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The official logo of the StarCraft franchise

StarCraft is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney, and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series centers on a galactic struggle for dominance between three species—the adaptable and mobile Terrans, the insectoid Zerg, and the enigmatic Protoss—in a distant part of the Milky Way galaxy known as the Koprulu Sector at the beginning of the 26th century. The series debuted with the video game StarCraft in 1998. Since then it has grown to include a number of other games as well as eight novelizations, two Amazing Stories articles, a board game, and other licensed merchandise such as collectible statues and toys.

Blizzard Entertainment began planning StarCraft in 1995, with a development team led by Metzen and Pinney. The game uses the Warcraft II game engine and debuted at E3 1996. StarCraft also marks the creation of Blizzard Entertainment's film department; the game introduced high quality cinematics integral to the storyline of the series. Most of the original development team for StarCraft returned to work on the game's official expansion pack, Brood War; the game's development began shortly after StarCraft was released. In 2001, StarCraft: Ghost began development under Nihilistic Software. Unlike the previous real-time strategy games in the series, Ghost was to be a stealth-action game. After three years of development, work on the game was postponed in 2004. Development of StarCraft II began in 2003; the game was later announced on 19 May 2007 and has yet to be released.

The original game and its official expansion have been praised as one of the benchmark real-time strategy games of its time. The series has gathered a solid following around the world, particularly in South Korea, where professional players and teams participate in matches, earn sponsorships, and compete in televised matches.[1] As of 31 May 2007, StarCraft and Brood War have sold almost 10 million copies combined.[2]

Story

See also: Species of StarCraft, Characters of StarCraft, and Locations in the StarCraft series

The story focuses on the activities of the three species in a part of the Milky Way known as the Koprulu Sector. Millenia before any of the events of the games, a species known as the Xel'Naga genetically engineer the Protoss[3] and later the Zerg[4] in attempts to create pure beings. These experiments backfire and the Xel'Naga are largely destroyed by the Zerg.[4] Decades before the beginning of StarCraft in 2499, the hardline international government of Earth, the United Earth Directorate (UED), commissions a colonization program as part of a solution to overpopulation. However, the computers automating the colony ships malfunction, propelling the Terran colonists far off course, arriving at the edge of Protoss space.[5] Out of contact with Earth, they form various factions to maintain their interests. The Protoss are intrigued by the behavior and mentality of the Terrans, remaining hidden to examine the humans and protecting them from other threats without their knowledge. However, the Zerg begin to target the Terrans for assimilation[4] in its quest to assimilate the Protoss to become a perfect race, leading the Protoss to attack tainted Terran colonies to contain the Zerg infestation.[6]

StarCraft begins just days after the first of these attacks, where the predominant Terran government, the Confederacy of Man, is in a state of panic as it comes under attack by both the Zerg, the Protoss as well as increasing rebel activity led by Arcturus Mengsk against its rule. The Confederacy eventually succumbs to the rebel Sons of Korhal when it uses Confederate technology to lure the Zerg into attacking the Confederate capital Tarsonis. During the assault on the capital, Arcturus Mengsk abandons his psychic second-in-command, Sarah Kerrigan, to the Zerg, who capture and infest her. This betrayal causes Mengsk's other commander, Jim Raynor, to desert him with a small army. Mengsk goes on to create the Terran Dominion with him as its emperor. The Zerg are then attacked on their primary hive cluster by Protoss forces commanded by Tassadar and the dark templar Zeratul. Through assassinating a Zerg cerebrate, Zeratul inadvertently allow the Overmind, the Zerg's supreme leader, access to the location of the Protoss homeworld Aiur. The Zerg promptly invade in an effort to complete their quest for perfection. Pursued by his own people as a heretic for siding with the dark templar, Tassadar returns with Zeratul to the Protoss homeworld. With the assistance of Raynor and the templar Fenix, Tassadar is able to launch an attack on the Overmind and ultimately sacrifices himself to kill the creature.[6]

