are discriminating against the stereotypical male, perhaps even stereotypes in general, and teaching that child that it's wrong to be a stereotypical male.
Which leads me on into the rest of the rant that has been brewing in my mind for a while: I can't take feminism seriously.
I can't take any of those social movements seriously. You know, the ones fighting for "equal rights" between two social groups? Whether it's about sexism, racism, or the LGBT movement... I can't take it seriously.
You know why that is? Because we have become a society of vengeance.
What I specifically mean by that can be easily explained:
"It's only sexist if men do it."
"It's only racist if a white man does it."
And that little phrase is pretty much the basis for my whole rant here. Society accepts that, apparently. Society seems to think that just because men have a history of treating women as the inferior gender, it's okay for women to respond in kind. It's used it as justification. That's called revenge. Which is something nobody should support. The only thing worse than instigating a conflict, is "finishing" a conflict. Hopefully I don't have to explain my meaning here.
I'm perfectly willing to admit that not everybody who fights for equal rights is that way... but way too many women that support the feminist movement, are women who literally hate men, and discriminate against men. Which means they're not fighting for equal rights at all.
It happens in the other movements as well, but you just don't see it as much. In the case of racism, it's much more subtle these days. Whether you're willing to believe it or not, everybody is perfectly willing to accept sexism against caucasians, simply because of the history of slavery.
That, again, is not justification - that's vengeance, and it's just as wrong.
To put it all together, however... there's nothing inherently wrong with being different. Fighting for equal rights does not mean we should fight for everybody to be like sheep. If we want to treat others as being equal, we first need to respect what makes them different.
3/30/2011
Random Update
So yeah, I've come to the realization that this blog thing is still here.
I guess I haven't really described how my life has been going since like... late 2009? With a few sporadic extra posts tossed in here and there? So at least a year since I posted anything really about me. But then, since this blog has always just been my "blurbs" I've kinda covered the simple fact that things I post may not have anything to do with... well... anything. And could just be me blurbing out my random thoughts.
Long story short, practically nothing has improved since the last time I actually posted about my life. Since my last post, I've had a job working at Maxim Integrated Products making computer chips. Total flop. The hours were unbearable, and it got so outright exhausting that... well. I'd like to say that I quit.
But I'm smart enough to realize, at this point, that I shouldn't quit a job just because I can't take it. I should try to find another job first, let my employer know that I'm quitting, etc.
But that's not what happened. You see, at Maxim, I worked in a clean room environment. That means suiting up to keep particles out of the air. Now, according to them, that should take like 5 minutes. And, hey, usually it did take me about 5-10 minutes. I always gave myself time for that, keeping in mind about how long it took me. I always showed up an hour early to work as well, to make DAMN sure I wouldn't be late. I made good use of that time in the cafeteria, making sure to wake up. Sometimes I'd stop by McDonald's on the way, and boy did that help make my mornings. (Yes, believe it or not, I still enjoy McDonald's "food")
But still it wasn't enough, because you have to clock in AFTER suiting up. So despite the fact that I was always one of their hardest workers, and never late enough to actually justify action (according to THEIR rulebooks), I ended up being fired for attendance reasons. They never even gave me a warning. Not even joking. They specifically said in their employee handbook thing that, if an employee is having attendance problems, they will receive a warning first to let them know they're slipping. I never got that. I was never even aware that I was clocking in too late.
Not that I'll ever tell that to a potential employer. I'd considered suing, but then figured it would be WAY more hassle than it's worth, and that it would be wiser to just cut my losses and find a job that has more reasonable hours. They don't want me working there, and frankly, I didn't want to work there. I didn't realize until about 2 months in that it was WAY too exhausting of a job for me to be able to work there and also take college courses. I couldn't figure a way in my brain to work the two around each other.
12 hour shifts? Never again. Not on a regular basis anyways. I might be willing to work 12 hour shifts once in a while because of heavy workload, but I'd rather avoid it altogether.
And let's be honest, I still like to play WoW. If I pay people in-game gold to give me game cards, it doesn't cost me anything except time. Well, at the time I'd started that job, my old guild had fallen apart anyways... so I just kinda stopped playing WoW for a while. With 12 hour shifts on a daily basis, I couldn't fit in much more than work, eat, sleep, repeat.
Since I'm unemployed, I have taken up raiding again. Cataclysm seems SO much better than Wrath already (maybe I'll post some random WoW-centric things at some point, just to have a place for my ramblings... other than the forums, where people jump on you like packs of rabid dogs). I just have to hope I can manage my time in such a manner as to be able to raid with the guild I'm in (hey, it's a pretty decent guild, and they actually raid with working people in mind!), work at whatever menial job I find, and still attend/pass college courses. And still make time for LJ of course.
I refer to her as LJ in these blogs, right? I can't remember...
Oh, I need to mention this I guess. For once, I actually went and applied for Northwest Vista. Summer semester, obviously. My parents said they'd be willing to pay for a handful of college courses. Why should I turn that down? I can take one or two classes, start off a bit slow to see what exactly I need to re-learn.
I'm still not sure if I should stick with computer science. I mean... I'm good at it... I certainly enjoy it. And I can't deny that I still have a passion for entering the game development industry.
But maybe I should consider the option of a literary career. I enjoy reading books... and while I haven't taken the time to do any amount of writing in years, it's something I could see myself enjoying.
Part of the reason I haven't, however, is that I have to start from scratch, thanks to my old laptop dying on me.
I had EVERYTHING on that laptop. Resume, old literary works, dozens of saved images and Photoshop works, probably hundreds of different desktop backgrounds (some of them I made myself!), dozens of photos of LJ (biggest loss right there), etc etc.
So, basically, I'd have to start the whole thing from scratch. Sure, I was wanting to start it over again anyways, but I really wish I could have access to my original ideas so I could build on them and make them work. All that time spent writing now feels like... a total waste.
Anyways, yeah. That's an option. However, I'm a very stubborn person, and I really would rather work towards a more stable salary-type career, instead of being, say, a book author, living off royalties from book sales. Besides, how many authors out there, out of your favorite authors, actually have a degree in creative writing or something like that?
Hell, I've read books from guys who had degrees in like... geography. And still wrote fantastic stories. So maybe writing is just something I can do on the side and try to slowly work my way back into.
Well damn, look at how I've rambled on. Good thing this is just a Blurb post and not something truly meant to be professional.
So ummm... I guess that describes overall how things have gone. I'm unemployed right now, all over again. I have no money on my person. Oh yeah!
I defaulted on my federal loans. Yeah. That's so much fucking fun. You don't even know. Which means that my tax return was probably withheld and automatically applied to that. Which, I think, also means they can garnish my wages, once I get a job again. Oh yes, so very fun.
