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Blizzard Still Has Hope For StarCraft Ghost
Next Generation reports on a panel from the Hollywood and Games summit, where several influential names in Massively Multiplayer games discussed ways to connect virtual worlds with other media. Interesting stuff, but the piece points out something that you probably didn't know: Blizzard still wants StarCraft:Ghost to get made. Ghost was the much-delayed, and then cancelled, shooter title set in the StarCraft world. Rob Pardo speaks to its possible future while making a point about commitment to quality: "[Blizzard is] just willing to cancel the products that fail. That's important to our brand. We're willing to bite the bullet and write off those expenses. Sometimes six months into development, the idea doesn't flow ... Our most recent one was Starcraft Ghost. With that game we were very stubborn. I still believe in that game and the characters but we were not able to execute at the level we wanted to...Rather than work on that we had to focus on our other games. We're hoping one day to return to it."
Game over, man! Game over!
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
...that:
:(
maybe Blizzard is haunted by SC:Ghost?
SC:Ghost is reaching out from beyond the grave?
a blizzard will have to freeze Hell over before SC:Ghost is resurrected?
...
Sorry folks, I'm here till Friday
[insert Duke Nukem Forever comment here]
Though what they did with the freecraft project kinda sucked.
and i still hope to some day be a rock-star/astronaut that saves the universe and bags a hot babe in the process. as a middle aged father of 3 it seems a little less likely that it will work out -- but i still hope.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
Is that SC: Ghost is still brought up, and Blizzard still has hope. I think it's a good thing that they're working on products and talking about them and trying to get them as close to gaming perfection as they can.
It seems strange to me that blizzard would not have been able to pull off ghost to their own standard of quality. From the sound of it, it would seem that the designers didn't have a good idea of what they wanted from the start. Also, they need to realize that in a market flooded with shooters, it is hard to put one out nowadays that is new and does something that hasn't been done before. I think if they had a good idea of what they wanted from the start and a solid plan for how to make it happen, SC: Ghost could have turned out great. Not revolutionary, mind you, but a good, fun, solid stealth-shooter. I honestly don't think it isn't for any amount of timing or flow that Ghost slipped through the cracks, it was just poor expectations and poor planning. That's just my opinion though.
Future indie game developer of America (and possibly Canada)
I was looking forward to Ghost after its initial announcement and would still be interested in it should it come back up in the future. As blasphemous as it probably is to say, I'm not in the least moved by the notion of World of WarCraft or StarCraft 2, so I have to wait for Ghost or Diablo III (or a new installment of the Lost Vikings or Rock 'n' Roll Racing!) before Blizzard catches my attention again.
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
The game was in playable form at E3 2005 and I was there as a correspondent, so I got some good demos from the Blizzard staff. It was there on all 3 consoles as far as I can recall, and although the Cube one didn't have online multiplayer, all 3 looked cool and played well.
A 3rd-person shooter of that sort would be very welcome by folks who miss the good old days of Jet Force Gemini, and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the game 2 years ago. It also appeared nearly finished!
However, the additional delays basically made it a title that would be released well into the 360's lifespan, making it look very outdated. I do hope they get a chance to overhaul the graphics engine and maybe add whatever content they felt was missing, and release the game.
(Though, the real deal-maker would be if they made it possible to play through the game as either Nova (the ghost) or a Protoss hero, and possibly some hyper-intelligent Hydralisk or something.)
I like basketball!!1!
I didn't think it was possible to image an entire universe, but apparently they really want to try to ghost Starcraft. I guess there's always a ghost of a chance.
So finish it. It's their game, they have the developers. They're already paying them. So finish it, it's not like there's any real barrier that Blizzard has to cross to get it done.
"I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
"We're willing to bite the bullet and write off those expenses."
Kramer : All these big companies, they write off everything.
Jerry : You don't even know what a write off is.
Kramer : Do you?
Jerry : No, I don't.
Kramer : But they do and they are the ones writing it off.
I don't want to have to choose between it and DNF!
Send email from the afterlife! Write your e-will at Dead Man's Switch.
I think its actually just good timing in general that they shelved it but didnt give up on it. For years we've been pounded with shooters that did nothing new culminating in Doom 3 a couple years ago, but now the technology is far enough along that they can stop worrying about the graphics horse race and start innovating. Bioshock and Crysis look amazing and they have all sorts of bells and whistles which are supposed to change the way you play. Just look at the difference between Prey and STALKER, games with similar long delayed histories. Prey was released about a year ago to mixed reactions with its pretty graphics and whatever gameplay. Then STALKER comes out and although everyone admits its flawed they also all rave about "Oblivion with guns" and the sticking points aren't bad things but additions they wanted like an evolving stat system. I think Ghost would never have been special as just a run and gun half life 1 affair with scripted bits to make you feel like part of the world. Then you might as well have been sneaky marine #51231 in generic sci fi world, which is I think all they could have accomplished just a few years ago. Now I think they could make the experience really dynamic and amazing with factions (Bioshock, supposedly real time and not scripted or dumb agro), the increased tendency towards free roaming (STALKER even more than Deus Ex of old), and improved environmental interaction (Bad Company, Call of Jaurez).
If they release it for Wii: - People will be more accepting of slightly outdated graphics. - Blizzard developers get some experience with coding controls for the Wii. - Introduce Starcraft and Blizzard to a whole new audience. - They can start printing money by re-releasing the classic on Nintendo's DS handheld and/or the Wii.
Yeah just keep going....
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/06/23
One of my all-time favorite Penny Arcades.
Veteran, Bermuda Triangle Expeditionary Force, 1992-1951
Anyone else think Ghost was canceled ("failed") because every Blizzard resource (and then some) was poured into World of Warcraft?
When Blizzard is making about 135 Million from the 9 million subscribers to World of Warcraft, you would think they had a little extra to put in another project. I guess it is all going to Starcraft 2. I hope it is good ^^
No no no, he's referring to Johnny Mnemonic:
;)
Takahashi: [after being told about the state of their late CEO]
[In Japanese]
Takahashi: Ghost in the machine.
But I'm still busy having hope for Warcraft Adventures.
Philip Sandifer's academic website
I my timezone (Europe) it is now 00:43.
:)
Friday has passed. Get your things and leave