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StarCraft (video game)

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StarCraft
Front cover of the StarCraft installation CD
Developer(s)Blizzard Entertainment
Publisher(s)Blizzard Entertainment
Designer(s)Blizzard Entertainment
Platform(s)Windows, Mac OS, Mac OS X, Nintendo 64
ReleaseUnited States April 1, 1998 (Windows)
Genre(s)Real-time strategy
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer
For the racehorse, see Starcraft (horse).

StarCraft is a real-time strategy computer game by Blizzard Entertainment. Introduced in 1998, it was the best-selling computer game in that year and won the Origins Award for Best Strategy Computer Game of 1998. Blizzard estimated in 2005 that 9 million copies of StarCraft and its expansion pack, StarCraft: Brood War had been sold since its release.[1] The game has achieved an international cult-like status in the computer gaming world, especially in its online multiplayer form.[2] It is a rare case of a game remaining relevant and popular in its original form many years after publication.

Although in a science fiction setting, StarCraft is broadly similar to Blizzard's popular game Warcraft II. Due to criticism of early development versions, Blizzard tried to steer the game away from being seen as "Warcraft in Space," eventually rewriting the entire game engine. The game's main storyline follows a war amongst three galactic species: the strong, stable human Terrans, the hive mind-sharing insectoid Zerg, and the psychic humanoid Protoss warriors. It was initially released for the PC platform in 1998; a Macintosh version of the game was released in 1999. Starcraft was also later ported to the Nintendo 64.

Though a best-seller all over the world, the game is especially popular in South Korea, with nationally recognized tournaments, training groups, professional players, teams, and televised cable-access competitions that often broadcast live tournaments.

Basic gameplay

Main article: Gameplay of StarCraft

Starcraft's gameplay centers on acquisition and control of resources, which are necessary to construct combat units and buildings. StarCraft features two kinds of resources: minerals (required for all units) and Vespene gas (required for more advanced units and upgrades). Minerals appear as blue crystalline formations protruding from the ground and are 'harvested' or 'mined' by worker units (SCV for Terran, Drone for Zerg, Probe for Protoss) while Vespene gas appears as a geyser with green clouds erupting from it, and a certain structure (Refinery for Terrans, Extractor for Zerg, Assimilator for Protoss) must be constructed upon it before SCVs/Drones/Probes can harvest Vespene Gas from it. In addition, players can create only a limited number of units (with the exception of the Zerg Overlord which is counted as a building for "supply/support" purposes): each unit has a "supply/support" rating roughly correlated with that unit's combat strength, and players must maintain enough unit-supporters (Supply Depots for Terrans, Pylons for the Protoss and Overlords for the Zerg) to support their forces. Players are also required to build from the "tech-tree" (infantry units first, then more advanced units).

File:Zergbase.jpg
A Zerg base with three Hatcheries and a Lair in its center.

Players use their resources to construct a variety of buildings. Some of these are used to construct various units (or notionally, to grow, train, or "warp in" those units), while others are used to upgrade the player's forces or to allow more advanced units or structures to be built. Management of resources, expansion to control resource locations, and effective application of offensive and defensive combat tactics are the keys to victory. The unit types available to each race define its racial identity. The Protoss can field powerful and expensive warriors and machinery, while the Zerg rely on sheer numbers and speed to overwhelm their opponents. The Terrans are the versatile and flexible alternative to both races, providing a compromise between specialization and combined arms. However, each race is very balanced, and a player using a different race than his or her opponent does not necessarily have an advantage over them.

Development

StarCraft differed significantly from Warcraft II, an earlier Blizzard production, which was criticized for its two similar races: Warcraft II's races, like those of its predecessor Warcraft, had only minor differences in spells and upgrade costs. StarCraft rectified this by implementing decisive asymmetries in the game races, a concept pioneered by the Strategic Simulations game War Wind. Warcraft III, the next Blizzard RTS, retained asymmetry.

Though the game's three races (Protoss, Terran, and Zerg) were slightly imbalanced when the game was first released, the expansion pack and twenty patches[3] (of which four affected the gameplay) have balanced the three races to most players' satisfaction. The Brood War expansion released by Blizzard in 1998 provided several new units for each race (which dramatically changed the gameplay) and a new campaign for each race, continuing the original StarCraft story (see StarCraft storyline). Some of the Brood War units such as Dark Templar were available in StarCraft at the beginning of single-player missions, but could not be produced. Many exclusive upgrades to each race's units were also created in Brood War.