I mean, sure, a large amount of the money I earn will be going to these debts because, let's face it, it's too late to just say "I'll worry about it later and focus on my immediate problems!" like I've been trying to do. It's an immediate problem now. But it's still frustrating that I don't get to decide for myself how much money I'm going to be putting away for other problems.
Yeah, I still don't have my own car. I'm a loser like that. I'm still stuck living with my parents. Oh yes, I can't seem to handle the real world. Fun stuff.
I still refuse to do the military option. It's just... it's not me. The reason the military is willing to wave a magic wand and make all your big problems go away is because they will OWN you. Pretty much literally.
And I still absolutely loathe the "easy way out." I don't care if it's hard, I want to deal with things my way and actually own up to my mistakes, not have the government magically make them disappear in return for losing my freedom for a few years.
It doesn't help that my parents are constantly threatening to kick me out. In fact, I'm pretty sure they'd kick me out, oh, TOMORROW, if I can't get my shit together. As if I can just snap my fingers and make everything work!
Sigh. Whatever. I've rambled and ranted on, and I'm not even sure where I'm going with this post. I still am uncomfortable with the idea of blogging.
I guess I haven't really described how my life has been going since like... late 2009? With a few sporadic extra posts tossed in here and there? So at least a year since I posted anything really about me. But then, since this blog has always just been my "blurbs" I've kinda covered the simple fact that things I post may not have anything to do with... well... anything. And could just be me blurbing out my random thoughts.
Long story short, practically nothing has improved since the last time I actually posted about my life. Since my last post, I've had a job working at Maxim Integrated Products making computer chips. Total flop. The hours were unbearable, and it got so outright exhausting that... well. I'd like to say that I quit.
But I'm smart enough to realize, at this point, that I shouldn't quit a job just because I can't take it. I should try to find another job first, let my employer know that I'm quitting, etc.
But that's not what happened. You see, at Maxim, I worked in a clean room environment. That means suiting up to keep particles out of the air. Now, according to them, that should take like 5 minutes. And, hey, usually it did take me about 5-10 minutes. I always gave myself time for that, keeping in mind about how long it took me. I always showed up an hour early to work as well, to make DAMN sure I wouldn't be late. I made good use of that time in the cafeteria, making sure to wake up. Sometimes I'd stop by McDonald's on the way, and boy did that help make my mornings. (Yes, believe it or not, I still enjoy McDonald's "food")
But still it wasn't enough, because you have to clock in AFTER suiting up. So despite the fact that I was always one of their hardest workers, and never late enough to actually justify action (according to THEIR rulebooks), I ended up being fired for attendance reasons. They never even gave me a warning. Not even joking. They specifically said in their employee handbook thing that, if an employee is having attendance problems, they will receive a warning first to let them know they're slipping. I never got that. I was never even aware that I was clocking in too late.
Not that I'll ever tell that to a potential employer. I'd considered suing, but then figured it would be WAY more hassle than it's worth, and that it would be wiser to just cut my losses and find a job that has more reasonable hours. They don't want me working there, and frankly, I didn't want to work there. I didn't realize until about 2 months in that it was WAY too exhausting of a job for me to be able to work there and also take college courses. I couldn't figure a way in my brain to work the two around each other.
12 hour shifts? Never again. Not on a regular basis anyways. I might be willing to work 12 hour shifts once in a while because of heavy workload, but I'd rather avoid it altogether.
And let's be honest, I still like to play WoW. If I pay people in-game gold to give me game cards, it doesn't cost me anything except time. Well, at the time I'd started that job, my old guild had fallen apart anyways... so I just kinda stopped playing WoW for a while. With 12 hour shifts on a daily basis, I couldn't fit in much more than work, eat, sleep, repeat.
Since I'm unemployed, I have taken up raiding again. Cataclysm seems SO much better than Wrath already (maybe I'll post some random WoW-centric things at some point, just to have a place for my ramblings... other than the forums, where people jump on you like packs of rabid dogs). I just have to hope I can manage my time in such a manner as to be able to raid with the guild I'm in (hey, it's a pretty decent guild, and they actually raid with working people in mind!), work at whatever menial job I find, and still attend/pass college courses. And still make time for LJ of course.
I refer to her as LJ in these blogs, right? I can't remember...
Oh, I need to mention this I guess. For once, I actually went and applied for Northwest Vista. Summer semester, obviously. My parents said they'd be willing to pay for a handful of college courses. Why should I turn that down? I can take one or two classes, start off a bit slow to see what exactly I need to re-learn.
I'm still not sure if I should stick with computer science. I mean... I'm good at it... I certainly enjoy it. And I can't deny that I still have a passion for entering the game development industry.
But maybe I should consider the option of a literary career. I enjoy reading books... and while I haven't taken the time to do any amount of writing in years, it's something I could see myself enjoying.
Part of the reason I haven't, however, is that I have to start from scratch, thanks to my old laptop dying on me.
I had EVERYTHING on that laptop. Resume, old literary works, dozens of saved images and Photoshop works, probably hundreds of different desktop backgrounds (some of them I made myself!), dozens of photos of LJ (biggest loss right there), etc etc.
So, basically, I'd have to start the whole thing from scratch. Sure, I was wanting to start it over again anyways, but I really wish I could have access to my original ideas so I could build on them and make them work. All that time spent writing now feels like... a total waste.
Anyways, yeah. That's an option. However, I'm a very stubborn person, and I really would rather work towards a more stable salary-type career, instead of being, say, a book author, living off royalties from book sales. Besides, how many authors out there, out of your favorite authors, actually have a degree in creative writing or something like that?
Hell, I've read books from guys who had degrees in like... geography. And still wrote fantastic stories. So maybe writing is just something I can do on the side and try to slowly work my way back into.
Well damn, look at how I've rambled on. Good thing this is just a Blurb post and not something truly meant to be professional.
So ummm... I guess that describes overall how things have gone. I'm unemployed right now, all over again. I have no money on my person. Oh yeah!
I defaulted on my federal loans. Yeah. That's so much fucking fun. You don't even know. Which means that my tax return was probably withheld and automatically applied to that. Which, I think, also means they can garnish my wages, once I get a job again. Oh yes, so very fun.
I mean, sure, a large amount of the money I earn will be going to these debts because, let's face it, it's too late to just say "I'll worry about it later and focus on my immediate problems!" like I've been trying to do. It's an immediate problem now. But it's still frustrating that I don't get to decide for myself how much money I'm going to be putting away for other problems.
Yeah, I still don't have my own car. I'm a loser like that. I'm still stuck living with my parents. Oh yes, I can't seem to handle the real world. Fun stuff.
