• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 00:24
CEST 06:24
KST 13:24
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
RSL Season 1 - Final Week6[ASL19] Finals Recap: Standing Tall10HomeStory Cup 27 - Info & Preview18Classic wins Code S Season 2 (2025)16Code S RO4 & Finals Preview: herO, Rogue, Classic, GuMiho0
Community News
Firefly given lifetime ban by ESIC following match-fixing investigation17$25,000 Streamerzone StarCraft Pro Series announced7Weekly Cups (June 30 - July 6): Classic Doubles7[BSL20] Non-Korean Championship 4x BSL + 4x China10Flash Announces Hiatus From ASL76
StarCraft 2
General
RSL Revival patreon money discussion thread The GOAT ranking of GOAT rankings Weekly Cups (June 30 - July 6): Classic Doubles Server Blocker RSL Season 1 - Final Week
Tourneys
RSL: Revival, a new crowdfunded tournament series FEL Cracov 2025 (July 27) - $8000 live event $5,100+ SEL Season 2 Championship (SC: Evo) $25,000 Streamerzone StarCraft Pro Series announced Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament
Strategy
How did i lose this ZvP, whats the proper response Simple Questions Simple Answers
Custom Maps
External Content
Mutation # 481 Fear and Lava Mutation # 480 Moths to the Flame Mutation # 479 Worn Out Welcome Mutation # 478 Instant Karma
Brood War
General
BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Flash Announces Hiatus From ASL BW General Discussion A cwal.gg Extension - Easily keep track of anyone Script to open stream directly using middle click
Tourneys
2025 ACS Season 2 Qualifier [Megathread] Daily Proleagues Small VOD Thread 2.0 Last Minute Live-Report Thread Resource!
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers I am doing this better than progamers do.
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Path of Exile CCLP - Command & Conquer League Project The PlayStation 5 Nintendo Switch Thread
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine The Accidental Video Game Porn Archive Stop Killing Games - European Citizens Initiative
Fan Clubs
SKT1 Classic Fan Club! Maru Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! [Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread [\m/] Heavy Metal Thread
Sports
2024 - 2025 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion NBA General Discussion TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 NHL Playoffs 2024
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Men Take Risks, Women Win Ga…
TrAiDoS
momentary artworks from des…
tankgirl
from making sc maps to makin…
Husyelt
StarCraft improvement
iopq
Trip to the Zoo
micronesia
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 543 users

Taking the Fun Out of StarCraft II

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
1 2 3 4 Next All
Aetherial
Profile Joined August 2010
Australia917 Posts
April 22 2011 11:19 GMT
#1
Interesting interview with Dustin Browder, lead designer for StarCraft II.


The lead designer, who previously worked on real-time strategy games in Electronic Arts' Command & Conquer series, said he had to make creative adjustments when he joined the StarCraft II team. For him, the main hurdle was learning how to take some of the "fun" stuff out of the game.

"It took me a year and a half to figure this out," said Browder, an enthusiastic designer who might also be around the top 10 percent in the world in terms of speed-talking.

"I kept trying to shove stuff in that was fun but wasn't a sport," he said. "And everybody would tell me 'no,' and I wouldn't understand why. And I thought they were all jerks. I didn't know, right? I couldn't figure it out."


http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/34075/Interview_Making_The_Fun_Meant_Taking_Out_The_Fun_In_StarCraft_II.php
surraymb
Profile Joined July 2010
Austria114 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-04-22 11:23:11
April 22 2011 11:22 GMT
#2
So Dustin Browder finally admits he has a problem figuring out what the starcraft community wants?
Big surprise there...

Thank god for those other people telling him 'no'. Should be more of those around him telling him 'no' to everything he proposes.
BenKen
Profile Joined August 2009
United States860 Posts
April 22 2011 11:26 GMT
#3
Lol, this is such troll bait. The article is mostly fluff actually. It would have been interesting to hear about all the "fun" things he thought up that got shot down, or what the development team's philosophy on what makes something a "sport".
I deadlift for Aiur
NikonTC
Profile Joined September 2010
United Kingdom418 Posts
April 22 2011 11:28 GMT
#4
On April 22 2011 20:22 surraymb wrote:
So Dustin Browder finally admits he has a problem figuring out what the starcraft community wants?
Big surprise there...

Thank god for those other people telling him 'no'. Should be more of those around him telling him 'no' to everything he proposes.


the issue is actually that the starcraft community doesnt know what it wants.
"IdrA crushes the marine push, absolutely demolishes this 2 rax play. Would not be suprised to see a GG from IdrA at any moment" Day[9]
BLinD-RawR
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
ALLEYCAT BLUES50118 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-04-22 11:40:59
April 22 2011 11:29 GMT
#5
this is absolute troll bait.Nobody talks like that in a serious interview.