Multiplayer

File:Cattlebruiser Heaven.jpg
Two Terran fleets in a multiplayer match.

The game also includes multiplayer gaming on Blizzard's own Internet gaming service Battle.net, granting online multiplayer free of any additional charge. Many fans enjoy playing in groups against computer-controlled opponents in skirmish games (this type of game is sometimes called "comp[uter] stomp"). While more experienced players generally do not find the artificial intelligence of the game challenging, it can be an enjoyable opponent for more casual players. Fans have also created maps that are advantageous to the computer and can be extremely hard to win.

For cooperative play, several people can play the same team (controlling the same units), or different teams that are "allied" so they do not harm each other. Up to eight spots can be filled in a game, either by players or computers. Clans are groups of people gathered (typically) for the purposes of competitive team play. Clan players usually attach a clan "tag" to their online name to indicate their clan allegiance (for example, [XYZ]JohnSmith would be a member of a hypothetical "XYZ" clan). The involvement in a clan ranges from casual friendship to mandatory meetings and tournaments.

In multiplayer gameplay, some players use modified, or "hacked" versions of the StarCraft client to gain an unfair advantage. Blizzard attempts to detect and ban "hackers" in all their games, and several third-party "anti-hack" programs are under constant development to prevent these techniques. The most infamous of these hacks is MapHack, that allows the player to see the whole map, ignoring the "fog of war".


Private ladders

Most competitive, high-level gaming (outside of the Korean professional scene) takes place on "private" ladders such as "PGTour" (Pro Gamers Tour) or "WGTour" (World Gamers Tour). These ladders use a specific set of maps, mostly taken from Korean pro leagues like MSL and OSL, hack-preventing third-party programs, a team of administrators and sometimes even a private server (such as the PGTour's Bnet-X) to enforce fair play.

Single-player storyline

Main article: StarCraft storyline

Template:Spoiler The plot of the original StarCraft game revolves around the Terran civilization in the Koprulu Sector, which was founded by former prisoners exiled from Earth. The most powerful Terran faction is the Terran Confederacy. It is opposed by other factions, such as the terrorist organization "Sons of Korhal". The arrival of the Zerg, led by the Overmind and its Cerebrates, greatly complicates matters for the Terrans. The Zerg Swarm is itself closely followed by a Protoss fleet, led by High Templar Executor Tassadar, which burns all worlds the Zerg infest.

A player plays as a colonial magistrate of the Terran Confederacy, and quickly meets Jim Raynor, a marshal of Mar Sara. After being arrested by the Confederacy for destroying confederate property, (even though it was infested by the Zerg,) the player joins the Sons of Korhal, who free Jim Raynor from a Confederate prison. Jim also joins the Sons and is sent on missions frequently. After the Protoss destroy the Zerg-infested Confederate colony on Chau Sara, the Zerg are used by the rebel organization Sons of Korhal, whose leader Arcturus Mengsk lures them to a number of Confederate installations using psi-emitters to further his own goals. Mengsk acquires the services of General Edmund Duke, a Confederate general, and sacrifices his right-hand woman, the psychic Sarah Kerrigan, to the Zerg after she begins to object to his morals and tactics. This action alienates Jim Raynor, who, along with the colonial magistrate played by the player, flees from Mengsk with a small number of soldiers.

After the Confederacy's fall, Arcturus Mengsk reorganizes the Terran worlds he controls into the Terran Dominion, crowning himself Emperor. Meanwhile, the Zerg flee to the planet Char with their prize, Kerrigan, who is in the process of becoming a Zerg in a cocoon under the protection of a Cerebrate under player control.

Tassadar discovers that he can disrupt the Overmind's control over the Swarm by eliminating its Cerebrate servants with the help of the Dark Templar, a group of Protoss who have forsaken their ancestral psionic powers and the religion of the Khala. While on Char, Tassadar encounters one of the Overmind's newest servants, the recently infested Kerrigan, a powerful psychic. The involvement of the fallen Dark Templar will prove to be fateful; while slaying the Cerebrate Zasz, the Dark Templar leader Zeratul briefly comes in psychic contact with the Overmind, which is then informed of the Protoss homeworld Aiur's location and directs its Swarm towards the Protoss world. This contact also gives Zeratul knowledge of the origin of the Zerg.

