It isn’t often I’m moved to rant about video games. There are plenty of other nerds with better thought-out opinions, usually supported by graphs and proofs and the phrases “non-trivial”, and “Let N be…”.
But this, this is a hill where I plant my flag, affix bayonets, and take a stand, with all the power in my laughably flabby body with questionable hygiene.
Custom. Maps. In StarCraft. II.
Blizzard user-made maps is a weird arena of amateur game development. The map-making tools, scripting toolset, pre-made Blizzard textures and models, an installed fan-base, and the ability to play these games seamlessly with others. Everything you need lure crazy kids and crazy not-quite-kids to while away their time remaking the Battle at Helm’s Deep with Space Marines and Zerglings. An entire cooperative class-based zombie survival shooter game. A mini-RPG in itself, with plotlines, character development, leveling, with a Yu-Gi-Yoh theme. Or a mini-game involving vampires and chest acne.
Anything, really.
Ok, probably ripped off DeviantArt, but still...
You can create a strange and wonderful game with, say Warcraft III, put that badboy in the appropriate folder, invite your friends into a lobby, and off you go. It was entirely logical. Too logical, as it turns out.
The tools and ease of use created entire genres. You might remember Desktop Tower Defense, and then, later, a slew of commercial games based around the same idea (most notably, Defense Grid and Plants Vs Zombies). Bad dudes stream by, you build towers to shoot them down. What you might not know is that the entire genre was kicked into overdrive by StarCraft Tower Defense maps, then later, WarCraft III TD maps.
Thousands of them.
Your genocidal mania for small, varied baddies being exterminated by emplaced artillery with a masonry veneer is thanks to the work of people who have enough numbers in their name to rival a credit card. And, in case there is any doubt, some totally sick forum sigs.
And you thought "Diner Dash" was awesome.
In addition to Tower Defense, there was another entirely new genre Blizzard games (in this case, Warcraft III) spawned: MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena). Think Diablo, but you level over the course of about an hour, and there are teams. The king of and originator of the genre is DoTA, which spawned so very many clones.
Custom maps is a verdant field for testing out and getting traction for game ideas.
The communities that arise around user generated content is startling but understandable.
First of all, people like free things, be it games or air free of carcinogens or those unbearably tasteless Canadian flags that were given out during the Olympics with more Bank logos on it than a European Formula 1 team, free is good.
Second, people want to be recognized, want the feedback and give and take of actual gamers playing your reconstruction of Nero’s Rome with Furry Role Playing Badgers Fending off the Undead Mushrooms.
So when I went searching for weird wonderful creations to play in Starcraft II, I found one of these communities, looked at the ratings, the download count, the number of times the map maker uses ‘loose’ instead of ‘lose’, and decided whether or not to try it. I downloaded a few of them, and hunted for the SC2 maps folder. And searched.
And searched.
And Googled, feeling like my intellectual powers had plummeted from a nearly average mouth breather just capable of caring for himself without causing permanent bodily harm, to that of a cactus left out to dry then fed to an incontinent weasel.
“Install custom Starcraft II maps”. That seemed like a string that was likely to get results.
Totally. Fricking. Legit.
Results it did get. Of people having the same issue. Of there being the need for some third party hack. Mentions of maps needing to be ‘verified’ or somesuch.
It was true. After much rending and the uttering of the ‘f’ word, the ‘mf’ word, the ‘c’ word, and all the permutations those three words could possibly be made into, I accepted it.
I knew Blizzard wanted to be Facebook. But it was then I realized they also wanted to be Apple…
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“Battle at Helm’s Deep with Space Marines and Zerglings.”
I want to play this! Does this exist or did you make it up? I will have to look for it when I’m home from work.
I’m almost positive I just made this up. But looking, I think there is one for WC3, but it’s not space marines and zerglings, I don’t think.
Yeah, I think Zerg’s Deep would be pretty epic.
Blizzard will always, beneath their fat, happy layers, suck. This is another reason of their suckage.
I don’t know that they SUCK, but I certainly stopped being really psyched about their products a while back. I can’t be the only one who saw everyone gushing over the new diablo iii footage and thought “i’d rather have torchlight 2″
They do suck. Silence you.
Also, holy fuck man, I clicked on your name, which I assume is a hyperlink to your site (shishuu.net) and apparently it tried to give me a trojan.
My anti-virus badly messing up, or, if not, what’s up with your site?
Argh! The result of not paying attention. It looks like it was compromised, and I have taken it down and put up a placeholder.
I can’t reply to your other reply so I’ll reply to this, but yeah, thanks. Sorry to swear, the paranoid me went into “Execute” mode. Glad I pointed it out ^_^
Oh, I gushed over the D3 footage. T2 is looking good as well, though.