EPTUsually at this point in a game, I would lapse into inactivity and eventually quit altogether. That process has repeated itself for quite a few games over the years (Maplestory, Flyff, Runescape, VirtuallyAnyOtherGameOutThere), and in fact it almost happened for a brief period when SWTOR came out. I played SWTOR almost exclusively over my Christmas break, but as my server population grew sparse, my thoughts began to go back to Starcraft. As evidenced by my experience today, there are a number of clear reasons I keep playing the game. For simplicity's sake, I'll explain the top three that come to mind.
First off, the game itself. I've been gaming since early middle school, and I've played a great number of games over the years. From the first Call of Duty to Runescape and Age of Empires, I would say I have a decent amount of gaming experience. However I have yet to meet a game quite like Starcraft 2. Based entirely on player skill, the game provides an easy to learn, almost impossible to master play style that allows for incredible and dynamic games. This revelation shocked my click-based Age of Empires experience, and it's what originally drew me into the game. Very few games I've played feel as balanced as Starcraft, and because of that balance there is never a feeling of an unjust loss. Sure you may feel a strategy is cheap, but there's always a reason you lost, and there's always room for improvement. Getting repeatedly mowed down by pros in Call of Duty didn't give me that feeling, nor did any of the other games I've played. The beauty of Starcraft is that (at least at lower levels) you really have nothing to blame but your own play. Sure you might rage that mutas/mules/sentries are imba, but when you go watch pro games, you find that those races can be countered, and aren't really as OP as you originally thought.
This brings me to my next point: the community. Compared to many of you, I'm a newcomer to the Starcraft scene. As last summer was winding down, I began to look for a game that would really challenge me. I was on a long (1 and a half month) vacation with my family to visit relatives, and I'd just bought a smartphone with 4G access. Before the vacation I'd enjoyed a lot of small Age of Empires 2 LANs with a few friends of mine, and RTS games were becoming a definite interest. The best player out of the small group of us had been a fan of Starcraft 2 for quite some time (he bought it on release I believe). I thought it'd be just like any other game though, and I didn't want to spend the money for a game I'd probably put down after a month or two. However he was still playing a year later, and I began to grow very curious. While I was on vacation, I began to text him about it, and look up more information online. The wealth of information astounded me, and I began to watch HD and Husky among others, reading guides on Team Liquid and the official forums, and generally gathering as much information as possible.
Arriving home, I bought the game asap, and then got introduced to Day[9]'s videos. This opened up a whole new aspect of the community, and I learned about the pro gaming scene, and eventually the hundreds of streamers. Now in any game this would be awesome, but the quality of the community is where the real difference comes in. As a game that takes a great deal of skill and knowledge, Starcraft tends to attract engineers, doctors, and other individuals who have a love for complex things. Add to that the gl hf and gg "manner" element of the community, and Starcraft unveils a whole new layer of attraction.
This "manner" element is especially prevalent on my next point of interest: The Ladder system. Now most ranking/matching systems I've messed with in the past have been rather abysmal experiences. Granted I don't have a great deal of experience with systems of the sort, but not only does the match up system work, there is a gl hf and gg in just about every game. Sure they might not always really mean it, but the very fact that it's there gives the game a whole different feel. Then occasionally you will really find someone who means it, and those experiences are the ones that keep you laddering and loving the game. The motivator for this blog was just such a match.
I was playing a few ladder matches, trying to use up the bonus pool I'd accumulated while away on vacation. Reading some guides on TL and SCV Rush had inspired me, and I decided to adopt some slightly new strategies in my gameplay. As I expected, trying a new build, my first game did not end up well, and I was a bit deflated by the loss. I didn't have a great deal of time to ladder before my next class, and I wanted to reach top 8 in my division again (was 12th at the time). So I queued for another match, and got a TvP. Since my strategy was a 2 rax FE with an early ghost timing, this was perfect, and I proceeded to (fail) at the build.
