Balance - the key to making an ever-challenging game

Starcraft: Brood War is today, after having been around for more than a decade, still being played at the very highest professional level. In fact, in South Korea it is the unofficial national sport, second only to soccer in viewership, and is broadcoasted on several dedicated TV-channels with 12 professional teams of players who devote their full time and attention to mastering the game.

Outside of Korea, in the so-called ”foreign Starcraft” community (an accepted term for the non-Korean/rest of the world-Starcraft players) the game has a deep and stable scene of gamers who play more for the challenge than anything else, as sponsorships and prize money are scarce.

Another post will give a more thorough introduction to Korean and foreign Starcraft, because here I would like to point out why this game is not only very good – but why it has managed to stay popular and continue to evolve for longer than any other electronic sport. The most crucial reason for this is balance.

The tennis court is a flat rectangle with a few markings on it with a dividing net in the middle. It is simple, perhaps a bit boring, but very effective in giving the players the exact same circumstances and tools to work with, so that only individual skill can make the difference. The same goes for the football field, basketball court and many other sports – to create balance.

Computer games naturally move away from this, giving players more imaginative surroundings to work with in the game. Starcraft is no different, as it gives You the control over alien and futuristic armies in different exotic environments that make up the maps where battles take place. A professional Starcraft-match looks nothing at all like a game of tennis, but the truth is that is not at all that dissimilar, because there is in fact the same amount of balance.

How can this be? Starcraft, being a game where the player can choose to command three different factions (usually referred to as ”races”) that are all very unique, was not always a perfectly balanced experience, but it has become so over time. Blizzard Entertainment has gone to great lengths over the years to develop and update the game, listening to the community and implementing necessary changes.

Today the very complex game of Starcraft, that began its life based on the formula of Warcraft II and Command & Conquer of the late 1990s, is as balanced as a strategy game could ever be, and far more so (according to me, at least) than any other competing title.

The reason why Starcraft has become more suitable for professional competition than any other strategy game is not because the people at Blizzard are a bunch of super-geniuses that know more about game design than other companies. They are good, but only human. Rather, it is the continued attention to development of the multiplayer-aspect of the game that has turned Starcraft into what it is.

Another and more modern title that I personally enjoy very much is Relic Entertainment’s Company of Heroes, a World War II tactical-strategy game, which is great fun to play but inherently unbalanced. Only with continued updates and close listening to the feedback of the community can this promising game become a potential eSport in the future, though I personally don’t think that Relic has that ambition.

Of course, that is not always necessary – it’s a good game regardless, but so are many titles. Starcraft has matured over time while other games have faded into memory, and that is more due to the persistance of Blizzard than anything else.

Balance is a key component in making any organised sport feel forever young and always challenging. What makes some computer games, and Starcraft in particular, so exciting as electronic sports are that they combine the qualities of traditional sports with the eye-pleasing wonders of computer technology. If only there is balance, the rest of the game can be whatever You want it to be, which certainly can create a far more interesting sport than tennis, in my opinion.

Starcraft accomplishes this, and it continues to evolve and change despite of its old age. The main reason for this are the Koreans, who play the game to such a high level that new strategies are constantly being formulated. This is further improved by their skill in making new maps (the game of Starcraft comes equipped with a built-in map-making software) that are made specifically in order to enhance professional play.

In that sense, the ”tennis court of Starcraft” never stays the same, but the balance does, which creates a highly challenging environment for players and a very enjoyable sport for viewers.

It is possible to win against any race in Starcraft, but it is not an easy game to play. A player must know the map, must make sure to scout his or her opponent in order to see what strategy he or she is using, and then adjust accordingly. In order to win, a player must be able to multitask – build buildings in the base while scouting and fighting against the opponent(s).

There is a lot to learn, which may seem daunting, but the satisfaction equals the difficulty. Because it is genuinely possible for a foreign player to wake up one day, start playing Starcraft with the intention of becoming pro and eventually reaching that goal. The living proof of this is the American Terran-player Gred ”Idra” Fields.

At the time of writing this, June 2009, he is the only non-Korean player in the world with an active progaming license. That happy nerd (a word I use in the most positive sense) only started playing Starcraft seriously two years ago, but in late 2008 after having shown promising skills in various online tournaments, he was invited by the Korean professional Starcraft-team eSTRO to come to the Holy Land and play the Game at the highest level.

He is there now, working hard as a true cyber athlete must, in order to master the most balanced game on earth. It is not easy to own in Starcraft, but again, it’s satisfyingly difficult. I’s balanced enough to make everything possible, but hard enought to make that a really tough challenge. That’s the basics for a proper sport, if you ask me.

EDIT: Teamliquid has now launched the Liquipedia - an online encyclopedia for understanding and learning Starcraft. It’s a truly good resource, click here to read their take on the balance of Starcraft: Brood War.

What do You think? Are games like Starcraft capable enough to provide a genuine sport-experience, and if so - is that something we want? Share Your opinions in the comments below, and read the other posts in this series:

6 Reasons Why Starcraft is the Manliest game on Earth

1) Balance - the key to making an ever-challenging game

2) Clarity through graphics - why less is more when things get hardcore

3) Professional Korean Starcraft

4) ‘Foreign’, i.e. semi-pro/skilled-amateur Starcraft

5) Enjoy Starcraft as a spectator - where and how

6) The Rebirth of online gaming - Starcraft 2

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