I still refuse to do the military option. It's just... it's not me. The reason the military is willing to wave a magic wand and make all your big problems go away is because they will OWN you. Pretty much literally.
And I still absolutely loathe the "easy way out." I don't care if it's hard, I want to deal with things my way and actually own up to my mistakes, not have the government magically make them disappear in return for losing my freedom for a few years.
It doesn't help that my parents are constantly threatening to kick me out. In fact, I'm pretty sure they'd kick me out, oh, TOMORROW, if I can't get my shit together. As if I can just snap my fingers and make everything work!
Sigh. Whatever. I've rambled and ranted on, and I'm not even sure where I'm going with this post. I still am uncomfortable with the idea of blogging.
8/15/2010
StarCraft 2... the story has a big flaw. Or a lot.
I'm going to copy-paste this from the SC2 forums because, frankly, it's much better written than I could ever word it, and I've been thinking the same thing for a while.
In general, I LIKE the SC2 story. By itself, it's perfectly fine. But like this poster from the forums, there's a lot of discontinuity from SC1 that just makes no damn sense.
It's a long read. So I figure those of you who care absolutely nothing for good story-telling...won't read it. The game is good. It's perfectly fun.
It's just this one, extremely detailed problem that bothers me, and is bothering thousands of other SC2 players as well.
----------
Disclaimer: I want start by saying that I loved the shorter mission length, upgrades, mix of old/new units, balance, and (though deeply flawed) more non-linear story. If Blizzard or fellow SC fans reads this, I am not a troll simply here to stomp on the hard work the writers put in. I am a true fan that was deeply impressed with the game itself, but deeply disappointed by the glaring errors in story. I have beta tested most of Blizzards games (including SC and BW) and assure Blizzard that I am here to voice my legitimate criticism as only a true friend can.
In this post I attempt to address what I see are major errors and missteps with regards to SC2's storyline. I intend this post to be extensive, as such, this will be a long post, and despite living in a world of tweets, I write in (more or less) complete sentences and paragraph structure… if you don't want to read something like this, don't. Because the post is so long I have broken it into multiple sub-posts under this one for the convince of the reader. I have also provided a rough outline so you can jump to a section you are interested in. Finally, I have, whenever possible, quoted original source material to demonstrate that my concerns are legitimate and not simply from memory or the ramblings of an angry fanboy. NOTE: This posts contains major spoilers to SC, BW, and SC2.
I. Treatment of the Overmind in SC2 and Humanizing the Zerg
II. Apparently Brood War didn't happen
a. Kerrigan & Raynor
b. Whatever happened to the UED?
III. Broken storytelling
IV. The Protoss and their Past
V. The Crutch of Prophecy
VI. Conclusion
I. Treatment of the Overmind in SC2 and Humanizing the Zerg
The Overmind was my favorite character in SC, and I always felt it was a mistake to kill such a wondrous villain. Yet I accepted its death because it makes sense given the facts of the SC universe. That is not the case in SC2. The Overmind in chains presented in SC2 is absolutely ridiculous. This is ret-conning of the worst sort.
The Overmind has to be free of the Xel'Naga for SC to make sense. Recall the Overmind rebelled: "The Xel'Naga having kept a constant watch on the Overmind, were horrified to find that it had actually severed their psychic link, effectively hiding itself from their view." (SC Manual pg 53). The Overmind then slaughters the Xel'Naga fleet even assimilating them into the Zerg: "As the greater whole of the Xel'Naga race was consumed by the raging, genetic whirlwind of the Zerg…" (pg 53). How does it make ANY sense that the Overmind, which was capapable of destroying the "greater whole of the Xel'Naga race", is also their slave? One would think that while installing the magic psychic command to hunt the Protoss (major plot point in SC2) the Xel'Naga ALSO would have added the psychic command "don't kill us". Alas the hyper intelligent godlike Xel'Naga didn't think of that… for some reason. Zeratul confirms: "The Zerg were indeed created by the ancient Xel'Naga… But the Overmind grew beyond their constraints, and has at last come to finish the experiments they began so long ago." Zeratul Protoss Mission 9.
It is also clear in SC that the Overmind wishes to assimilate the Protoss, NOT because it is under the Xel'Naga sway, but because it has read the manual. The SC manual states that the Protoss are perfect in form and the Overmind is perfect in essence (pg 51). As the Overmind explains: "For upon this world of Aiur shall we incorporate the strongest known species into our fold. Then shall we be the greatest of creation's children. We shall be... Perfect." (SC Zerg mission 9). This is a real high water mark in writing and SC lore in general; I love this section of SC. Also in Mission 10 the Overmind ends the Zerg campaign with these words: "Now shall the events set into motion so long ago be made complete. For the Protoss too, were created by the Xel'Naga. They were the first creation, gifted with a purity of form. And we were the second creation, blessed with a purity of essence. Indeed, our two species are but opposite facets of a greater whole. Soon shall our two races be made as one. Thenceforth shall all feel the wrath of the eternal Swarm... For the hour of judgment is come!"
As a Cerebrate the player is an extension of the Overmind, as it explains in Zerg Mission 5: "Truly all that you are lies wholly within me." If the Overmind is tormented and rebelling against the chains implanted within it by the Xel'Naga (which the Overmind slaughtered) then the Cerebrate player would know or experience in some way because the player was contained wholly within the Overmind—the player was a fraction OF the Overmind. Yet at no point in the campaign do these supposed chains manifest or does the Overmind rage. Even with Zasz death (Zerg Missions 6-7) the Overmind does not rage, even when part of its own mind is destroyed it still remains even. Rather than an raging monster in chains the Overmind remains from start to finish cold, confident, and inevitable.
The Zerg under the Overmind represented a personification of nature. The Zerg are obsessed with strength, refinement, and assimilation. Just as evolution seeks to filter out the weak and create the strongest organisms for a given environment, the Overmind's Zerg seek to create simply the strongest organism that can exist. The Overmind wishes to be perfect and perfect the Swarm. That makes for an engaging, terrifying, and fascinating foe (and ally during Zerg missions!) To try and humanize the Zerg (even under Kerrigan) to being in chains and sympathetic is not only a silly error but also counter to the storyline setup by SC. The Xel'Naga are not strengthened by weakening the Overmind, for, assuming SC2 writers do not change this as well, they created the Overmind. The Xel'Naga are unbelievably powerful as they were: that strength is paradoxically weakened by weakening the Overmind. It also makes them look a little silly that they let the Overmind slaughter them but somehow could still control it to attack the Protoss: not exactly a genius god-like move.