The Zerg inflict a number of heavy defeats upon the Protoss, who fight back bitterly, but are simultaneously involved in a civil war between the Protoss high authority, the Conclave, and the alliance between Tassadar and the Dark Templar, with whom the player's character is aligned. In a desperate attempt to put an end to the Zerg's destructive rampage, Tassadar, Zeratul, and the remaining Protoss unite their strengths with Terran forces and attack the Overmind itself. They manage to crush its outer shell, and Tassadar sacrifices himself and rams the ship into the vulnerable form of the Overmind, thereby killing it and himself in the process.

See also: StarCraft: Brood War

Influences

While it has many similarities with its conceptual predecessor Warcraft II, StarCraft also draws heavily from characters and scenarios taken from many science fiction works, most notably popular movies, and the Warhammer 40,000 table-top gaming series from Games Workshop. For example, many characteristic elements of the Terran race in StarCraft are reminiscent of James Cameron's Aliens movie, however many elements such as the Terran Marines and Firebats appear nearly identical in appearance to Warhammer 40,000's Space Marines. Terran buildings much resemble the installations of the Hadley's Hope colony in Aliens; the resemblance is especially obvious in StarCraft's cutscenes (see cutscene The Amerigo). Terran Marines were also clearly inspired by Aliens USCM Marines; both the Terran Marine and the Terran Dropship units in StarCraft directly quote characters from the movie. The Gauss Rifle used by the Terran Marines has an LED digital ammo display much like the M41A pulse rifle from Aliens. The Zerg and their infestation process are also reminiscent of Aliens' Xenomorphs and Warhammer's Tyranids. The Protoss technology and theme is very similar to that of the Eldar in Warhammer 40,000. The game also displays many elements from the novel Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein, most noticeably, the name of the Starship Trooper's civilization and the Humans in Starcraft share the name "Terran", as well as some general themes of military science fiction and space opera. There are also noticeable similarities between the "brain bug" of Starship Troopers, the norn queen and hivemind of the Tyranids and the Zerg Overmind.

Main cast

Culture

Popularity in South Korea

Main article: StarCraft professional competition

Even as of 2006, StarCraft is still one of the most popular online games in the world, with the number of players online at any given time varying from 50,000 to 100,000 or more.

In the early 2000s, the game experienced an explosion of popularity among South Korean online gamers, with a successful professional scene being established.[4] Most active StarCraft players now come from South Korea.

In South Korea, StarCraft professional gamers, such as Nada, SlayerS_`BoxeR`, wG)Lefty, MrMan9879, Spenni[Life], Reach, YellOw, and Nal_rA are celebrities: their games are broadcast over several television channels such as MBC Game, Ongamenet, and (formerly) iTV. A small number of top players have become reasonably wealthy through this - for example, Lim Yo-Hwan, known in-game as SlayerS_`BoxeR`, signed a 1 year, approximately $200,000 US-equivalent contract in 2004, and some can earn a decent to good living from TV-contracts, sponsoring and tournament prizes. However, the lower-echelon pro players tend to subsist on relatively small wages. Many professional gamers play StarCraft during almost all waking hours in order to maintain preparation for the highly competitive leagues.

Also of note is the semi-infamous Operation CWAL (Can't Wait Any Longer). More than just a simple cheat to decrease unit build time, Operation CWAL formed in 1997, as a writers' group, in the StarCraft Suggestions Forum in an attempt to "liberate" a final copy of StarCraft, which appeared obviously completed despite numerous delays on the part of Blizzard Entertainment. Blizzard Entertainment has gone as far as to give special thanks to this group in the manual for StarCraft, as well as including their name as a cheat code in the game.

Some people, however, question the immense influence Starcraft and video games in general have on Korean youths. In particular, the death of Lee Seung Seop (known as b0f1000 in Starcraft), a 28-year-old man from Daegu, South Korea on 10 August 2005, who died from exhaustion after playing a 49-hour marathon session of StarCraft in an Internet cafe, sparked a new discussion about video games addiction.[5][6][7]

Novels and eBooks

StarCraft even became an inspiration for the creation of official novels and eBooks. Four novels were officially authorized by Blizzard Entertainment, and two more will follow:

In addition, Blizzard Entertainment authorized two short stories in Amazing Stories magazine, entitled StarCraft: Hybrid and StarCraft: Revelations.

Blizzard also licensed Wizards of the Coast to publish StarCraft Adventures, a supplement for the role-playing game Alternity set in the StarCraft universe.

Numerous fan fiction works also take place in the StarCraft universe.