In Brood War, the Protoss are now led by Zeratul and Artanis. They begin to evacuate the surviving population of Aiur to the dark templar homeworld of Shakuras under a fragile alliance between the two untrusting branches of the Protoss. On the dark templar homeworld, they are misled by Kerrigan into attacking the Zerg in order to advance Kerrigan's quest to secure power. This deception comes after she reveals that a new Overmind is beginning to mature. Meanwhile, Earth decides to take action in the sector, and sends a fleet to capture the Terran Dominion and enslave the Overmind. The UED is successful in capturing the Dominion capital and enslaving the Overmind, but due to the efforts of a double agent working for Kerrigan, Samir Duran, it is unable to capture Mengsk. Kerrigan, allying with Mengsk, Fenix and Raynor, launches a campaign against the UED, recapturing the Dominion capital. However, she turns against her allies in vengeance for abandoning her to the Zerg, and Fenix is killed as a result. She later is able to blackmail Zeratul into killing the new Overmind, giving her full control over the Zerg. After defeating a retaliatory attack by the Protoss, Dominion and the UED, consequently destroying the last of the UED fleet, Kerrigan and her Zerg broods become the dominant power in the sector.[7]

Games

File:StarCraft CD covers.JPG
The covers of StarCraft, Insurrection, Brood War and Retribution (clockwise from the left)

The StarCraft series includes a core set of titles which carry the main storyline. These games were released in chronological order, with each new title following on from the events that are depicted in the previous title. As of August 2008, the main series consists of the original video game and its official expansion pack, with the sequel still in development. All the games in the main series are real-time strategy games,[8][9][10] where the player views the events as a military commander for each of the three species. In addition, two spin-off titles have been released; these are authorized expansion packs to the original which focus on other characters and settings based at the same time as the main storyline.[11] Like the main series, these two titles are also real-time strategy games. A final spin-off title, still in development, is an action-stealth game where the player views most of the action from the protagonist's third-person perspective.[12]

Main series

StarCraft, released for Windows on 31 March 1998,[13] is the first video game in the StarCraft series. A science fiction real-time strategy game, StarCraft is set in a distant sector of the Milky Way galaxy. A Mac OS version of the game was released by Blizzard Entertainment in March 1999. A Nintendo 64 port including StarCraft, Brood War and a new secret mission "Resurrection IV"[14] was released in the United States on 13 June 2000.[15] The game's story revolves around the appearance of two alien races in Terran space, and each race's attempts to survive and adapt over the others. The player assumes three roles through the course of the three campaigns: a Confederate colonial governor who becomes a revolutionary commander, a Zerg cerebrate pushing forward the species' doctrine of assimilation, and a Protoss fleet executor tasked with defending the Protoss from the Zerg. StarCraft soon gained critical acclaim, winning numerous awards,[16] including being labelled "the best real-time strategy game ever made" and being ranked the seventh best game of all time by IGN in both 2003 and 2005,[17][18] and the eleventh best game in 2007.[19]

StarCraft: Brood War is the official expansion pack for StarCraft, developed by Blizzard Entertainment and Saffire. Released for the PC and Mac OS in the United States on 30 November 1998,[9] the expansion directly continues the events of StarCraft. The expansion's story continues only days after the conclusion of the original game. It starts with the Protoss' struggle to ensure the survival of their species and continues with the intervention of the United Earth Directorate into local Terran affairs. The livelihood of both the Protoss and the previously silent Earth government is then threatened by the ever-increasing power of Sarah Kerrigan and her Zerg brood. In addition, the expansion introduces new features and improvements. A total of seven new units with different functions and abilities are included, the artificial intelligence behavior was modified, new graphical tilesets for terrain were added and the game's level editor received improved scripting tools to facilitate cut scenes with the in-game engine. The expansion received critical praise for fixing various balance issues with the original game,[20] development attention on par with that of a full game[21] and for continuing with single player campaigns that were heavily story-driven.[22]

