Well I crawled out of my sick bed on Saturday to see two things; the first was the F.a.Cup Final which was a HUGE disappointment, the second to see what new game Blizzard were unveiling. I don't think any of us were really surprised it was Starcraft2, apart from maybe the lunatics that believed it would be an MMO.
It is supposed to be a new game or an expansion pack? Where is the 4th race? I really hope they announce one later on but when considering it I thought well it could be hard to think of a truly original race and units that doesn't look like any of the current 3. Protoss = Future, Terran = Present, Zerg = Past in terms of fighting style/technology so where do you think they could slide in a new race? (no, it won’t be “imba night elf”, whiners)

I played Starcraft online for 2 years before moving onto Warcraft3, I got Reign of Chaos a couple of months after it was released and I remember all the whines from Starcraft players when clan members "betrayed" them. "Go play with your magic, your orcs and your little “heroes”" I remember one clan member said. There were several reasons why Starcrafters did not like Warcrafter.
Heroes: Most people did not like the idea of “Heroes” when Warcraft3 came out, seemed too much like Diablo meets Starcraft.
Hp: They did not like that it took so long to kill one unit, in Starcraft the equivalent to a Warcraft3 footman or ghoul was a marine for the Terrans and a tank in Siege Mode (sacrifice mobility to increase attack damage, range and add splash) could kill maybe 5-10 marines in one shot?
Magic/Fantasy: I mean men like “guns n stuff”, destruction, carnage and blood. Warcraft3 when it came out seemed like a happy RTS, lots of pretty colours, the units even made funny noises (they did in Starcraft, well they made noises, not necessarily funny).
I think Blizzard will realise this and continue to keep the two games separate, they did that with Warcraft2 -> Starcraft ->Warcraft3 and the step back to Starcraft2 should be no different. Although when I moved to Warcraft3 it was easy, if you had played Starcraft it was so quick to pick up. Warcraft3 just added small things like being able to put multiple buildings in one group or a map ping that you thought “yeah we really needed that on Starcraft”. I hope Starcraft2 will live up to expectations but will it “Kill Wc3?”, I highly doubt it, it will take time to become balanced for instance and its still not released for another 1-2 years probably!
Although I think that like me, other old fans will suddenly think about maybe just playing a little Starcraft in the next year or so just to get a feel for it again so the Starcraft community could build in anticipation of the Sc2 release.
What do you all think?

Maly's Game Theory
First Entry
I’ve been interested in the theory of games for quite a long time now, over the last 2 university degrees I have used any essay project to research & learn about computer games. On the one hand it makes you appreciate games more but on the other hand it destroys the magic of games however it is still an interesting subject none the less. I decided that with my spare time now after finishing University I could perhaps share my knowledge, if people are interested I might even try to turn it into a feature! *gasp* Do not worry I’ll try to keep it interesting and not make it seem like your reading an essay ;)
Where to start? I thought I’d start with what I found the most interesting which is a very brief overview of why we find computer games fun and also part of the reason why “pro-gamers” are THAT good.
The answer to both these question is patterns. The human brain is a massive consumer of patterns, and is just so happens that computer games are full of extremely interesting patterns for us to eat up! However our brain basically fills in the spaces, so much that we don’t even realize all the work that it is doing!
Why don’t we realise it? According to experts it is because we are not really “conscious”, in fact we do most things on auto-pilot. Ever seen a Warcraft 3 player live? Everything is happening so quickly you sometimes think he must be faking it. Or perhaps you’ve seen SK|Spawn react with lightning speed, and you think how is he THAT quick?
The reason some pro-gamers are so good is because of a concept called “chunking”. If I asked you to think about what you did this morning, you’d probably list getting up, crawling into the bathroom, perhaps even washing? Then you would get dressed, hopefully eat some breakfast (most important meal of the day!) and then got on your PC ready to read E-Sports news. Now that seems quite detailed but when you got dressed which order did you do it in? Did you put your T-shirt on first? Which sock did you put on first? Now this is when you have to work your brain to remember but you could probably remember in the end (especially if you have a photographic memory)
The reason for this is because this is a routine, something you do everyday, you’ve done it so much you do not even think about it anymore. The whole routine has been “chunked” in other words it has been broken down and grouped into pieces, when you are asked to think about it in more detail that’s when you actually have to work your brain and turn it off auto-pilot.
Computer Games are no different, the first time you play a first person shooter it may feel a little strange especially if you never played one before. However if you decide to keep trying and don’t give up then you will start to notice patterns. When you press the up arrow or W the player moves forward, when you press fire the gun will fire. These may seem “obvious” but to someone who is new to games this is a new pattern, we as gamers have already mastered these patterns and “chunked” them. As we grow with experience we move onto master more complex patterns, however this is not enough for us to be able to master the game.
Ever tried to mirror a strategy or tactic on Counter-Strike or Warcraft3 only to find you can’t manage to be as successful despite copying the winning team or player? The reason for this is because you are only exposing yourself to the patterns, in order to be successful you must chunk them efficiently and to do so you must practise them over and over until they become a routine and you can “chunk” them.
Yep, the professional gamers weren’t kidding when they said “practise practise practise”! Basically in order for us to improve we must learn to master patterns. The fun and enjoyment comes from us being faced with patterns that are not too simple that we can master them instantly and not too complex that we can not understand them. Online gamers become more proficient in games because of the competition but also because online games are more of a routine than the single player, we learn to master it quicker and more efficiently in order to survive.
This is just a small start! It’s a big a topic but I’ll see if people are interested in learning more or perhaps for me to go into greater detail!