Custom scenarios

File:Staredit.jpg
StarEdit

The game is packaged with a campaign and map editor called StarCraft Campaign Editor (also known as StarEdit). The Campaign Editor has many features, including a trigger system that allows users to make radical changes to the way a map works, readily giving gamers the ability to create custom map scenarios. Thousands of custom scenarios are available, giving the game a refreshing variety. The StarCraft map-making community has also constructed additional editors or functionalities that grant the user even more power to modify the game.

Melee Maps

Scenarios are generally one of two types- melee or Use Map Settings (UMS). Melee games start all players at a random location with only their main base building (command center, hatchery, or nexus) and four mining units. This is the most popular type of game and is generally the only type used in tournaments. Ladder games also use this start scheme. Most melee games are played on maps called "money" maps, maps with extremely large amounts of immediately available resources. In these maps, initial mineral and gas deposits are often set to the 50,000 unit cap (or, in user-edited maps, sometimes higher) in order to obviate the need to take expansion sites. There is a widespread perception that so-called "money maps" fail to challenge development of build order and expansion-taking skills, and that these maps are therefore favorites of weaker players. Defenders of money maps claim that the game remains strategic and skill-based even without the need to expand.

Some optimized money maps, such as "Fastest Possible Map Ever" and "StarCraft Dream" have similar placement of bases but are hacked so that 30 to 40 minerals (or in the case of "Fastest Possible Map Ever", 50,000) are placed directly next to the base. Vespene gas is similarly enhanced with a row of 4-8 geysers on either side of the primary base. These modifications greatly decrease the time needed to mine the necessary resources and enables the game to progress much faster regarding both movement up the technology tree and unit production. It also changes the game dynamic as once the default base is destroyed it cannot be rebuilt in the same place.

Zero Clutter (ZC, 0clut) maps are a slightly different version of optimized maps. The resource modifications are very similar to those outlined above but players' default bases are organized into two groups of 2-4 bases in the north and south. These groups are usually separated by a barrier of either mountainous terrain or water with a land bridge in the middle for ground units to cross. Players tell each other where they are located as the game starts and ally players that are adjacent to them. Often there is an agreement between players that no side will attack the other before a set time limit or before "map max" (MM) (1650 units) a point at which the game cannot place any more units into play. There is then no other option but to attack. Games without any set time to attack are often known as "rush games".

Next to money maps, games on ladder or tournament maps are also popular. They are usually 1v1 or 2v2 games on Lost Temple (LT) or Luna.

Use Map Settings

UMS games are less structured and often incorporate liberal use of specialized triggers and setups to change gameplay. UMS scenarios with sets of rules, objectives, and units entirely different from those of "regular" Melee games have been created.

Some custom scenarios are named after television shows (Dragon Ball Z, Pokémon, Family Guy, The Simpsons), real-world events (Napoleonic Wars, World War I, World War II, the American Civil War), current events (Bomb Iraq, World Trade Center Defense, Tsunami Run!), scenes from books and movies (Troy, The Lord of the Rings, The Thing, Dawn of the Dead, Scary Movie, Starship Troopers), or even other games (Diablo II, The Sims, Resident Evil, Warcraft, The Thing, Risk, Russian Roulette.)

There are also many 'genres' that have surfaced. This includes Defense maps, StarCraft Diplomacy, RPG's, Maddness and many others. Though varying in popularity, each one has its own unique set of characteristics.

The popularity of custom maps is not limited to only custom maps played online. StarEdit allows the mapmaker to "link" several maps, single player "campaigns" (long scenarios played out over several maps, hence the name) have become prominent in the community. Following the revolutionary Antioch Chronicles' lead, many campaigns include modifications to the game that add new "heroes" (i.e. the mapmakers create new art files to be imported in to StarCraft , thus creating completely new units and characters - something which can't be done using StarEdit). Popular campaigns include Campaign Creations' The Fenix, Legacy of the Confederation, Life of a Marine, and StarCraft.org's official campaigns, The Shifters and Fields of Ash.

More powerful, third-party alternatives to the editor StarCraft is sold with, including the StarCraft X-tra Editor, StarForge, and SCMDraft allow users to "stack" multiple mineral fields and buildings on top of each other, change player colors, use hidden AI scripts, protect maps from common theft, run size-less sounds directly from the StarCraft disc, change the color of text, compress their map, and in more advanced areas, place raw sprites, sprite-units and disabled units, among other things.