II. Apparently Brood War didn't happen
Brood War seems to be pretty much ret-conned out of existence. Rather than provide several examples of the elimination of BW, I'll pick (in my opinion) the two most egregious examples.
a. Kerrigan and Raynor
The question of Kerrigan's humanity was left unanswered in SC. In Zerg Mission 4, Kerrigan spares Raynor's life telling him to leave: "It is certainly within my power [to kill Raynor]. But you're not a threat to me, Jim. Be smart. Leave here now, and never seek to confront the Zerg again." The line is delivered with a certain sympathy and compassion, leaving the player to wonder how much of Kerrigan survived the transformation into the Queen of Blades. This theme of how much of her survived is the primary story of Brood War. Throughout the BW campaigns it seems the Kerrigan, now free of the Overmind has "changed" and is human-ish again (BW Zerg Missions 1-4). Yet Zerg Mission 5 is the game changer, as Kerrigan so elegantly puts it in mission 10 she is "the Queen @!!#@ of the Universe". The entire point of the BW was that Kerrigan had reached the point of no return. Recall, she did not inherit the Zerg, but rather bent the Swarm to her will. It was not her choice to be transformed and infested BUT it was her choice to assume the role of the Queen of Blades ruler of the Swarm (BW Zerg Campaign). The point of BW is that Kerrigan is dead; only the Queen of Blades remains. The Zerg missions in BW confirm that she is irredeemable. So the redemption at the end of SC2 feels more than a little hack.
Additionally the writers of SC2, by ignoring BW, failed to properly grasp Raynor and Kerrigan's relationship. It was BW where Jim sought to redeem Kerrigan. He frequently trusts her even when others do not. He constantly remembers that she spared him on Char. BW is the game that Jim doubts and hopes that she can be redeemed, it is BW that birthed that story arc, and it is in BW that that story arc comes to an end. When Kerrigan kills Fenix in Mission 5, Raynor states, "…How many noble souls do you need to consume before you're satisfied? How many more people need to die before you realize what you've become?" It is with this line that Raynor gives up any hope of redeeming her. And it is his next line that ends the will he/won't he story arc: "…I'll see you dead for this, Kerrigan. For Fenix and all the others who got caught between you and your mad quest for power! … It may not be tomorrow, darlin'. It may not even happen with an army at my back. But rest assured: I'm the man who's going to kill you some day." Why the writers of SC2 suddenly decided that this ending to the Kerrigan-Raynor story arc was less powerful then the trite/cliche love wins out in the end of SC2 I do not know. But in Brood War, Raynor made his choice: why he then is suddenly in doubt and conflicted is just poor writing.
b. Whatever happened to the UED?
I knew the game was in trouble when the opening voice over during installation explained the events of SC and then glossed over BW. The opening installation superficially states that the human colony ships that founded the Korprulu sector went off course. This is the story in the SC Manual (which is told from the perspective of the colonists) on pgs 28-30. Yet, the Brood War Terran campaign is told from the perspective of the UED. It is revealed through their campaign and BW manual that the Earth allowed the ships to crash and had the Korprulu Sector constantly monitored (BW Manual 9-10). This could be viewed as a ret-con in BW but it is not. SC Terran campaign was told from the Korprulu colonists perspective. They believed they were cut off from earth. BW was told from the UED's perspective who only let the colonists believe they were cut off. Even if it is a ret-con it at least has some contextual support rather than the ret-cons in SC2. The installation voice over who knows what mix up would be excusable if the Korprulu Sector did not know that the UED had been monitoring them the entire time, but the problem is that the UED kind of sort of INVADED THE DOMINION! So now the Korprulu Sector and Dominion knows that Earth at least is aware of their existence and that all contact with Earth has not been lost. I would think that this revelation would play a bigger role (or at least SOME role) in SC2, but apparently this was inconvenient and rather than craft the story to the facts, new facts were made to fit the story.
III. Broken storytelling
The non-linear storytelling was a bold and interesting choice from Blizzard. Unfortunately, it often failed to provide a cohesive storyline. Characters, rather than evolving, randomly jumped in attitude and mood. On my play through I saved the colonists from the Protoss' attack. Raynor, after the mission, was upbeat and "back on the right track" as a "good man." Matt specifically complements him on making good decisions. My next mission ended with Raynor in the bar, Matt explaining that Raynor hasn't been the same in a long time, and that when Raynor figures out who he is he should tell the crew! It's a good moment (both scenes are) but both are cheapened by the storytelling whose philosophy seems to be Raynor's this way, now this way, now that way! Rather than evolve and grow he wildly jumps about. Rather than see him advance, as we did in SC, Raynor is a disjointed broken mess (and not in a good way) one mission to the next--100% gloomy on mission then 100% happy. Rather than humanize Raynor, it makes him out to be suffering from a horrific case of manic-depression.
A similar situation occurred when I choose to press the Dominion by outing Mengsk secrets. During the campaign, players work to destroy not just Mengsk but the Dominion itself. I completed all missions prior to Char. Because of my actions, rebellion and protest were spreading throughout the Dominion against Emperor Mengsk. Yet, in my dealings with his own son, Valerian, seemed to go along the lines of "I'm gonna be emperor when I grow up! I'm gonna be the bestest emperor ever! Let's look for artifacts. Weeeee!" All the while, my actions are seriously throwing into question if there will even be an emperorship for Valerian to assume. Even assuming Valerian hates Arcturus, the cognitive disconnect between the way Valerian treats the player and what the player is doing to the fundamental existence of the Dominion is a demonstration of shockingly poor writing and character development.
Blizzard once had a philosophy of what can be done well should be done to perfection, and what cannot be done to perfection should not be done at all. Branching story arcs are an interesting idea, but if they cannot be done well (as was the case in SC2) they should not be done.
IV. The Protoss and Their Past
The Protoss are, in more ways than one, the opposite of the Zerg. Where the Zerg were the personification of the cold, indifferent, relentless inevitability of evolution and nature, the Protoss in SC were equally cold and indifferent to life because of their strict insular society, technology, and unmatched power. The Zerg are the fear of nature personified, the Protoss are the fear of technology personified.
Having slain the Xel'Naga and descended into a crazed orgy of violence and carnage documented within the Aeon of Strife (see SC manual pg 72-73) the Protoss fear what they were. The point of the Khala is a strict code meant to control (SC manual 74-5) the "unbridled ferocity of the Protoss at war" (SC Manual pg 80). The Protoss are so terrified by what they were that the Dark Templar are considered a bigger threat than are the Zerg (SC Protoss Missions 2, 7, 8 and BW Protoss Missions 3, 7). It wasn't just a plot point to draw out more missions that the Conclave constantly butt in during the Protoss campaign in SC, it was the point of the Protoss! They are so horrified and hate their former carnage that they could not see or fear anything else. It isn't just hubris that drives them: it is also terror of loosing control. So it was shocking that in SC2 Zeratul just casually summons the Protoss Colossi without any fear that the Protoss were reverting to their old chaotic ways. The barely contained rage, deep regret/shame, and fear that is so prevalent and central to the Protoss psyche in previous games is absolutely absent in SC2. Any trepidation the Protoss may have for summoning some of their worst weapons of war is non-existent. It seems the lesson of the Protoss from SC was lost to the writers of SC2 because the ancient race has suddenly changed!