Some of the funstuff might actually need skill...but you know I think that Wings of liberty is like initiation I think the Expansions will weed out people who break because they can't use X unit as efficiently as the pros.
Brood War EICWoo Jung Ho, never forget.| Twitter: @BLinDRawR
TL+ Member
Kokosaft
Profile Joined April 2010
Germany172 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-04-22 11:30:27
April 22 2011 11:29 GMT
#6
actually he said in several interview, that changing from C&C to SC was hard for him - what makes totally sense if you compare those games ...

the philosophy of blizzard is and was to have less stuff in the game to have more overall fun - having tons of "fun" units doesn't necessarily mean the game is fun as a whole

EDIT: 100th!
quentel
Profile Joined March 2011
349 Posts
April 22 2011 11:30 GMT
#7
On April 22 2011 20:22 surraymb wrote:


Thank god for those other people telling him 'no'. Should be more of those around him telling him 'no' to everything he proposes.

kedinik
Profile Joined September 2010
United States352 Posts
April 22 2011 11:33 GMT
#8
"Take out the fun" as in "remove zany imbalanced over the top units and powers like you have in C&C games."

It's a very reasonable thing to say.
Tyree
Profile Joined November 2010
1508 Posts
April 22 2011 11:34 GMT
#9
The article is actually pro esports if anything, he had some ideas for "Fun" units but the team is there to keep everyone in check of their vision for SC2.

It is a positive interview and that Blizzard takes SC2 seriously and wont introduce machine gun wielding dolphins and monkeys with grenades
★ Top Gun ★
cascades
Profile Blog Joined October 2009
Singapore6122 Posts
April 22 2011 11:36 GMT
#10
A year on, I still don't know why Dustin Browder of all people was hired.
HS: cascades#1595 || LoL: stoppin
AcrossFiveJulys
Profile Blog Joined September 2005
United States3612 Posts
April 22 2011 11:37 GMT
#11
Too bad warpgate still made it through the beta :\ reapers were bad and were essentially nerfed out of the game, but warpgate is still what's wrong with the game right now and I guarantee was one of Browder's "cool" ideas.
Dr. ROCKZO
Profile Joined May 2010
New Zealand396 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-04-22 11:45:21
April 22 2011 11:38 GMT
#12
An interesting interview, I wish it had focussed a little more on what Blizzard has done to make the game fun, instead of unintentionally implying that they're trying as hard as they can to make the game not fun.

Plus I'd love to get some more unit concepts too.
or something
HuHEN
Profile Joined February 2010
United Kingdom514 Posts
April 22 2011 11:38 GMT
#13
Hes really talking about the "fun" in novelty, which only lasts a short time, the fun of a sport is that it only gets more interesting the deeper you go, and it has no clear skill ceiling.
eviltomahawk
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States11135 Posts
April 22 2011 11:39 GMT
#14
On April 22 2011 20:34 Tyree wrote:
The article is actually pro esports if anything, he had some ideas for "Fun" units but the team is there to keep everyone in check of their vision for SC2.

It is a positive interview and that Blizzard takes SC2 seriously and wont introduce machine gun wielding dolphins and monkeys with grenades

Hey, don't hate on my Allied combat dolphins and Soviet giant squid, yo!

Jokes aside, although the current iteration of SC2 does feel slightly watered down compared to the pre-release material, it's quite mind-boggling to think about where we would be if all those over-the-top imba units made it into the final product. Would it end up like BW where the imbalances actually balance out each other, or would it just end up looking like plain bad design?

Anyways, nice interview nonetheless. Making a Starcraft game is hard, and it's interesting to hear that he admits its difficulty.
ㅇㅅㅌㅅ
Eeevil
Profile Joined May 2008
Netherlands359 Posts
April 22 2011 11:51 GMT
#15
When I read Bowder talk about fun units I see Protoss on hooverboards. Good thing they reigned him in just for that.
Thank god for those other people telling him 'no'. Should be more of those around him telling him 'no' to everything he proposes
.
Do you think SC2 is a bad game ? In the end he adapted his view and did a great job considering the legendary status of the original.
Dance like a butterfly, sting like an Intercontinental Ballistic Nuclear Missle.
Bobster
Profile Joined January 2011
Germany3075 Posts
April 22 2011 11:57 GMT
#16
On April 22 2011 20:33 kedinik wrote:
"Take out the fun" as in "remove zany imbalanced over the top units and powers like you have in C&C games."

It's a very reasonable thing to say.

