How should it start?

[Akuma]

How should Starcraft 2's campaign start? Using the rule of three positions, Zerg would be first, Protoss second and Terran last, since this gives each race the only position they haven't yet had.

Which race should be first? And how should the story start?

[Kamikazie190]

Given the transition from Warcraft II of two races to Warcraft III of four races (when it was originally supposed to be 5), I highly doubt blizzard won't add another race to the mix, so I think the rule of 3 is pretty much obsolete. Even if blizzard didn't add a new race, theres another thing to consider: the race that was ultimately defeated in the last game always starts off. Warcraft I: Humans defeated, humans led the campaign of warcraft II, and orcs lead warcraft III (tutorial), and the night elves, who lost their demi-god and much of their homeland (since the defeated was a NPC race I guess they had to do that) lead Frozen throne. In starcraft, the Protoss lost their homeworld, and it made sense that they flee, thus leading off broodwars. Karma to who can find the flaw in my logic.

If you want my opinion on who should lead off and why, I'm going with the Terrans, because I believe a zerg invasion of earth is emminent, plus Mensk wants mucho revenge on Kerrigan. Theres also the hanging element of Raynor missing somewhere in this mix.

[Akuma]

Allow me to refine the question:

a) Assuming only three races, which of them would start?
b) Assuming more than three, which of the original races would be earliest in a campaign?

Might I point out that Terrans at the start of SC were the dominant race. Logically, thereby, instead of continuing a "rally to victory" principle, Blizzard will want to weaken the Zerg and bring them back to the other races' general statures in the Koprulu sector. Thus Kerrigan begins as did the Confederacy: Strong but overconfident. As with the Confederates, previously unknown enemies potentially await to damage Kerrigan's rule: Xel'Naga/hybrids.

Next question: Duran. Is he

a) A Xel'Naga representative
b) A renegade Xel'Naga
c) The Overmind
d) Some new entity to be revealed in SC2

[BSTRhino]

My opinion is that the Zerg vs Protoss and Terran storyline is getting old. We need something new.

A bit like in WarCraft II, where we learnt that the Orcs were a race that were brought to Earth through a Dark Portal and controlled by the burning legion. We need something deep like that, not just Zerg vs Terran and Protoss again.

I think Duran would be a great way to open up the story, hopefully the Xel'Naga story is more complicated than we think.

[Akuma]

Good point; Blizzard has nowhere to go unless they drag in a new element.
Duran is the focal point for it; but anything other than the Xel'Naga or the Hybrid will seem (at this point) contrived. In WCIII, the Burning Legion had already been established, as had Ner'Zhul and undead warriors. They took a different tack with the Orcs (than previous games) in order to spawn a defined, individual Undead race. The Night Elves, on the other hand, seemed contrived. Logically it works, but there was no hint of any eldritch race, no mention of these ancient names, no World Tree etc.

Problem is, will the Xel'Naga be overpowered? Will the Hybrid be a bland mix of Zerg and Protoss or superior to both?

I suspect that SC2's storyline willl hinge heavily on that of SC:Ghost.

[peace_machine]

Good point; Blizzard has nowhere to go unless they drag in a new element.
Duran is the focal point for it; but anything other than the Xel'Naga or the Hybrid will seem (at this point) contrived. In WCIII, the Burning Legion had already been established, as had Ner'Zhul and undead warriors. They took a different tack with the Orcs (than previous games) in order to spawn a defined, individual Undead race. The Night Elves, on the other hand, seemed contrived. Logically it works, but there was no hint of any eldritch race, no mention of these ancient names, no World Tree etc.

Problem is, will the Xel'Naga be overpowered? Will the Hybrid be a bland mix of Zerg and Protoss or superior to both?

I suspect that SC2's storyline willl hinge heavily on that of SC:Ghost.
It has been said that Ghost may tie sc and sc2 together. Assuming Hybrids and Xel'Naga are added then they would be stronger in the story line, perhaps they are oposed (duran assuming he is Xel'Naga was acting against the withes of the Xel'Naga) and SC2 is based around that. With the Terran/Zerg/Protoss forces either aiding/hindering or being played by the higher powers...

[Kamikaze_Chicken]

it should start with zerg because the original started with terran and expansion with protoss so the new one should start with zerg lol

[Akuma]

If they did introduce the Xel'Naga, they would be echoes of the original Starcraft (superior race shows itself, nukes the living hell out of something.)

Now, if Duran is not a foreruuner agent for the Xel'Naga, we can safely assume that he is an antagonist. Perhaps having to do with why the Xel'Naga are "They who Wander."

Wild theory: Duran is a Terran body possessed psychically by a waveform entity (read: cosmic energy) that long ago waged war on the Xel'Naga, possibly destroying their homeworld. The Xel'Naga, realizing themselves too physically weak (or something of the sort) began genetic experiments to create a race that would be able to defeat Duran. Eventually, it arrived amongst their developing planets and, through some manner of trickery, they snared it beneath the Xel'Naga Temple on Shakuras. Understanding the debilitating effect it would have on the planet, they took the crystal keys to the prison and hid them away until they could fully defeat the Duran-thing. However, they (mostly) died.
Fast forward to present day: The Protoss activate the Temple, releasing the "cosmic energies" (read: Duran-thing) which decimate a huge area around the Temple but cannon damage the Temple itself. In fury, it spreads itself out into the sector, finding a human body which it takes over psychically, devoring all information within the host and several other humans nearby. Knowing it is still weak, it orchestrates two plans: one, to weaken the warring races in the Koprulu sector and two, to refine the Xel'Naga's experiments and in an ironic twist, use them against their creators.