I was extremely late with my ghost academy, I threw away all my units in the attack, then forgot to make vikings and strung out my army across the middle. My opponent's army just happened to be moving at that same time, and he wiped out my entire force before I did virtually any damage. Now in a normal gaming community, I'd probably get laughed at: "Nice job, man. You trying to lose?" But instead my opponent uttered a sympathetic "ouch." We struck up a conversation of sorts over our various engages, and what could have been an incredibly frustrating match turned into a rather hilarious one. Starved for minerals, I tried to take out one of his expansions. Then I found out what he meant by "trying something new too." He had created a Mothership and 17 carriers, then proceeded to max out all air upgrades. By this time it was more than obvious that the game was over, but knowing the satisfaction of destroying a base, I asked him what he wanted me to do. He asked me to stay, and we proceeded to share some laughs about the destruction happening in my base. Trading ggs, I was about to ask him if he was done with the destruction when he left the game, giving me the win. Now it could be that that was purely accidental, he might've thought I'd already left, but given the overall feel of the match, I think he gave me the win as a thank you. He turned out to be a Top 25 Gold player, and with my bonus pool, I jumped up 10 ranks to land at the #2 spot in my division.
Even without the win, the match was probably one of the most enjoyable and memorable I've played so far on ladder. I was fighting a losing battle for most of the game, but I was having more fun than I usually do in a winning game. It's these sorts of games that keep me playing. The games when win or lose, I'm having a blast. These games can only happen with a game as well developed as Starcraft, and a community connected by the likes of Day[9], DJWheat and the pro gaming scene. It's a unique flavor in the gaming world, and one I think I'll be hunting for as long as my gaming career continues.
Sorry about such a long post, I tend to start out with one thing in mind, then go on to talk about a thousand others in what was supposed to be a short paragraph. If you're curious, you can download the replay here: http://drop.sc/130713 and here's the chat log:
+ Show Spoiler +
00:11 [All] Vronti: gl hf
14:17 [All] gylka: ouch
14:22 [All] Vronti: yeah lol
14:25 [All] Vronti: trying something new
17:33 [All] gylka: oh
17:40 [All] gylka: that hurts
17:56 [All] Vronti: not as much as mine >.<
19:00 [All] Vronti: xD
21:04 [All] Vronti: >.<
21:07 [All] Vronti: talk about out-expanded
21:21 [All] gylka: trying something new too
21:29 [All] Vronti: well it's working
23:37 [All] gylka:
23:59 [All] Vronti: ah ic
24:14 [All] gylka:
24:15 [All] Vronti: xD
24:26 [All] Vronti: should I gg, or do you want the satisfaction of destorying my stuff?
24:27 [All] gylka: alll upgrades: )
24:29 [All] Vronti: *destroying
24:35 [All] gylka: i
24:36 [All] Vronti: nice nice
24:40 [All] gylka: dont leave
24:41 [All] gylka:
24:50 [All] Vronti: xD kk
25:13 [All] Vronti: wow o.O \
25:14 [All] Vronti: rofl
25:37 [All] gylka: 17 cariers
25:42 [All] gylka: gg masn
25:44 [All] Vronti: vn
25:44 [All] gylka: man
25:46 [All] Vronti: gg yeah lol
Let me know what you guys think. Do you agree with these points, or do you have others you'd like to add? Also any suggestions on writing blog posts would be welcome. Normally I'd try to include pictures to break up the text, but at the moment I've got to run and I know this won't get posted if I try to delay. Plus there aren't really a ton of pictures that would be relevant, as I'm not talking about the game in particular.
TL;DR version:
3 reasons I play the game:
1. Skill-based very well-balanced game that is easy to play, hard to master.
2. The community is amazing and engaging, really adds a whole new level to the definition of a gaming community.
3. The ladder system works very well (in my opinion) and some great experiences can happen that keep you coming back for more (such as the replay I linked above).