Additionally, I (as the player) controlled the Zerg invasion of Aiur (SC Zerg Missions 9-10). I fought for the Overmind, and I then fought to destroy the Overmind (SC Protoss Missions 9-10). If the Colossi were on Aiur why is it that I never saw them in either the defense or assault? Why where not the ultimate Protoss weapons of war used then—if they were to be used at all? And if the colossi were held back for the reasons sighted above (the fact that the Protoss fear themselves more than any external threat) why then were the colossi so casually used THIS time rather than when Aiur was in her darkest hour?
This is just one of the more obvious and stark examples of the ret-conning of the Protoss for the worse.
V. The Crutch of Prophecy
I knew things were in trouble when I heard Zeratul announce, "The Zerg Swarm came, as was foretold…" This line really crystallizes so much of the attitude of the writers of SC2 for what was created by the writers of SC. Simply put, no. No the zerg swarm was not foretold. IF the Zerg Swarm had been foretold, maybe the Protoss would have had a better solution than annihilating entire planets. IF the Zerg Swarm had been foretold by the Dark Templar, then they would have warned the Conclave. For, despite the ill blood between the Conclave and the banished Dark Templar, the Dark Templar still "relentlessly strive to protect their race and the ancient secrets of their Tribes." (BW Manual pg 13) In fact, the SC manual makes specifically clear that the Protoss were taken by complete surprise by the Zerg (77-78). So it is clear that the Protoss were not the ones doing the foretelling!
Perhaps it was the Xel'Naga that were foretelling, and the Protoss discovered it too late. Again, this is poor writing. If the Xel'Naga were so good at foretelling one would think they would have foretold that the Protoss would rise up against them, they would move to another world, where their next creation, the Zerg Overmind, would slaughter the "greater whole of the Xel'Naga race" (SC Manual pg 53).
There was no prophecy in SC. There is no mention of it that I can find in the game scripts or SC or BW manuals. Why include a mechanic like prophecy in SC2 when it has no precedence? The "prophecy" in SC2 feels like such a trite plot gimmick to forward information without any real effort on the part of the writers. It is simply a lame crutch that dumps information on the player in a way that the writers could not come up with an actual clever way to do so. It feels so borrowed from other non-starcraft universes: Warcraft has prophecy. Diablo has prophecy. Starcraft should not.
VI. Conclusions
I didn't expect everything to be explained in the story; I understand certain plot points and ideas will change, but I expected that the basic coherency of the SC world would be continued. I expected a story that pays respect to the works that came before rather than the expedience of ret-conning and sloppy writing for what will come next. Starcraft is one of my favorite games, and remains so. I love the technical aspects of SC2, but it is deeply flawed by expedient writing. I easily looked up the script and manuals for SC and BW, but it seems that Blizzard did not. I take the Starcraft lore seriously because I enjoy it; I wish that Blizzard had done the same. Blizzard can tell a better story than SC2, and SC fans deserve a better effort than the story presented in SC2.
I thank any that read even sections of this rather lengthy mess of an essay :P I also want to thank anyone for comments.
---
If any of you actually READ this, and you play SC2, I hope it gave you something to think about.
In general, I LIKE the SC2 story. By itself, it's perfectly fine. But like this poster from the forums, there's a lot of discontinuity from SC1 that just makes no damn sense.
It's a long read. So I figure those of you who care absolutely nothing for good story-telling...won't read it. The game is good. It's perfectly fun.
It's just this one, extremely detailed problem that bothers me, and is bothering thousands of other SC2 players as well.
----------
Disclaimer: I want start by saying that I loved the shorter mission length, upgrades, mix of old/new units, balance, and (though deeply flawed) more non-linear story. If Blizzard or fellow SC fans reads this, I am not a troll simply here to stomp on the hard work the writers put in. I am a true fan that was deeply impressed with the game itself, but deeply disappointed by the glaring errors in story. I have beta tested most of Blizzards games (including SC and BW) and assure Blizzard that I am here to voice my legitimate criticism as only a true friend can.
In this post I attempt to address what I see are major errors and missteps with regards to SC2's storyline. I intend this post to be extensive, as such, this will be a long post, and despite living in a world of tweets, I write in (more or less) complete sentences and paragraph structure… if you don't want to read something like this, don't. Because the post is so long I have broken it into multiple sub-posts under this one for the convince of the reader. I have also provided a rough outline so you can jump to a section you are interested in. Finally, I have, whenever possible, quoted original source material to demonstrate that my concerns are legitimate and not simply from memory or the ramblings of an angry fanboy. NOTE: This posts contains major spoilers to SC, BW, and SC2.
I. Treatment of the Overmind in SC2 and Humanizing the Zerg
II. Apparently Brood War didn't happen
a. Kerrigan & Raynor
b. Whatever happened to the UED?
III. Broken storytelling
IV. The Protoss and their Past
V. The Crutch of Prophecy
VI. Conclusion
I. Treatment of the Overmind in SC2 and Humanizing the Zerg
The Overmind was my favorite character in SC, and I always felt it was a mistake to kill such a wondrous villain. Yet I accepted its death because it makes sense given the facts of the SC universe. That is not the case in SC2. The Overmind in chains presented in SC2 is absolutely ridiculous. This is ret-conning of the worst sort.
The Overmind has to be free of the Xel'Naga for SC to make sense. Recall the Overmind rebelled: "The Xel'Naga having kept a constant watch on the Overmind, were horrified to find that it had actually severed their psychic link, effectively hiding itself from their view." (SC Manual pg 53). The Overmind then slaughters the Xel'Naga fleet even assimilating them into the Zerg: "As the greater whole of the Xel'Naga race was consumed by the raging, genetic whirlwind of the Zerg…" (pg 53). How does it make ANY sense that the Overmind, which was capapable of destroying the "greater whole of the Xel'Naga race", is also their slave? One would think that while installing the magic psychic command to hunt the Protoss (major plot point in SC2) the Xel'Naga ALSO would have added the psychic command "don't kill us". Alas the hyper intelligent godlike Xel'Naga didn't think of that… for some reason. Zeratul confirms: "The Zerg were indeed created by the ancient Xel'Naga… But the Overmind grew beyond their constraints, and has at last come to finish the experiments they began so long ago." Zeratul Protoss Mission 9.
