StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm (WoL Spoilers)

[@Li3n]

But I think the old one had flaws, the biggest of which was that Kerrigan was never, ever interesting to me so people complaining that she's suddenly bland kinda baffle me.

Well her lines where generic and not one-dimensionally-bitchy-for-no-reason enough, you have to admit that. Of course she got like 5 lines in the whole campaign, so i for one didn't expect anything else... but teh voice didn't really fit the "bitchy-for-no-reason" thing... maybe that's why you liked it more. Or maybe there's a cylon in your head... we should airlock you just to make sure...

The line I particularly liked was "we shall become... perfect." The way he says it has a certain reverence to it. It gave me a real sense that this truly was his life's purpose (and by extension, mine) and that he cared deeply about it.

Well that's it being well done, which, at least to me, has nothing to do with originality.

And i though Kerrigan was done well too, generic evil bitch or not...

 

[Raemon777]

And i though Kerrigan was done well too, generic evil bitch or not...

This is obviously the root of our disagreement and not something I expect any lengthy dialogue to fix. Whatevs.

I will note that while the Overmind was not an original character, it WAS fairly innovative to let you play as and surrounded by such characters. The orcs in WarCraft 2 are "well done" bloodthirsty savages, but that's something you see it a lot of games. Genocidal alien hive minds may be a dime a dozen as far as antagonists go, but as far as actual CHARACTERS go, I haven't seen many. To date, I think StarCraft II is the only game I've played where you actually got to play them. (Let me know if there are particular other games that do that which I should check out).

 

[@Li3n]

And i though Kerrigan was done well too, generic evil bitch or not...

This is obviously the root of our disagreement and not something I expect any lengthy dialogue to fix. Whatevs.

How do we disagree if your arguments about it where only that she was too one dimensional?! That's exactly what a generic evil person is...

I will note that while the Overmind was not an original character, it WAS fairly innovative to let you play as and surrounded by such characters. The orcs in WarCraft 2 are "well done" bloodthirsty savages, but that's something you see it a lot of games. Genocidal alien hive minds may be a dime a dozen as far as antagonists go, but as far as actual CHARACTERS go, I haven't seen many. To date, I think StarCraft II is the only game I've played where you actually got to play them. (Let me know if there are particular other games that do that which I should check out).

Oh, if you're talking about playing as them, yeah, there are not a lot of those... (though being an antagonist doesn't mean they aren't characters too).

But i for one wasn't very impressed when it comes to them being a convincing hivemind... they where pretty much individuals with the same goal. A hivemind should be more like talking to yourself (also called thinking)... now that i have never seen.

that doesn't mean the Overmind and co. wheren't well done though...

 

[Raemon777]

How do we disagree if your arguments about it where only that she was too one dimensional?! That's exactly what a generic evil person is...

I just thought she was boring. There are plenty of one dimensional villains that I've found entertaining. (Sue Sylvester of "Glee," prior to her "oh I suddenly have a soft spot" episode might qualify. Jafar from Aladdin. I have no particular argument for why she was boring. I just thought she was.

I do think Overmind and Co. could have been done better (or more accurately, done differently, in a way that would have been more realistic and innovative, but harder for most players to grok). I don't think the way they interacted was "inaccurate" per se - each creature that the zerg assimilated DID start with their own limited intelligence and willpower. For certain strains, it was beneficial to the swarm to steer their mutations towards blind obedience. In other cases they deliberately steered them towards a certain amount of intelligence and consciousness to help maintain control of the swarm. Individuals can exist within a hive, they just don't value their life/freedom over the hive. Also bear in mind that the "interpersonal disputes" among the cerebrates tended to revolve around Kerrigan who had maintained a lot of human-like mental quirks, I assume.

 

[@Li3n]

I just thought she was boring. There are plenty of one dimensional villains that I've found entertaining. (Sue Sylvester of "Glee," prior to her "oh I suddenly have a soft spot" episode might qualify. Jafar from Aladdin. I have no particular argument for why she was boring. I just thought she was.

Well that is something i can't bring arguments against...

I do think Overmind and Co. could have been done better (or more accurately, done differently, in a way that would have been more realistic and innovative, but harder for most players to grok). I don't think the way they interacted was "inaccurate" per se - each creature that the zerg assimilated DID start with their own limited intelligence and willpower. For certain strains, it was beneficial to the swarm to steer their mutations towards blind obedience. In other cases they deliberately steered them towards a certain amount of intelligence and consciousness to help maintain control of the swarm. Individuals can exist within a hive, they just don't value their life/freedom over the hive. Also bear in mind that the "interpersonal disputes" among the cerebrates tended to revolve around Kerrigan who had maintained a lot of human-like mental quirks, I assume.

I see a hivemind and an "ant colony" where every individual is simply wholly subservient to the "queen" as different things... a hivemind wouldn't have any individuality as they all should share the same mind... any disagreements should be simply the same as you thinking about something and looking at it form more angles.

The Zerg where more like mind controled by the Overmind then sharing a mind (and having the Overmind simply as the best part of their brain).