For this weekâs Burning Questions, Kirk and Jason talk about Blizzard games, specifically Diablo III and StarCraft II. Which game do they like better? Do the two games compliment one another? Why is pro-level StarCraft so fun to watch? What would it be like to live in a house made by Blizzard? Is âEight Legged Freaksâ the funniest hyphen-omission in cinematic history?
Whew! Those sure are some⊠Burning Questions
Kirk: Hello there, Jasonamigo. I hope youâre doing well. Today, weâre going to talk about Blizzard games, specifically StarCraft II and Diablo III
Jason: Hola, Kirktaku. Blizzard games? I love Blizzard games!
Kirk: So Iâve heard. And hey, so do I! Well, mostly. So this conversation is predicated by you and me talking a lot about StarCraft II, and weâve both been playing a lot of Diablo III, and so we got to talking about how the games are different. Should we rehash that conversation for our readers?
Jason: If I recall correctly, I was telling you about how I got bored of Diablo III after an act or two, and how it just made me want to go play StarCraft
Kirk: Right. So it starts with that comparison, though itâs probably not the most helpful comparison. In fact, weâve been wrestling with how to keep it out of the headline to this article. Which of course, weâll fail, since we kind of do want to discuss it: Which one is better, StarCraft II or Diablo III? I suppose the more relevant question to this discussion is: Which one do you prefer? It sounds like you prefer StarCraft II
Jason: Theyâre entirely different genres and entirely different beasts, so this is sort of like comparing apples and elephants, but yeah. To me, StarCraft II feels like much more of a game, much more of a strategic, skill-based endeavor. Diablo III is more like⊠well, FarmVille
Kirk: Certainly not a fair comparison, but an interesting one if only because Blizzard seems to be amassing an arsenal of games to cater to every desire. On the one hand, youâve got StarCraft II, which is this super-deep, pro-level strategy game. And on the other, youâve got Diablo III, which despite the fact that it can get super duper hardcore is still a much more casual-style game than StarCraft
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Kirk: Yeah, both games have a lot of prep, but Diablo IIIâs execution stage is far less involved than StarCraft IIâs. Do you think that a game as mechanically simple as Diablo III hits a ceiling with how rewarding it can be? Like, can a game only do so much with four hotkeys and two buttons?
Jason: I think so. Also, the rewards you get out of Diablo III are all randomized and computer-generated. You might think âwoohoo! Got this rare item. I own!â but you didnât really do anything to earn it. You just got lucky. In StarCraft II, you can only win by outplaying your opponent, whether thatâs a computer or another human being. To win, you have to win
Kirk: I kinda think that the biggest problem with the Real Money Auction house is that it removes a lot of the sense of accomplishment from the only thing that Diablo III had â the loot. In StarCraft II, when I have a victory, I feel like I really did it. Itâs a much more rewarding game. The RMAH really does make Diablo III feel like FarmVille
Jason: Yup! Want to kick ass? Insert money into Blizzardâs new cash cow.
Kirk: Exactly. Which is a bummer, because I do like loot! Iâm also surprised at all the balance issues and other sorts of things that were present when Diablo III launched. I know that StarCraft II has been around a lot longer at this point, but when I went back to play some StarCraft II this past weekend, I couldnât help but think âMy god, this game has so much more going on than Diablo III, and yet itâs all so balanced!â How do they do it, you know?
Jason: Yeah, I mean in fairness, StarCraft II came out two years ago. And it has had all sorts of balance issues over those two years.
One of the coolest things about watching pro StarCraft II games is that feeling of âhey, if I practiced enough, maybe I could do that too.â
Kirk: Right, right. And Iâm sure that Diablo III will have all the kinks worked out at some point. All the same, StarCraft II is a real accomplishment. Seen largely in the robust pro-gaming scene that the game supports. Now, youâre very into competitive StarCraft II, right?
Jason: I used to be more into it, but yeah. Iâve watched a lot of pro StarCraft II matches over the years. Theyâre super fun!
Kirk: Right? Before I knew you, one of the first things I read of yours was this great write-up of pro-level StarCraft II and its shoutcasters. Thanks to that article, I started watching pro StarCraft II and got hooked. This game is seriously fun to watch people play.