Basically.
ooni
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
Australia1498 Posts
April 22 2011 12:00 GMT
#17
On April 22 2011 20:28 NikonTC wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 22 2011 20:22 surraymb wrote:
So Dustin Browder finally admits he has a problem figuring out what the starcraft community wants?
Big surprise there...

Thank god for those other people telling him 'no'. Should be more of those around him telling him 'no' to everything he proposes.


the issue is actually that the starcraft community doesnt know what it wants.

The issue is grouping 1 million players like you did. Of course the community will not agree on what it wants, there are a lot of ppl in it. =_=
Hi!
sluggaslamoo
Profile Blog Joined November 2009
Australia4494 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-04-22 12:05:06
April 22 2011 12:04 GMT
#18
I dunno, when i think fun, I think of 2 port wraith, 1 gate reaver, defilers, hold lurker, medic walls, etc.
Come play Android Netrunner - http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=409008
Baarn
Profile Joined April 2010
United States2702 Posts
April 22 2011 12:06 GMT
#19
On April 22 2011 20:28 NikonTC wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 22 2011 20:22 surraymb wrote:
So Dustin Browder finally admits he has a problem figuring out what the starcraft community wants?
Big surprise there...

Thank god for those other people telling him 'no'. Should be more of those around him telling him 'no' to everything he proposes.


the issue is actually that the starcraft community doesnt know what it wants.


Oh I think we know what we want.
There's no S in KT. :P
pandaminion
Profile Joined October 2010
United States270 Posts
April 22 2011 12:07 GMT
#20
e-Sports aren't meant to be "fun," they're meant to be played competitively. You can play for fun, but don't expect anyone to give you money for it.

Want to make Starcraft "fun?" Take out harrassment. Harassment is annoying; no one sees mutalisks in their mineral line and thinks to themselves, "Awesome!" But harassment is part of what makes Starcraft worthy of being called a sport. If we wanted the game to be "fun," they should just institute a magical barrier that stops all aggression for the first twenty minutes, so that Starcraft is reduced to a bunch of things exploding after that 20 minute mark. Only thing is, that wouldn't be fun after a few days...
1 2 3 4 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 5h 36m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
Nina 220
RuFF_SC2 130
StarCraft: Brood War
PianO 1953
Leta 416
Noble 27
Zeus 0
Dota 2
NeuroSwarm125
League of Legends
JimRising 1062
Counter-Strike
Stewie2K641
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor225
Other Games
summit1g11870
WinterStarcraft454
ViBE241
ToD3
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick45801
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 16 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Berry_CruncH277
• Adnapsc2 12
• OhrlRock 1
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• Doublelift3741
• Jankos1655
• masondota2407
Upcoming Events
Sparkling Tuna Cup
5h 36m
RSL Revival
5h 36m
Classic vs Clem
FEL
10h 36m
Elazer vs Spirit
Gerald vs MaNa
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
13h 36m
Bonyth vs Dewalt
QiaoGege vs Dewalt
Hawk vs Bonyth
Sziky vs Fengzi
Mihu vs Zhanhun
QiaoGege vs Zhanhun
Fengzi vs Mihu
Wardi Open
1d 6h
Replay Cast
2 days
WardiTV European League
2 days
PiGosaur Monday
2 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
3 days
Replay Cast
3 days
[ Show More ]
The PondCast
4 days
Replay Cast
4 days
Epic.LAN
5 days
CranKy Ducklings
6 days
Epic.LAN
6 days
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
6 days
Bonyth vs Sziky
Dewalt vs Hawk
Hawk vs QiaoGege
Sziky vs Dewalt
Mihu vs Bonyth
Zhanhun vs QiaoGege
QiaoGege vs Fengzi
Liquipedia Results

Completed

KCM Race Survival 2025 Season 2
HSC XXVII
NC Random Cup

Ongoing

JPL Season 2
BSL 2v2 Season 3
Acropolis #3
CSL 17: 2025 SUMMER
Copa Latinoamericana 4
Jiahua Invitational
2025 ACS Season 2: Qualifier
BSL20 Non-Korean Championship
CSLPRO Last Chance 2025
Championship of Russia 2025
RSL Revival: Season 1
Murky Cup #2
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
ESL Impact League Season 7
IEM Dallas 2025
PGL Astana 2025
Asian Champions League '25
BLAST Rivals Spring 2025
MESA Nomadic Masters

Upcoming

CSL Xiamen Invitational
CSL Xiamen Invitational: ShowMatche
2025 ACS Season 2
CSLPRO Chat StarLAN 3
BSL Season 21
K-Championship
uThermal 2v2 Main Event
SEL Season 2 Championship
FEL Cracov 2025
Esports World Cup 2025
Underdog Cup #2
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
IEM Cologne 2025
FISSURE Playground #1
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.