Story, Gameplay, or Both?

[Black.Ice]

In a few weeks, StarCraft will be celebrating its 8th anniversary. Despite being 8 years old, it's still gong strong and being played by a lot of people.

Do you think the success of StarCraft is based upon the gameplay, the story, or a combination of both?

[U-238]

I've said it before. A great game takes this.
1. A great interface
2. A killer storyline
3. The ability to play with others over a wide range of ways
4. The ability to create your own senarios and maps\worlds
5. (This ones also very helpfull) The ability to modify the game.

So you see there is actually more than two reasons that SC is a great game.

[GrassDragon]

I think Battle.net and modding has kept SC alive for so long. Battle.net has provided players with an opportunity to face new challenges when the campaigns get old and they beat all of their friends on LAN. Modding lets people take control of the game and use their imagination to mold it. Then they can share their creations with people around the world.

[ExplodeDOOM]

Definatly both. The storyline is plain pwng, and the gameplay keeps the game alive after you beat the campeign...

[ShadeZ]

The map editor is a very powerful factor. You can make entirely different games and 50+% players on sc play ums maps.

[Kingscrab]

I think Battle.net and modding has kept SC alive for so long. Battle.net has provided players with an opportunity to face new challenges when the campaigns get old and they beat all of their friends on LAN. Modding lets people take control of the game and use their imagination to mold it. Then they can share their creations with people around the world. I agree. If i hadn't been able to create new maps i probably would have lost interest a long time ago. I could really care less about the SC storyline, i simply enjoy the gameplay. The graphics seem pretty basic, but the units still look cool... :)

[Black.Ice]

The map editor is a very powerful factor. You can make entirely different games and 50+% players on sc play ums maps.

Many of you are saying the map editor, and I think that falls under the gameplay. You're basically changing a variable of the gameplay with the map editor.

I think it's a combination of both because Blizzard did a hell of a job with the story that riled up people. They loved the game and they were immersed into the story. They combined it with a balanced, addictive gameplay that doesn't seem to get old.

The story has a lot to do with it. If the units were the same, but they were big, fluffy teddy bears vs red martians... it just wouldn't work. ;)

[GrassDragon]

I agree. If i hadn't been able to create new maps i probably would have lost interest a long time ago. I could really care less about the SC storyline, i simply enjoy the gameplay.
Yeah, I rarely get into the storyline of a game (except for the Tomb Raider games :P). I'm just there to play, and the storyline really has no effect on online play.

Going to have to start up the map editor once I get a bit more experienced, it looks like a lot of fun.

[ShadeZ]

Going to have to start up the map editor once I get a bit more experienced, it looks like a lot of fun.
It isn't really that hard, just learn how to use triggers, and I'd say that they're pretty easy to learn. Just know how to read, that's all, it's not confusing names like teltalizing warpation path

And when compared to the war 3 editor.... X.X

[Duddits]

I think it great because of the same reason fighting games are great... C'mon, who plays a fight game for the story? Starcraft is great because as the absolute pwn replay value of it.

[Midget89]

Definately the gameplay. While the storlyine was excellent, IMO, it wasn't good enough to fuel the 8 years of die-hard fans. The online community for SC is also one of the greatest I've ever come across as well. No other game has this incredibly large fan base of players, modders, and map makers.

[Healer_Shaiera]

I should say both;
The storyline was great and had a purpose in the game.
The game itself was well polished and has been able to take the player's eyes from the graphics to the gameplay itself.
Great game all the way

[Tharisfal]

Though most because of the great gameplay, you can't ignore the story, it rocks. So I voted both.

[Basan]

*Takes the chance to (politely) ask for the ressurection of the multiquote function* :concern:

In a few weeks, StarCraft will be celebrating its 8th anniversary. Despite being 8 years old, it's still gong strong and being played by a lot of people.

Do you think the success of StarCraft is based upon the gameplay, the story, or a combination of both?

It's the sum of all together, imao, particularly for me who always reads the game manuals to get a better feel of the game for themselves kind.
And obviously not forgetting that the SC community even made some of the excellent (3rd party) apps to enhance the game more to your liking, thus resulting in exquisite results both in mapping and modding the game itself. And all that, of course, especially designed for our playing pleasure afterwards. :)

Going to have to start up the map editor once I get a bit more experienced, it looks like a lot of fun.

Although StarEdit is a fine editor on itself, may I suggest you to just give a shot to SCXE Base Mode as well, due to the rather obvious resemblance with the original editor? You won't get disappointed, that's for sure (fyi, that's one of the couple I still use nowadays). ;)