Jason: One of the coolest things about watching pro StarCraft II games is that feeling of âhey, if I practiced enough, maybe I could do that too.â Itâs a game that rewards you for your time not with extra pixels, but with extra skill.
Kirk: I seriously got like 500% better after watching my first match. I had no idea people could move their units that fast. Part of it is that Blizzard is really good at making their games fun to watch. I even like watching people play Diablo III on inferno! Itâs in part because of the whole toy theater thing that Jenn Frank talked aboutâyouâve always got a good perspective on the action. But itâs more than thatâthey make their units very readable.
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Jason: Oh, for sure. Blizzard is stellar at many things, and art direction is certainly one of them.
Kirk: And not just art direction for its own sake, but as a means to making the game work better as an e-sport. I mean⊠I went to a BarCraft event at a bar in San Francisco and everyone there, fan and non-fan alike, was super into it. The game is easy to watch, like any other sport. Better still, itâs easy to recognize when someone is super good at it, which is such a thrill of watching sports, at least for me. Seeing that kind of excellence.
https://lastchance.cc/forget-baseball-and-mma-the-sport-to-cheer-for-in-this-5820360%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Jason: Color-coded teams help. Just like in real sports!
Kirk: Yeah, whoda thunk it? And also unit size, and the way they move. Itâs easy to tell what the basic units in StarCraft II are gonna do. Diablo III is kinda less readable in that regard, but then, thatâs not designed to be an e-sport. So letâs get back to Diablo III. What class do you play?
Jason: Iâve played with most of them, but my main (before I gave up) was a Witch Doctor, who has some ridiculous skills. My primary attack was throwing jars of spiders at enemies. The jars would crack open, releasing arachnids everywhere. It was basically like that movie Eight Legged Freaks
Kirk: AKA the greatest missing hyphen in movie-title history! âRun for your lives! There are freaks! Eight of them! And they are legged!â
Jason: âLegged Freaksâ would be a good name for a ska band.
Kirk: I love the idea of describing something as âlegged.â I also like âleggedâ as a verb, like, âMan, Iâm gonna have to leg it to this Tomb Raider interview.â
Jason: Man, the executive producer of Tomb Raider is gonna want to leg it after that interview. (Just kidding.)
Kirk: Heh. So, you really only played Witch Doctor? Iâve mostly played Monk, with a second character whoâs a Demon Hunter. I get the feeling that Demon Hunter is a really popular class. Mr big-brain Simon Ferrari wrote a really smart review of the game at Paste, and described the high-level Demon Hunter stuff as basically a bullet-hell shooter. From the videos Iâve seen, thatâs certainly true! What do you think of that, that Diablo III changes so fundamentally on the higher difficulty settings?
Jason: I think that makes sense, but at this point in my life, Iâm not willing to sit through the tedium required to get there. Twelve years ago, when Diablo II came out and took over my life for a while, things were different. I had much more time on my hands. I didnât own nearly as many awesome games. I didnât have a stockpile of untouched Steam titles to get through.
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Kirk: Yeah, I hear you. Things have certainly changed for how we want to play games. I do think, however, that critiques of Diablo III should take into account that itâs been designed not just on the ground level, but all the way up to the top. I personally canât speak to how it works up there, but sometimes it feels like everyoneâs talking about the entryway and no oneâs talking about the upstairs master bedroom, you know?
Jason: When it takes 50-60 hours to get to the master bedroom, itâs hard to blame them!
Kirk: Ha. THIS HOUSE IS FUCKING HUGE YOU GUYS, WHERE IS THE BATHROOM
I think that belts are a big part of the Blizzard thing for me. Lovely, flowing belts.
Jason: SERIOUSLY GUYS IT JUST TOOK ME FOUR DAYS TO GET TO THE KITCHEN HOW DO YOU EVEN LIVE
Kirk: WHY IS EVERYONE ATTACKING ME I JUST HAVE TO PEE GOD
Jason: Readers. If you take away one thing from todayâs Burning Questions, make it this: Never, ever live in a Diablo house.
Kirk: So, whether youâre talking about Diablo or StarCraft, (or World of Warcraft, which weâve mostly left out of this discussion), thereâs this certain âBlizzardynessâ to all of the companyâs games. How would you define that?
