StarCraft 2 Writer: Cinematics Tell "Very Important" Stories

[Baron_BJ]

You know what? No, Starcraft 2 doesn't have writing that'd make Stephen Fry be overcome with paroxyms of delight, but you can count the number of videogames that could on one hand. Its perfectly functional for the story it has to tell and Kerrigan does go through an arc. It may not be the arc you wanted from your fanfic of choice but it is, nevertheless an arc. And its a better arc than Blizzard needed to staple onto the side of the multiplayer upgrade they could have gotten away with and still sell a bazillion units in Korea. She's struggling with keeping regained humanity, grief makes her not care about losing regained humanity, love helps remind her that her humanity is worth keeping hold of. Its not Tolstoy, but know what else isn't? Star Wars, but thats still good. Bad writing is not a barrier to something being good.

I'm really not trying to be a Blizzard fanboy apologist (cause their only product I still enjoy is SC), and I found the whole section with the proto-Zerg frigging ridiculous, but I didn't care. The story and cinematics were fun, and it filled in the gaps between the fun missions of a fun game that I'm very glad I bought. Is it Bioshock Infinite? No. But its not trying to be, its trying to be Flash Gordon, so roll with it people. Think about the writing from the first game (SC1, not WoL) objectively without rose-tinted nostalgia, is it that polished? Nope. So why does it matter this time around? Let the fun dross be fun dross! Group hug! Hug it out!

I have yet to buy HotS, but I was of the mind that Wings of Liberty was a turd of a story, a turd I liked because I can always get into melodrama that's well acted (I do think they've got some good voice actors), no matter how cheesy, even with the plot dumping on the superior story of the first game (I went back and replayed recently, funny how Jim and her have no romantic interest in that game and Jim is only mad at what she's lost since been corrupted by the zerg and the betrayal she's suffered; gotta love when a writer is so terrible they have to try and crowbar in shit like that) and being riddled with plot holes and just bits of idiocy that made me go "Really? Even at the age of 8 I could tell you that's not how shit works" (like the scene where sun goes supernova but the planet that has been half-eaten by a fucking sun is perfectly fine instead of the atmosphere of the planet instantly combusting, thus leaving a hunk of the magic mcguffin behind, thus dooming the galaxy).

But then I saw what you put in bold. I wasn't even going to post until I saw it. That is fucking pathetic. No grown-ass fucking adult should be pulling that sort of shit EVER in a story that's for people over the age of 5. I don't know anyone past that age (nor have I, throughout my life, met someone that does) that does not audibly groan when they see that shit trotted out. Nothing should be solved "WIT' DA POWA O' WUUUUUB!". The mouth-breathing shitbiscuit who wrote that turd has the gall to try and inform others how the art of storytelling works? I hope someone at that panel walked up and sacked him in the nuts.

Oh, and have a pleasant day.

 

[Prof. Monkeypox]

Well, I like Starcraft quite a bit but, and taking Heart of the Swarm as the example- there's not exactly a lot of important story in "Kerrigan beats the shit out of characters in increasingly elaborate and hard to believe ways." Which was what that game's cut scenes were about.

The original had some very cool story beats, and they were largely portrayed during the story, not in cutscene (Kerrigan's betrayal, etc.)

Nothing wrong with a cut scene, and Blizzard makes them well, but they can't seem to see the forest for the highly rendered trees, and seem to believe they have to cram tons of gratuitous action into the cut scenes to justify their existence.