It is also clear in SC that the Overmind wishes to assimilate the Protoss, NOT because it is under the Xel'Naga sway, but because it has read the manual. The SC manual states that the Protoss are perfect in form and the Overmind is perfect in essence (pg 51). As the Overmind explains: "For upon this world of Aiur shall we incorporate the strongest known species into our fold. Then shall we be the greatest of creation's children. We shall be... Perfect." (SC Zerg mission 9). This is a real high water mark in writing and SC lore in general; I love this section of SC. Also in Mission 10 the Overmind ends the Zerg campaign with these words: "Now shall the events set into motion so long ago be made complete. For the Protoss too, were created by the Xel'Naga. They were the first creation, gifted with a purity of form. And we were the second creation, blessed with a purity of essence. Indeed, our two species are but opposite facets of a greater whole. Soon shall our two races be made as one. Thenceforth shall all feel the wrath of the eternal Swarm... For the hour of judgment is come!"
As a Cerebrate the player is an extension of the Overmind, as it explains in Zerg Mission 5: "Truly all that you are lies wholly within me." If the Overmind is tormented and rebelling against the chains implanted within it by the Xel'Naga (which the Overmind slaughtered) then the Cerebrate player would know or experience in some way because the player was contained wholly within the Overmind—the player was a fraction OF the Overmind. Yet at no point in the campaign do these supposed chains manifest or does the Overmind rage. Even with Zasz death (Zerg Missions 6-7) the Overmind does not rage, even when part of its own mind is destroyed it still remains even. Rather than an raging monster in chains the Overmind remains from start to finish cold, confident, and inevitable.
The Zerg under the Overmind represented a personification of nature. The Zerg are obsessed with strength, refinement, and assimilation. Just as evolution seeks to filter out the weak and create the strongest organisms for a given environment, the Overmind's Zerg seek to create simply the strongest organism that can exist. The Overmind wishes to be perfect and perfect the Swarm. That makes for an engaging, terrifying, and fascinating foe (and ally during Zerg missions!) To try and humanize the Zerg (even under Kerrigan) to being in chains and sympathetic is not only a silly error but also counter to the storyline setup by SC. The Xel'Naga are not strengthened by weakening the Overmind, for, assuming SC2 writers do not change this as well, they created the Overmind. The Xel'Naga are unbelievably powerful as they were: that strength is paradoxically weakened by weakening the Overmind. It also makes them look a little silly that they let the Overmind slaughter them but somehow could still control it to attack the Protoss: not exactly a genius god-like move.
II. Apparently Brood War didn't happen
Brood War seems to be pretty much ret-conned out of existence. Rather than provide several examples of the elimination of BW, I'll pick (in my opinion) the two most egregious examples.
a. Kerrigan and Raynor
The question of Kerrigan's humanity was left unanswered in SC. In Zerg Mission 4, Kerrigan spares Raynor's life telling him to leave: "It is certainly within my power [to kill Raynor]. But you're not a threat to me, Jim. Be smart. Leave here now, and never seek to confront the Zerg again." The line is delivered with a certain sympathy and compassion, leaving the player to wonder how much of Kerrigan survived the transformation into the Queen of Blades. This theme of how much of her survived is the primary story of Brood War. Throughout the BW campaigns it seems the Kerrigan, now free of the Overmind has "changed" and is human-ish again (BW Zerg Missions 1-4). Yet Zerg Mission 5 is the game changer, as Kerrigan so elegantly puts it in mission 10 she is "the Queen @!!#@ of the Universe". The entire point of the BW was that Kerrigan had reached the point of no return. Recall, she did not inherit the Zerg, but rather bent the Swarm to her will. It was not her choice to be transformed and infested BUT it was her choice to assume the role of the Queen of Blades ruler of the Swarm (BW Zerg Campaign). The point of BW is that Kerrigan is dead; only the Queen of Blades remains. The Zerg missions in BW confirm that she is irredeemable. So the redemption at the end of SC2 feels more than a little hack.
Additionally the writers of SC2, by ignoring BW, failed to properly grasp Raynor and Kerrigan's relationship. It was BW where Jim sought to redeem Kerrigan. He frequently trusts her even when others do not. He constantly remembers that she spared him on Char. BW is the game that Jim doubts and hopes that she can be redeemed, it is BW that birthed that story arc, and it is in BW that that story arc comes to an end. When Kerrigan kills Fenix in Mission 5, Raynor states, "…How many noble souls do you need to consume before you're satisfied? How many more people need to die before you realize what you've become?" It is with this line that Raynor gives up any hope of redeeming her. And it is his next line that ends the will he/won't he story arc: "…I'll see you dead for this, Kerrigan. For Fenix and all the others who got caught between you and your mad quest for power! … It may not be tomorrow, darlin'. It may not even happen with an army at my back. But rest assured: I'm the man who's going to kill you some day." Why the writers of SC2 suddenly decided that this ending to the Kerrigan-Raynor story arc was less powerful then the trite/cliche love wins out in the end of SC2 I do not know. But in Brood War, Raynor made his choice: why he then is suddenly in doubt and conflicted is just poor writing.
b. Whatever happened to the UED?
I knew the game was in trouble when the opening voice over during installation explained the events of SC and then glossed over BW. The opening installation superficially states that the human colony ships that founded the Korprulu sector went off course. This is the story in the SC Manual (which is told from the perspective of the colonists) on pgs 28-30. Yet, the Brood War Terran campaign is told from the perspective of the UED. It is revealed through their campaign and BW manual that the Earth allowed the ships to crash and had the Korprulu Sector constantly monitored (BW Manual 9-10). This could be viewed as a ret-con in BW but it is not. SC Terran campaign was told from the Korprulu colonists perspective. They believed they were cut off from earth. BW was told from the UED's perspective who only let the colonists believe they were cut off. Even if it is a ret-con it at least has some contextual support rather than the ret-cons in SC2. The installation voice over who knows what mix up would be excusable if the Korprulu Sector did not know that the UED had been monitoring them the entire time, but the problem is that the UED kind of sort of INVADED THE DOMINION! So now the Korprulu Sector and Dominion knows that Earth at least is aware of their existence and that all contact with Earth has not been lost. I would think that this revelation would play a bigger role (or at least SOME role) in SC2, but apparently this was inconvenient and rather than craft the story to the facts, new facts were made to fit the story.
