On Feb. 26, Blizzard Entertainment released their latest trailer - titled Vengeance - promoting the Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm (HotS) release on March 12.
Fans' exclamations of dismay over a 15-minute technical delay quickly turned to in-chat cheers after the release of the trailer, which features a possibly now-human Sarah Kerrigan on a quest for (what else?) vengeance.
Along with the premiere of the trailer, Blizzard also had three developers - Dustin Browder, Chris Metzen and Jeff Chamberlain - on hand to answer fans' questions about the trailer and the HotS expansion.
In discussing the issues with ensuring that Kerrigan remains a strong female lead, they agreed that HotS was particularly difficult for its writers. "Writing this game...was a unique challenge," Metzen stated, calling the process a "tightrope act." He explained that the difficulty came in making Kerrigan a character to which fans could relate.
"I think it's less of a challenge that she's a woman or a man and more of a challenge that she's a villain," Browder added, noting that she must often make choices where no option is a good one.
Fans also inquired about the Xel'Naga story, which developed during the Wings of Liberty campaign. However, Metzen hinted that players can expect HotS to focus mainly on Kerrigan, whereas the third expansion - Legacy of the Void - will feature the Xel'Naga storyline.
Along with answering questions related to the game's story, the developers addressed concerns that campaign players found it difficult to transition into the multiplayer aspect of Wings of Liberty. Browder cited several additions to HotS that they are hoping will remedy these concerns, including training modules based on this transition, additional AI levels and unranked play.
The event ended with a HotS showmatch between fan favorite Grubby (Protoss) and CrazymoviNG (Zerg), with pros Apollo and TotalBiscuit casting. Grubby defeated CrazymoviNG after nearly 40 minutes of play.
The release date for Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm is set for March 12, 2013.
Comments