In this interview, feardragon discusses his transition back to a full-time software development job after years as a StarCraft II commentator, noting he now enjoys the game more casually. He touches on the current balance debates, stating there's no consensus among pros, even for specific matchups. Looking at the future, he predicts the scene will become more grassroots-focused, with fewer full-time professionals, but emphasizes that competitive StarCraft will continue as long as the servers are up. He shares his personal journey into StarCraft, starting with Brood War and discovering the esports scene through friends and early community figures. A significant point is Blizzard's past PR mistake of marketing StarCraft as an extremely hard game, which he believes alienated potential players. Finally, he expresses skepticism about new RTS titles and the potential impact of the recent Nexon licensing deal, feeling the community and industry face challenges in attracting new players and building sustainable models outside of relying on large companies.
feardragon discussing the future of StarCraft II
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There is ongoing community discourse about balance, particularly regarding Protoss potentially being overtuned, although tournament results don't consistently support this [05:17].
feardragon views game balance like a puzzle for players to solve, rather than something he needs a strong opinion on as a commentator [05:43].
He acknowledges community frustration but doesn't claim to know where the balance truly lies [06:31].
Discussions with pro players reveal a lack of consensus on the current balance state across matchups like ZvP and PvT [06:46].
Some Zerg players feel late-game ZvP is unplayable, while others disagree [07:05].
Some Protoss players find mid-game difficult, while others see matchups as even [07:20].
Similar varying opinions exist for PvT among Terran and Protoss players [08:02].
Overall, there is "no real consensus" among players about balance right now [08:16].
StarCraft II is in a unique place with significant grassroots support despite major entities like ESL stepping back from running tournaments [08:50].
Events like Cheeseadelphia, HomeStory Cup, and others continue to pop up [08:52].
The key question is whether this grassroots support is enough to sustain top professionals dedicating themselves full-time to the game [09:30].
feardragon predicts more players will shift to playing part-time, alongside other jobs [10:08].
He contrasts this with the European scene, which historically had more dedicated full-time pros, but they are also starting to question dedication without consistent top-tier events [11:20].
The scene may resemble earlier eras of StarCraft I and II esports, where prize pools were much smaller, and players competed more out of passion [13:10].
MLG events in the early SC2 era had total prize pools as low as $5k [13:43].
Players in those days might only make a couple hundred to a couple thousand dollars a year from tournaments [14:09].
Competitive StarCraft II will likely persist as long as the game servers remain online [15:03].
A potential challenge remains attracting new players and integrating "new blood" into the competitive scene [12:41].
He was introduced to the original StarCraft through a friend named Vincent, whose parents allowed him to play mature games [16:15].
He received his friend's original StarCraft 1 CD when the Brood War expansion came out [16:38].
Sharing a CD key caused logistical challenges initially [16:56].
He played a lot of StarCraft I, transitioning briefly to Warcraft III casually [17:17].
He was initially a "trash player" who didn't understand basic mechanics like macro [17:30].
His discovery of the competitive StarCraft scene came through a guild mate in Ragnarok Online [17:36].
This friend was very skilled at Brood War custom games and followed the esports scene [17:58].
This led him to discover StarCraft II content creators like Day[9] and Husky, who were covering the beta, sparking his interest in following SC2 esports [18:52].
Historically, the dominant storyline in StarCraft esports revolved around the struggle of non-Korean ("foreigner") players against the highly dominant Korean players [19:45].
Serral's breakthrough in 2018, dominating the scene, shifted this narrative [19:59].
feardragon believes the decline of the strict foreigner vs Korean storyline is a mixed bag [20:13].
Regional locks, while controversial, helped build anticipation for events where Koreans and non-Koreans would finally face off [21:07].
This cross-regional clash created significant hype and narratives that are now less prominent [21:21].
However, losing this singular focus has also allowed for the development of other compelling storylines and regional rivalries, such as European players challenging Serral or specific player rivalries like Clem vs Reynor [22:30].
The scene has gained diverse narratives even as the main regional one has diminished [23:01].
Compared to previous years, there seems to be less predictability in tournament outcomes and more "upsets" [23:08].
Examples include Cure defeating Maru or Classic defeating Serral [23:21].
feardragon speculates this is because players who were once seen as untouchable (like Serral and Maru a few years ago) are now more consistently challenged by a wider pool of competitors [23:52].
