Chris Sigaty’s mum is of course a symbol of the casual or uninitiated gamer, “It’s definitely a very challenging tight rope walk,” he said.

“We’ve trying to make sure that it’s perfectly balanced for e-sport, but look — I’m going to try to get my mom to play this game. I mean, I know she can’t [micromanage] at the level that these pro gamers can, so we’re actually experimenting back in the opposite direction… so that even the layman can come in and get a grasp of these cool things in the game.”

Sigaty sees the casual gamer as a vital component of the "Starcraft II" audience, “[Real-time strategy games] at this level — there’s a lot more there to think about and it gets really frantic really fast, and so it’s definitely off-putting to somebody that’s totally new to video games,” he said.

“But we want to make it much easier for people to explore whether it would interest them.”

Adding, “And yes, I want to try to get my mom and my wife to take a look and see if they like it. My wife has come to a lot of these events, and she loves watching [people play] but she says, ‘I could never do it.’ Well, I want to try and change her mind. I think that would be awesome if we could.”

Games with a gentle learning curve tend to outlast those that are more unforgiving. The hope for “Starcraft II” is to find a solid middle ground. Layering the game, making it an enjoyable experience for beginners, but adding layers of strategy and technique that make the game a treasure trove of entertainment that appreciates as you invest more and more time, is how Blizzard intend to produce a well-balanced game experience.

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