Homework halp [SC related]

The positive aspects of StarCraft include three distinct and balanced races, intuitive controls, multiple options of strategy, and simple gameplay. Having three distinct and balanced races is good for a real time strategy game because it introduces variety in gameplay. Due to the variety in gameplay three races provides, strategies are exceedingly varied and allow for different styles of play as well as many different strategies which the player can implore. Smooth and easy controls provide the player with delay free commands allowing total unit and economy control. The overall gameplay is simple; describing StarCraft can be summed up in two words “resource management”. The objective of the game is to defeat your opponent; this is done by securing resources and ultimately using the resources to build an army and increasing economy. Generally learning StarCraft is easy because of the simple gameplay.

Every game has its faults and StarCraft is no exception. StarCraft has a relatively steep learning curve, archaic interface, poor unit AI and noticeable bugs in the engine. The steep learning curve turns off beginners which is bad for community development. In addition, compared to modern games, the interface is considered outdated and limits the amount a player can do. Lastly, noticeable bugs are apparent in the current engine, some of which are directly used as strategy (stacked units) and some of which are banned in competitive play or overall frowned upon.

In comparison to other games in the real-time strategy genre, it sets a standard for balanced gameplay and depth. The primary game from which StarCraft is influenced from is Warhammer 40,000. Warhammer originally presented the industry with the three factions named; The Imperium of Man, Tyranids, and the Elders. StarCraft’s three races; Terran, Protoss, Zerg closely resemble the Warhammer factions to the degree where it was considered copyright infringement. Another game which influenced StarCraft was Blizzard’s earlier RTS Warcraft II, WarCraft II provided the basis for StarCraft’s interface and units to the point where early on in its development it was criticized for its lack of technological improvement and was dubbed “Orcs in space”.

StarCraft’s impact can be compared to the impact games such as Mario, Legend of Zelda, and Half-life in that it sets industry standards for it’s respective genre. It has also impacted society in the country of South Korea, where it rivals the popularity of sports, has a fan base of over 5 million, and has two channels dedicated to the broadcast of professional games.

In the single-player campaign, In multiplayer games, the user has many choices to make and is only limited by what they can do mechanically, strategies they can imagine which are viable, and what race they choose. Controlling the gameplay involves effective use of units available to the respective races and smart strategic play which results in map and resource control.