This could be influenced by players practicing less consistently due to the fluctuating scene or uncertainty around balance/map changes [24:40].
The current competitive landscape feels more open, with a larger number of players potentially capable of winning major events compared to two or four years ago [25:17].
This increased parity adds excitement for viewers and provides more players to root for [25:37].
There are diverse reasons why people are drawn to and continue to engage with StarCraft [29:15].
Some are drawn to the core game mechanics, unit control, strategy, and the feeling of playing [29:29].
Others are primarily interested in the high-level competition and the pursuit of skill mastery (the skill ceiling) [29:23].
Many are invested because of the community, personalities, and social connections [29:38].
The Arcade also provides a significant point of enjoyment for many players who may not engage with the competitive ladder or esports [29:47].
The community encompasses people with vastly different levels of game knowledge and engagement, from those following pros intently to those who attend events simply because they enjoy the competitive atmosphere or camaraderie [30:01].
feardragon believes one of Blizzard's biggest mistakes was marketing StarCraft II as an incredibly difficult game [31:24].
Commercials and community figures often emphasized how "hard" the game was [31:48].
He argues this created a PR problem by directly equating StarCraft with hardcore esports, deterring potential casual players [34:06].
Many people who played the much harder original Brood War fondly remember it but don't focus on its difficulty in retrospect [33:56].
He compares this to the "Mario Kart effect" or "Smash Brothers effect," where casual players of those games feel confident about their skill despite not engaging with the competitive scene [33:24].
The "Starcraft is esports" messaging from the beginning made the game feel unapproachable to outsiders [34:06].
This resulted in a community where many people watch the game but are hesitant to play it themselves because they perceive it as too difficult or only for "competitive psychos" [34:15].
Supporting the Scene vs. Community Entitlement [35:22]
feardragon argues that the StarCraft II community, particularly, can be "entitled" or "pampered" compared to other esports scenes [36:28].
He contrasts this with the fighting game community (FGC), where players often physically travel to local events and even pay entry fees to play, supporting the grassroots infrastructure [37:04].
FGC players put in significant effort just to find games, unlike the readily available matchmaking in SC2 [37:40].
He feels the SC2 community is not as accustomed to putting in this kind of direct, grassroots effort to build and sustain the scene because they have historically relied on Blizzard's built-in systems and large corporate-sponsored events [38:08].
This lack of a strong foundation in self-organized, paid local play makes the scene less resilient when corporate support diminishes [38:57].
New RTS games have struggled partly because players in the game industry have become more skeptical due to previous negative experiences with crowdfunded or early access titles [39:39].
There is less "goodwill" and more expectation and doubt compared to a decade ago [40:07].
Many new RTS developers, often startups with former Blizzard staff, face challenges trying to manage ambitious goals across multiple game modes as indie companies [40:55].
They also have to rely heavily on community hype and engagement to attract investment, a different model than large established companies [41:43].
Finding a balance between appealing to the existing core StarCraft audience and attracting entirely new players is difficult [42:30].
Simply remaking StarCraft II with current design philosophies might not be enough to attract a large new player base to justify development costs [42:20].
No new title has yet successfully found the formula to bridge this gap and capture a broad audience while satisfying core RTS fans [42:36].
Regarding Nexon's recent licensing deal with Blizzard for the StarCraft IP, feardragon has limited hope for it focusing on the core RTS esports audience [43:22].
His perception of Nexon is primarily associated with mobile games [43:24].
He is generally cautious about expectations from large corporate developments like this or the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard [43:34].
Based on past experience with large company acquisitions, significant changes take a long time and are driven by business metrics [43:51].
Large companies are also willing to drop support or shut down projects if they are not seen as profitable investments [44:16].
He doesn't anticipate Nexon's deal will necessarily target the niche StarCraft core audience of RTS esports fans [44:40].
feardragon encourages the community to continue enjoying StarCraft and the events that are still happening, such as Wardies and HomeStory Cups [45:16].
While acknowledging the scene is in a challenging spot and feels like a "swan song" for its current era, he emphasizes that competitive StarCraft will still exist [45:34].
He hopes people remain open-minded about the game's future evolution and continue to engage with the content available [46:10].