Some of these custom maps and campaigns are released commercially via third parties, two of which are StarCraft: Insurrection and StarCraft: Retribution. These third party add-ons did not fare well and were criticized for poor mission designs.

See also: Use Map Settings

Replays, audio commentaries, and VODs

File:StarcraftScreenshot.png
Replay-Screenshot Zerg vs. Terran StarCraft: Brood War

From version 1.08 StarCraft enables the player to record a game and save it as a replay, which can then be viewed with any other copy of StarCraft, displaying the entire course of the game. As of 2006, there are many websites that host replays of players with different skill levels, though pro-level replays are relatively rarely released, for reasons of team secrecy and because the policies of pro leagues forbid it in some cases. Many applications, such as BWChart and Lasgo's Observer Pack[8], have been developed by fans to analyze replays in detail, and compute statistics such as the number of actions per minute (APM).

One of the most useful features of replays is the ability for people to snoop in on tactics of good players.

Replays are sometimes accompanied by an audio commentary recorded by the player or an experienced observer during the game, or after the fact, as they were watching the replay. This can be particularly interesting for people new to the game, who can learn from more experienced players pointing out things about a replay they would not have seen on their own, or simply for entertainment. The audio files can be produced and played separately from the replays using third-party audio recording and playback tools, in which case the viewer has to manually synchronize the audio track with the replay, which is read from the StarCraft application. Alternatively, auxiliary applications such as RWA can be used to ensure synchronization. The RWAtools[9] are a set of freeware tools, that create valid replay files, additionally containing an Ogg audio stream. During replays, the commentary is kept in sync with the game.

VODs (from "Video On Demand") are videos that show the screen of a commentator (or sometimes player) during a (usually) pro-level game. They are (legally or not) available from a variety of websites, and are ripped from Korean television or Internet streams. They usually come in the ASF video file format for Windows Media Player or in the WMV format. Because they are compressed with an MPEG-4 codec and the file size needs to be small, there is a significant quality loss in comparison to watching a replay. VODs are usually accompanied by enthusiastic announcing from the Korean commentators, and the occasional crowd shot.

StarCraft 64

File:Starcraft64.jpg
StarCraft 64 box.

On June 16, 1998, StarCraft 64 was released for the Nintendo 64. The game featured all of the maps from the original game and the Brood War expansion, as well as some exclusive missions, such as two different tutorials and StarCraft Resurrection IV.[10]

The cursor movement was controlled by the analog stick on the center of the controller, but the game was not as popular as the PC version, perhaps because of a greater difficulty in controlling the cursor compared to the use of a mouse, and the lack of online multiplayer (split-screen was available, however). Also, speech was not present during mission briefings.

Sequel

Blizzard has announced that they are interested in making a sequel to their popular game, and there is some evidence that they are doing so. This includes posts by Blizzard officials on the Battle.net forums asking for suggestions for such a game, the lack of other projects for Blizzard after World of Warcraft's completion, and an Easter egg unlocked after completing Warcraft III on the most difficult setting, as well as a leak about a 2007 release from HanbitSoft, the Korean publisher of StarCraft. Job advertisements on Blizzard.com looking for a "Game Balance Designer" with experience in StarCraft and Warcraft 3[11] also suggest that Blizzard is working on another RTS, most likely StarCraft 2 (though possibly Warcraft 4 or a new franchise). However, development of a sequel has not yet been officially announced.

Blizzard had been working on a first-person shooter/third-person shooter, StarCraft: Ghost to be released in 2006. It was originally planned on being released in late 2003 but the company that was given the license was scrapped; the change in genre for the franchise from real-time strategy to third-person shooter and absence of a PC version aroused considerable protests among many of the StarCraft faithful, though others eagerly anticipate the game. In March of 2006 StarCraft: Ghost development was put on hold indefinitely,[12] leaving the future of the franchise unknown. Blizzard is, however, making a StarCraft board Game StarCraft the Board Game, as confirmed by Kevin Wilson on Boardgamegeek.com.[13]

Fans impatiently await the creation of StarCraft II. Over 13,000 of these eager fans have signed an online petition, created by Kenny Marshall, which is hosted at www.petitiononline.com.[14] Additionally, a group of diehard fans, under the name Snowflake Entertainment,[15] are even creating a modifer to have StarCraft run through WarCraft 3, titled Project Revolution. Although this will not be a sequel, Project Revolution will transfer the game from two to three dimensions.[16] The modification is not associated with Blizzard.[17]

