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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."
...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
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!
Aww man does that mean its now a 'ghost in the machine'? Sorry I had to do it...
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.