StarCraft II is the official sequel to StarCraft under development for the PC and Mac OS X by Blizzard Entertainment. The game was announced at the Worldwide Invitational in South Korea on 19 May 2007 with a pre-rendered cinematic cut scene trailer and a gameplay demonstration of the Protoss.[23][24] At the BlizzCon event of August 2007, a further selection of gameplay demonstrations regarding the Terrans and the new features of the single player campaigns were shown.[25] The game incorporates a new 3D graphics engine and adds new features such as the Havok physics engine.[26] StarCraft II may also incorporate DirectX 10 level effects.[27] The story of the game continues from four years after the conclusion of Brood War.[28] Blizzard Entertainment is aiming for the game to be released in 2009.[29][30]

Spin-off titles

The success of StarCraft has spurred the creation of two authorized add-on titles to StarCraft, as well as a deviation into genres other than real-time strategy. Insurrection was the first add-on pack released for StarCraft. Although developed and published by Aztech New Media, it is authorized by Blizzard Entertainment.[11] It was released for the PC on 31 July 1998.[31] The expansion's story focuses on a Confederate colony during the course of the first campaign of StarCraft. As in StarCraft, the player takes control of each race in three separate campaigns. In the first campaign, Terran colonists attempt to defend themselves from the Zerg invasion of the sector as well as from a rising insurgency. The second campaign has the player directing a Protoss task force sent to clear the Zerg infestation of the colony by any means necessary. In the final campaign the player assumes the role of a Zerg cerebrate, whose goal is to crush all opposition on the surface. The expansion contains around 30 new campaign missions and over 100 new multiplayer maps,[32] although it does not include new content such as units and graphical terrain tilesets.[11] Insurrection was criticized by reviewers for lacking the quality of the original game[32] and it is not widely available. Although the add-on is authorized by Blizzard Entertainment, they offer no comment on support or availability of the game.[11]

Retribution is the second of the two authorized add-on packs released for StarCraft. The add-on was developed by Stardock and published by WizardWorks Software.[11] It was released for the PC in late 1998. The game is set during the second campaign in StarCraft, revolving around the acquisition of a crystal of immense power connected to the Xel'Naga. Divided into three campaigns, the player assumes the roles of a Protoss fleet executor, the commander of a Dominion task force and a Zerg cerebrate, all tasked with retrieving the crystal from a Dominion colony and getting it off the planet as quickly as possible. As with its predecessor, Retribution does not include any new gameplay features beyond its single player campaigns and an abundance of multiplayer levels. The add-on was not received with critical support, and instead was regarded as average but at least challenging.[33] Retribution is not widely available, and Blizzard Entertainment offers no comment regarding support or the availability of Retribution despite authorizing the add-on.[11]

StarCraft: Ghost is a tactical stealth game for consoles developed under supervision of Blizzard Entertainment. Announced in 2002,[34] the game was constantly delayed due to various issues, most notably including a change of development team from Nihilistic Software to Swingin' Ape Studios in July 2004.[35] As updates for the game became less frequent and the graphics and game mechanics more outdated, suspicion began to grow that Blizzard would cancel the game.[36] On 24 March 2006, Blizzard indefinitely postponed the game's development.[37] The story of the game is based around Nova, a psychic assassin in the employ of the Terran Dominion. Although frequently used as an example of development hell, Blizzard Entertainment's Rob Pardo has indicated that he would like the game to be completed in the future,[38] and Blizzard Entertainment refuses to list the game as having been cancelled.[39]

Development

Chris Metzen, along with James Phinney, led the design of StarCraft and created the series' fictional universe

Blizzard Entertainment began planning development on StarCraft in 1995, shortly after the beginning of development for Diablo.[40] The development was led by Chris Metzen and James Phinney, who also created the game's fictional universe. Using the Warcraft II game engine as a base, StarCraft made its debut at E3 1996.[41] The game's success led to the development of two authorized add-ons, which were both released in 1998. However, neither of the two add-ons were particularly well received by critics. StarCraft also marked the debut of Blizzard Entertainment's film department.[42] Previously, cinematic cut scenes were seen as simply gap fillers that often deviated from the game, but with StarCraft and later Brood War introducing high quality cinematics integral to the storyline of the series, Blizzard was able to change this perception and become one of the first game companies to raise the standard regarding such cut scenes.[42]