Awards

File:Starcraftboxes.jpg
The PC version of the game was released with three different boxes. The Protoss box was common, with a T rating. The Zerg and Terran boxes were rare and both stamped with M ratings.
  • Walk of Game inductee. StarCraft received a star on the floor of the Metreon in San Francisco in early 2006.
  • #7, Top 100 Games of All Time: 2005 Edition - IGN.[18] This list included console games as well as PC games, and StarCraft placed #2 among PC games, behind Sid Meier's Civilization II.
  • #7, Top 100 Games of All Time: 2003 Edition - IGN.[19]
  • "The Standard by Which All Real-Time Strategy Games Are Judged", GameSpot Presents: The Greatest Games of All Time[3]
  • #9, Top 100 Games of All Time - Entertainment Weekly/G4.tv
  • Using information gathered from their "own users.ign.com collection tracker," IGN compiled a list of the Top 10 Most Popular Games. StarCraft and Brood War earned enough votes independently of one another to place first and sixth, respectively. The list is current as of January 17, and is based on a "combination of total occurrences and rating value of games" on their user's collection lists.
  • #18, The Ten Best Games Ever as voted by GameFAQs readers.[20] It was the highest rated PC game on the list.
  • Number-one selling PC Game of 1998 - PC Data
  • Other awards, including numerous Game of the Year awards, are listed on Blizzard Entertainment's official Awards Page.[21]

Notes

  1. ^ Blizzard. 2005. Blizzard FAQ page
  2. ^ Battle.net Current tournament clendar
  3. ^ StarCraft versions are numbered 1.00 through 1.13f, including 1.12b, 1.11b, 1.09b and 1.08b. Information on changes introduced with each patch can be found on the Battle.net support site. Patch Information site
  4. ^ http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=email_us&refer=asia&sid=a2JvzciDnpB4 Samsung, SK Telecom, Shinhan Sponsor South Korean Alien Killers. Retrieved on July 15, 2006.
  5. ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1729573,00.html Korean drops dead after 50-hour gaming marathon, retrieved on July 15, 2006.
  6. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4137782.stm South Korean dies after games session, retrieved on July 15, 2006.
  7. ^ http://www.kplctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3703646 South Korean man dies during 49-hour computer game marathon, retrieved on July 15, 2006.
  8. ^ Team Liquid. 2003. Lasgo's Observer Pack
  9. ^ BWChart.com. 2003. RWAtools
  10. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/n64/strategy/starcraft64/review.html SC64 review, retrieved on July 15, 2006.
  11. ^ http://www.blizzard.com/jobopp/designer-game-balance.shtml, retrieved on July 15, 2006.
  12. ^ http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/starcraft-ghost/698419p1.html, Blizzard Postpones StarCraft: Ghost Indefinitely, retrieved July 15, 2006.
  13. ^ http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/113938 Playtest in Minneapolis at the Source on 6/16/06, retrieved July 15, 2006.
  14. ^ http://www.petitiononline.com/strcrft2/petition.html, retrieved on July 15, 2006.
  15. ^ http://www.wc3campaigns.net/revolution/ retrieved on July 15, 2006.
  16. ^ http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3980165796053569246 Video of Project Revolution, retrieved on July 15, 2006.
  17. ^ http://www.blizzplanet.com/content/560/ Project Revolution Q&A session, retrieved on July 15, 2006.
  18. ^ IGN. 2005. IGNs top 100 Games of All Time
  19. ^ IGN. 2003. IGNs top 100 Games of All Time
  20. ^ GameFAQs.10-Year Anniversary Contest - The 10 Best Games Ever
  21. ^ Blizzard. 2005. Blizzard Awards Page

References

  • Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998.
  • Metzen, Chris and Samuel Moore. "StarCraft: Revelations." Amazing Stories no. 596 (Spring 1999): 20–27.
  • Neilson, Micky. “StarCraft: Hybrid.” Amazing Stories no. 601 (Spring 2000): 70–75.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to StarCraft (video game).

Official sites

Game novel site

Game archive and review sites

General

Community sites

  • GosuGamers is one of the most famous news portal about StarCraft.
  • TeamLiquid forums are well-known for their quality.

Third-party applications

  • StealthBot is a application designed to chat in private channels on Battle.net.
  • BWChart is an application displaying many statistics about replays.
  • ReXplorer is a shell extension for Windows' Explorer to enhance maps and replays browsing.
  • BWLauncher enhances StarCraft in-game experience.

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