III. Broken storytelling
The non-linear storytelling was a bold and interesting choice from Blizzard. Unfortunately, it often failed to provide a cohesive storyline. Characters, rather than evolving, randomly jumped in attitude and mood. On my play through I saved the colonists from the Protoss' attack. Raynor, after the mission, was upbeat and "back on the right track" as a "good man." Matt specifically complements him on making good decisions. My next mission ended with Raynor in the bar, Matt explaining that Raynor hasn't been the same in a long time, and that when Raynor figures out who he is he should tell the crew! It's a good moment (both scenes are) but both are cheapened by the storytelling whose philosophy seems to be Raynor's this way, now this way, now that way! Rather than evolve and grow he wildly jumps about. Rather than see him advance, as we did in SC, Raynor is a disjointed broken mess (and not in a good way) one mission to the next--100% gloomy on mission then 100% happy. Rather than humanize Raynor, it makes him out to be suffering from a horrific case of manic-depression.
A similar situation occurred when I choose to press the Dominion by outing Mengsk secrets. During the campaign, players work to destroy not just Mengsk but the Dominion itself. I completed all missions prior to Char. Because of my actions, rebellion and protest were spreading throughout the Dominion against Emperor Mengsk. Yet, in my dealings with his own son, Valerian, seemed to go along the lines of "I'm gonna be emperor when I grow up! I'm gonna be the bestest emperor ever! Let's look for artifacts. Weeeee!" All the while, my actions are seriously throwing into question if there will even be an emperorship for Valerian to assume. Even assuming Valerian hates Arcturus, the cognitive disconnect between the way Valerian treats the player and what the player is doing to the fundamental existence of the Dominion is a demonstration of shockingly poor writing and character development.
Blizzard once had a philosophy of what can be done well should be done to perfection, and what cannot be done to perfection should not be done at all. Branching story arcs are an interesting idea, but if they cannot be done well (as was the case in SC2) they should not be done.
IV. The Protoss and Their Past
The Protoss are, in more ways than one, the opposite of the Zerg. Where the Zerg were the personification of the cold, indifferent, relentless inevitability of evolution and nature, the Protoss in SC were equally cold and indifferent to life because of their strict insular society, technology, and unmatched power. The Zerg are the fear of nature personified, the Protoss are the fear of technology personified.
Having slain the Xel'Naga and descended into a crazed orgy of violence and carnage documented within the Aeon of Strife (see SC manual pg 72-73) the Protoss fear what they were. The point of the Khala is a strict code meant to control (SC manual 74-5) the "unbridled ferocity of the Protoss at war" (SC Manual pg 80). The Protoss are so terrified by what they were that the Dark Templar are considered a bigger threat than are the Zerg (SC Protoss Missions 2, 7, 8 and BW Protoss Missions 3, 7). It wasn't just a plot point to draw out more missions that the Conclave constantly butt in during the Protoss campaign in SC, it was the point of the Protoss! They are so horrified and hate their former carnage that they could not see or fear anything else. It isn't just hubris that drives them: it is also terror of loosing control. So it was shocking that in SC2 Zeratul just casually summons the Protoss Colossi without any fear that the Protoss were reverting to their old chaotic ways. The barely contained rage, deep regret/shame, and fear that is so prevalent and central to the Protoss psyche in previous games is absolutely absent in SC2. Any trepidation the Protoss may have for summoning some of their worst weapons of war is non-existent. It seems the lesson of the Protoss from SC was lost to the writers of SC2 because the ancient race has suddenly changed!
Additionally, I (as the player) controlled the Zerg invasion of Aiur (SC Zerg Missions 9-10). I fought for the Overmind, and I then fought to destroy the Overmind (SC Protoss Missions 9-10). If the Colossi were on Aiur why is it that I never saw them in either the defense or assault? Why where not the ultimate Protoss weapons of war used then—if they were to be used at all? And if the colossi were held back for the reasons sighted above (the fact that the Protoss fear themselves more than any external threat) why then were the colossi so casually used THIS time rather than when Aiur was in her darkest hour?
This is just one of the more obvious and stark examples of the ret-conning of the Protoss for the worse.
V. The Crutch of Prophecy
I knew things were in trouble when I heard Zeratul announce, "The Zerg Swarm came, as was foretold…" This line really crystallizes so much of the attitude of the writers of SC2 for what was created by the writers of SC. Simply put, no. No the zerg swarm was not foretold. IF the Zerg Swarm had been foretold, maybe the Protoss would have had a better solution than annihilating entire planets. IF the Zerg Swarm had been foretold by the Dark Templar, then they would have warned the Conclave. For, despite the ill blood between the Conclave and the banished Dark Templar, the Dark Templar still "relentlessly strive to protect their race and the ancient secrets of their Tribes." (BW Manual pg 13) In fact, the SC manual makes specifically clear that the Protoss were taken by complete surprise by the Zerg (77-78). So it is clear that the Protoss were not the ones doing the foretelling!
Perhaps it was the Xel'Naga that were foretelling, and the Protoss discovered it too late. Again, this is poor writing. If the Xel'Naga were so good at foretelling one would think they would have foretold that the Protoss would rise up against them, they would move to another world, where their next creation, the Zerg Overmind, would slaughter the "greater whole of the Xel'Naga race" (SC Manual pg 53).
There was no prophecy in SC. There is no mention of it that I can find in the game scripts or SC or BW manuals. Why include a mechanic like prophecy in SC2 when it has no precedence? The "prophecy" in SC2 feels like such a trite plot gimmick to forward information without any real effort on the part of the writers. It is simply a lame crutch that dumps information on the player in a way that the writers could not come up with an actual clever way to do so. It feels so borrowed from other non-starcraft universes: Warcraft has prophecy. Diablo has prophecy. Starcraft should not.
VI. Conclusions
I didn't expect everything to be explained in the story; I understand certain plot points and ideas will change, but I expected that the basic coherency of the SC world would be continued. I expected a story that pays respect to the works that came before rather than the expedience of ret-conning and sloppy writing for what will come next. Starcraft is one of my favorite games, and remains so. I love the technical aspects of SC2, but it is deeply flawed by expedient writing. I easily looked up the script and manuals for SC and BW, but it seems that Blizzard did not. I take the Starcraft lore seriously because I enjoy it; I wish that Blizzard had done the same. Blizzard can tell a better story than SC2, and SC fans deserve a better effort than the story presented in SC2.
I thank any that read even sections of this rather lengthy mess of an essay :P I also want to thank anyone for comments.
---
If any of you actually READ this, and you play SC2, I hope it gave you something to think about.
2/19/2010
Pokemon > WoW
Yeah. You heard me. I consider Pokemon to be more fun than World of Warcraft.
Maybe I'm biased, because I grew up on the original Pokemon games, and I watched Nintendo add more and more versions (let's face it, they went too far, but that's a rant for another day).