StarCraft's success also inspired third-party developer Microstar Software to release an unauthorized add-on, entitled Stellar Forces, in May 1998. Blizzard Entertainment consequently filed a lawsuit against Microstar for selling the add-on, arguing that as the product was unauthorized and created using StarCraft's level editing software, it was a breach of the end user license agreement.[43]

We believe that we must aggressively combat the sale and distribution of unauthorized add-ons associated with our properties. In our opinion, Stellar Forces meets neither Blizzard's standards nor our customers' expectations. As gamers ourselves, we feel obligated to prevent the sale of unauthorized add-on products that do not add value to the StarCraft experience.

— Blizzard Entertainment[43]

In November 1998, Blizzard Entertainment won the court case against Microstar Software. In the settlement, Microstar agreed to pay an undisclosed amount in punitive damages and to destroy all remaining copies of Stellar Forces in its possession, as well as to formally apologize to Blizzard Entertainment.[44]

After the release of the first two add-on packs, Blizzard Entertainment announced the official expansion pack to StarCraft, entitled Brood War.[45] Most of the team at Blizzard Entertainment responsible for StarCraft returned to work on Brood War. Development on Brood War began shortly after StarCraft's release, and Blizzard Entertainment were assisted by members of Saffire, who were contracted for a variety of tasks comprising of programming and design for levels, visuals and audio effects.[46]

In 2001, StarCraft: Ghost began development under Nihilistic Software,[47] with the aim of releasing the game for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube during late 2003. Unlike previous real-time strategy StarCraft titles, Ghost was to be a tactical third-person action game. Although the press was positive about the video game console direction taken by Ghost,[48] the game was consistently delayed, and during the third quarter of 2004, Nihilistic Software discontinued their work with the project.[49] Blizzard stated that Nihilistic Software had completed the tasks it had been contracted for and that the game would be delivered on time.[50] StarCraft II was announced on 19 May 2007, nearly a decade after the original, at the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Seoul, South Korea.[23][24] StarCraft II is being developed, under the codename Medusa,[51] for concurrent release on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Mac OS X. Blizzard has not yet announced a release date.[2] Development on the game began in 2003, shortly after Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne was released.[52]

Adaptations

Novelizations

The StarCraft Archive cover

The StarCraft series is supported by eight novelizations, with at least two more in the works, all published by Simon & Schuster. At BlizzCon 2007, Chris Metzen stated that he hoped to novelize the entirety of StarCraft and Brood War into a definitive text-based story. The first novel, StarCraft: Uprising, was written by Micky Neilson,[53] a Blizzard Entertainment employee, and originally released only as an e-book in December 2000.[53] The novel follows the origins of the character Sarah Kerrigan. The second novel, entitled StarCraft: Liberty's Crusade, serves as an adaptation of the first campaign of StarCraft, following on a journalist following a number of the key Terran characters in the series. Written by Jeff Grubb and published in March 2001,[54] it was the first StarCraft novel to be released in paperback.[54] StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga, published in July 2001[55] is the third novel, written by Kevin Anderson under the pseudonym Gabriel Mesta.[55] It serves as a link between StarCraft and Brood War. The fantasy author Tracy Hickman was brought in to write the fourth novel,[56] StarCraft: Speed of Darkness, which was published in June 2002.[56] Speed of Darkness is written from the viewpoint of a Confederate marine during the early stages of StarCraft. The first four novels, including the e-book Uprising, were later re-released as a single anthology entitled The StarCraft Archive in November 2007.[57]