Jason: Polish. Blizzard games always feel super responsive, super intricate, super detailed. From the tiny little artistic decisions (like random billboard jokes in StarCraft II) to dialogue that always seems like it was workshopped multiple times, every Blizzard game always seems like the product of lots and lots and lots of development time. (Which it always is.)
Kirk: Something about the animations stands out to me, at least on their most recent games. In both StarCraft II and Diablo III everything is so small, but moves in this chunky, visual way.
Jason: How so?
Kirk: Like, you can see everyoneâs belts? I think that belts are a big part of the Blizzard thing for me. Lovely, flowing belts.
Jason: Wait, did Blizzard make Kingdom Hearts?
Kirk: Maybe they could finally make the plot make sense. Wait what am I talking about⊠if anything theyâd make it make even less sense!
Jason: Sora would turn evil, then good again, then evil. And then his parents would show up and kill everyone.
Kirk: Itâs remarkable how Blizzardâs games are so compelling despite the fact that their underlying fiction is⊠well letâs face it, itâs pretty rubbish. I mean, I guess people are somewhat invested in Kerrigan, but is that really because sheâs a great character? Or only because sheâs the best weâve got? And donât get me started on Diablo III⊠I think it was Michael Abbott who awesomely referred to the Diablo lore as âarch codswallop.â
Jason: Disagree! I loved the narrative of Warcraft III and I love the narrative of StarCraft. I dig the Western vibes, the gruff protagonist, the Firefly-esque tribulations. I really, really love the lore that Blizzard engrains into all of its games.
Kirk: Hmm. I do think that StarCraft lore rises above the other games, but all I remember of WarCraft lore was WarCraft II. I guess I havenât played the one with the good story?
Jason: So first of all, believe it or not, StarCraft uses the capital C, but Warcraft doesnât. Stupid, I know. Did you play Warcraft III? Thatâs the one that starred Arthas.
Kirk: Man. I cannot keep this shit straight. First itâs inFAMOUS, now this crap. Okay, I got it. Now⊠no I havenât played Warcraft III
Jason: You should! Itâs really cool, and drastically different than StarCraft II because it has heroesâstronger, more powerful units that can level up and use items on the field. I like the story a lot, too, although that might just be because I enjoy the lore so much.
Kirk: Huh. You know, maybe I will. I wanted to, it just happened to come out at a point where I wasnât really playing games. I mean⊠Warcraft II almost caused me to flunk French class in high school. I do love me some classic Warcraft strategy. Zug zug!
Jason: Slice and dice!
Kirk: So yeah, while I maybe havenât loved every Blizzard story, I do have to give them credit for some ace worldbuilding. Diablo III is the only game that feels mostly derivative. Warcraft could have been equally derivative, but itâs actually darned original.
Jason: Man, we are just shitting all over Diablo III. Letâs end on a positive note: What did you like most about D3?
Kirk: Itâs so weird, Iâm very critical of that game, and yet I still like playing it! Itâs amazing how physically satisfying theyâve made a game that is entirely about clicking the mouse on dudes until their bones explode. I mean, everyone says the same thing, âItâs like FarmVille,â and âItâs just clicking,â but if you can make a game where clicking feels as good as it does in Diablo III, more power to you!
Jason: I think it might be the type of game where you realize youâre being manipulated, and you canât help but enjoy it anyway. Kinda like FarmVille
Kirk: I think thereâs something to that, even though it means I can only play the game for limited periods of time. Plus, the sound design in Diablo III is so good I practically play just to listen to how creative they can get. Iâve said this in the pastânot many games have a specific sound effect for when you punch a Goat-Man so hard his skin flies off.
Jason: Do they really have one sound just for that?
Kirk: I like to think they do. It goes like, âBLATSSCHHH!â
Jason: âHey Kirk, whatâs the best part of Diablo III?â âBLATSSCHHH!â
Kirk: Hahahaha yes, that about sums it up! So to wrap up, I think weâve come to the conclusion that you and I need to play some StarCraft II together. Sorry I flaked last weekend.
Jason: Yeah. Jerk.
Kirk: Thatâs why they call me Kirk The Jerk. Jirk.
(They donât really call me that.)
(That I know of, anyway.)
Jason: BLATSSCHHH!
(Top image by Hafele | DeviantART)