But I am convinced that a Pokemon MMORPG, if it were designed right, would actually prove more popular and more fun than World of Warcraft.
For one thing, it would have a larger player base to pick from. Children today still are obsessed with Pokemon, and because of how old the franchise is, even older generations of people would love the game, which would only increase over time. Those of us who grew up with the old GameBoy, playing Pokemon Red and Blue in the back of the classroom....we hold fond memories of the game.
Could you imagine? You'd pick one of a handful of starting Pokemon...maybe it would be the classic three, but I think it would be wiser to expand the list of what Pokemon you start with. The same way you pick race/class in any other MMO. You'd pick to start in the starting town of one of the four Pokemon regions (from the various Pokemon games: Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh) and you start travelling around. There'd be Pokemon leagues with the gyms and the badges, players able to battle each other all they want. All 493 Pokemon could be in the game (obviously of various rarities), catchable in the various regions, and you'd have your Pokedex.
There could be a Pokemon Stadium, the way WoW has the arena. There'd be that....what is it they added, Pokemon appeal? I personally think it's a ridiculous thing to add, but maybe some people would be more into that than battling, in an MMO.
Pokemon already has a set up for players setting up little home bases and private homes, so players could get their little private homes to decorate and whatnot.
There'd be Bicycles for travelling, and you could use your Pokemon to Fly between cities and surf around, and use moves like Cut and Strength to explore and get places.
And the game already has some pretty deep battle strategy going on, what with how many types are in the game, all the different moves and weaknesses and strengths, and the items you can use in battle, status effects, and now Pokemon can carry a single item into battle, like berries or a small piece of equipment, and there's multi-pokemon battles rather than just 1v1, and Pokemon have built-in passive powers that activate "in a pinch"...it's a surprisingly deep game for how simple the concept is.
I'm just ranting at this point, but you get the idea, it has a lot of possibilities for being an amazing an MMO if Nintendo were to put forth the effort to make it happen. And if they do it right, keep it well-maintained, and update it frequently with new features, maybe new regions, releasing a new Pokemon for people to collect now and then (let's face it, they'll do that on their own...no way is Nintendo ever actually going to stop adding new versions), making balance changes..it could beat WoW. It would be more popular or at least compete with it. Not even Warhammer has been able to compete with WoW (even though everybody claimed it would before it was released).
The best part about the game, as far as PvP balance goes, is that you get to have six Pokemon on your team, and EVERY Pokemon has weaknesses and resistances. So there wouldn't be such a thing as an OP Pokemon. Every Pokemon has it's major, well-known weaknesses to exploit. Unlike in WoW where, if you're a class that gets destroyed by a certain other class, you're screwed. You can't just switch to another class and defeat them. To make things more crazy, it's not easy to predict what moves a Pokemon can actually use. For example, Jolteon typically learns the Pin Missle moves, which is actually a bug type move...and is super effective against Psychic types. So if you have a Psychic pokemon against Jolteon and didn't know that, you'd be in for a painful surprise!
And even then, Pokemon can still surpass those weaknesses with the right setup. So what if that fire pokemon is super effective against you...your sleep powder is keeping him in check, and the trainer has no Awakening!
I think it would be a fun MMO...and would be more popular than WoW. Hell, I'd play it.
Maybe I'm biased, because I grew up on the original Pokemon games, and I watched Nintendo add more and more versions (let's face it, they went too far, but that's a rant for another day).
But I am convinced that a Pokemon MMORPG, if it were designed right, would actually prove more popular and more fun than World of Warcraft.
For one thing, it would have a larger player base to pick from. Children today still are obsessed with Pokemon, and because of how old the franchise is, even older generations of people would love the game, which would only increase over time. Those of us who grew up with the old GameBoy, playing Pokemon Red and Blue in the back of the classroom....we hold fond memories of the game.
Could you imagine? You'd pick one of a handful of starting Pokemon...maybe it would be the classic three, but I think it would be wiser to expand the list of what Pokemon you start with. The same way you pick race/class in any other MMO. You'd pick to start in the starting town of one of the four Pokemon regions (from the various Pokemon games: Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh) and you start travelling around. There'd be Pokemon leagues with the gyms and the badges, players able to battle each other all they want. All 493 Pokemon could be in the game (obviously of various rarities), catchable in the various regions, and you'd have your Pokedex.
There could be a Pokemon Stadium, the way WoW has the arena. There'd be that....what is it they added, Pokemon appeal? I personally think it's a ridiculous thing to add, but maybe some people would be more into that than battling, in an MMO.
Pokemon already has a set up for players setting up little home bases and private homes, so players could get their little private homes to decorate and whatnot.
There'd be Bicycles for travelling, and you could use your Pokemon to Fly between cities and surf around, and use moves like Cut and Strength to explore and get places.
And the game already has some pretty deep battle strategy going on, what with how many types are in the game, all the different moves and weaknesses and strengths, and the items you can use in battle, status effects, and now Pokemon can carry a single item into battle, like berries or a small piece of equipment, and there's multi-pokemon battles rather than just 1v1, and Pokemon have built-in passive powers that activate "in a pinch"...it's a surprisingly deep game for how simple the concept is.
I'm just ranting at this point, but you get the idea, it has a lot of possibilities for being an amazing an MMO if Nintendo were to put forth the effort to make it happen. And if they do it right, keep it well-maintained, and update it frequently with new features, maybe new regions, releasing a new Pokemon for people to collect now and then (let's face it, they'll do that on their own...no way is Nintendo ever actually going to stop adding new versions), making balance changes..it could beat WoW. It would be more popular or at least compete with it. Not even Warhammer has been able to compete with WoW (even though everybody claimed it would before it was released).
The best part about the game, as far as PvP balance goes, is that you get to have six Pokemon on your team, and EVERY Pokemon has weaknesses and resistances. So there wouldn't be such a thing as an OP Pokemon. Every Pokemon has it's major, well-known weaknesses to exploit. Unlike in WoW where, if you're a class that gets destroyed by a certain other class, you're screwed. You can't just switch to another class and defeat them. To make things more crazy, it's not easy to predict what moves a Pokemon can actually use. For example, Jolteon typically learns the Pin Missle moves, which is actually a bug type move...and is super effective against Psychic types. So if you have a Psychic pokemon against Jolteon and didn't know that, you'd be in for a painful surprise!
And even then, Pokemon can still surpass those weaknesses with the right setup. So what if that fire pokemon is super effective against you...your sleep powder is keeping him in check, and the trainer has no Awakening!
I think it would be a fun MMO...and would be more popular than WoW. Hell, I'd play it.
1/14/2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