A fifth novel entitled StarCraft: Queen of Blades was published in June 2006.[58] Written by Aaron S. Rosenberg,[58] it is a novelization of the second campaign in StarCraft from the perspective of Jim Raynor. This was followed in November 2006[59] by StarCraft Ghost: Nova, a book focusing on the early origins of the character of Nova from the postponed StarCraft: Ghost game. Written by Keith R.A. DeCandido,[59] the novel was meant to accompany the release of StarCraft: Ghost, but was continued despite the postponement of the game. In 2007 Christie Golden, an author whose previous work included novels in Blizzard's Warcraft series,[60] was brought in to write a trilogy entitled the StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga.[61][62] The trilogy acts as a link between StarCraft and its sequel StarCraft II. The first installment, Firstborn being published in May 2007[61] and Shadow Hunters, the second novel, being published in November 2007.[62] The final part of the trilogy, Twilight will be released in September 2008.[63] Two more upcoming novels have been announced: I, Mengsk by Graham McNeill[64] and Spectres, which will be a sequel to DeCandido's Nova.[65]

In addition to these, Blizzard Entertainment authorized two short stories in Amazing Stories magazine, entitled StarCraft: Revelations and StarCraft: Hybrid.[66] Revelations was authored by series creator Chris Metzen and Sam Moore, a Blizzard employee, and was featured on the cover of the 1999 spring edition with art by Blizzard's art director Samwise Didier.[66] Hybrid was written by Micky Neilson and again was accompanied by artwork by Didier; the short story was published in the spring edition of 2000.[67] At New York Comic-Con in 2008, TokyoPop announced that they would be producing a number of StarCraft graphic novels. Two series were announced: StarCraft: Frontline, which will be a series of short story anthologies, and Ghost Academy, which will be written by Keith R.A. DeCandido and follow several characters, such as Nova, during their training as psychic assassins called ghost agents.[68]

Merchandise

A number of action figures and collectable statues based upon the characters and units in StarCraft have been produced by ToyCom.[69][70] A number of model kits, made by Academy Hobby Model Kits, were also produced, displaying 1/30 scale versions of the marine[71] and the hydralisk.[72] In addition, Blizzard Entertainment teamed up with Fantasy Flight Games to create a board game based in the StarCraft universe.[73] Blizzard Entertainment also licensed Wizards of the Coast to produce an Alternity based game entitled StarCraft Adventures.[74]

Reception and cultural impact

A StarCraft match in South Korea, televised by MBCGame
Aggregate review scores
Game Metacritic Game Rankings
StarCraft 88%[75] (PC)
80%[76] (N64)
93%[77] (PC)
77%[78] (N64)
Insurrection —
48%[79]
Retribution —
—[80]
StarCraft: Brood War —
96%[77]
See also: StarCraft professional competition

The StarCraft series has been a commercial success. After its release, StarCraft became the best-selling PC game for that year, selling over 1.5 million copies worldwide.[81] In the next decade, StarCraft sold over 9.5 million copies across the globe, with 4.5 million of these being sold in South Korea.[82] Since the initial release of StarCraft, Blizzard Entertainment reported that its Battle.net online multiplayer service grew by 800 percent.[83] StarCraft remains one of the most popular online games in the world.[84][85] After its release, StarCraft rapidly grew in popularity in South Korea, establishing a successful pro-gaming scene.[86] Pro-gamers in South Korea are media celebrities and StarCraft games broadcast over three television channels dedicated to the professional gaming scene.[87] StarCraft has won numerous Game of the Year awards,[88] is often described as one the best real-time strategy games made,[89] and is widely credited with popularizing the use of distinct and unique sides—as opposed to sides of equal ability and strength—in real-time strategy games.[17]

Although Insurrection and Retribution were not particularly well received,[79] StarCraft: Brood War generally received very positive reviews, with an aggregate Game Rankings score of 96%.[77] The magazine PC Zone gave Brood War a short but flattering review, describing it as having "definitely been worth the wait" and also drew note to the cinematic cut scenes, stating that they "actually feel like part of the story rather than an afterthought."[90] IGN stated that Brood War's enhancements were "enough to enrich the core gameplay without losing the flavor"[91] while GameSpot noted that the expansion was developed with the same level of care as the full game.[92] StarCraft, along with Brood War, remains one of the most popular online games in the world.[93]

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