The book by Jason Schreier about the history of Blizzard has been released in Russian. We publish an excerpt about StarCraft

On the shelves of Russian bookstores, the third book by Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier has appeared — "Need More Gold" (originally titled Play Nice). His work is dedicated to the history of Blizzard Entertainment – from its founding by two programmers in February 1991 to the layoffs occurring in 2023. The book was published in Russian by the publisher "Bombora." With their permission, we share a short amusing excerpt about how StarCraft evolved from a reskin of Warcraft 2 into a much more original project.

In early 1996, Blizzard co-founder Allen Adham tasked producer James Phinney and his small team of programmers and artists with completing a new game by the end of the year, which they began calling StarCraft. Due to tight deadlines, the developers used the Warcraft II engine as their foundation and removed all fantasy elements. The action of StarCraft would unfold on bright purple plateaus with neon green tendrils floating against a black space backdrop. Orc fortresses turned into alien hives filled with tentacles and pulsating eggs. The game didn't look particularly beautiful — it resembled a tanning salon from the inside.

In May, the annual gaming convention E3 was to be held, and Blizzard wanted to make a big splash — with a large booth featuring computers to showcase two of their games set to release in 1996. Fans were awed by the demonic dungeons of Diablo, while StarCraft left players puzzled. Experts mocked the game, calling it "orcs in space" or using the more insulting comparison "purple Warcraft." The issue was compounded by a nearby booth from 7th Level, which was showcasing the demo of Dominion, a competing real-time strategy game with impressive animation and massive robots that seemed three-dimensional. "We thought, 'Damn, their game looks cooler than ours,'" recalls Robert Georgievich, an artist on StarCraft. By the end of the show, most of the computers at Blizzard's booth were only showcasing Diablo.

Regrouping in Orange County, the developers were faced with three options. They could accept the project's mediocrity and ship it by Christmas to then create a new Warcraft, or they could cancel development entirely. The third option was to start over with a new version of StarCraft that would outshine Dominion and satisfy the saturated fans. They chose the latter, but eventually, most of the team shifted to urgent work on developing Diablo, which they focused on until its release.

After the release of Diablo in early 1997, Blizzard developers began intensive work on rebooting StarCraft. The "top-down" camera view from the first two Warcraft games was tilted isometrically in the new version, making buildings and units appear three-dimensional, as in Dominion. A public demonstration of the updated version of StarCraft at the end of the year made a stronger impression on fans than the "purple Warcraft" showcase.

One key aspect made StarCraft stand out from its predecessors: while Warcraft games featured two mirror races with identical units, StarCraft became asymmetrical. Each of the three races — the humanoid Terrans, the Zerg Swarm, and the high-tech Protoss — would have its own set of innovative units and abilities, giving each side uniqueness. The Terran siege tank could switch between mobile and stationary modes, sacrificing maneuverability for firepower. The Zerg could burrow underground and then emerge to destroy opponents. The Protoss Dark Templars were constantly invisible and only detectable by detectors.

One of Blizzard’s secrets to success was the exceedingly extensive amount of playtesting conducted by both external testers and company employees. "There were days when the whole company would just shut down," recalls Tim Campbell, who joined the team later on. "Absolutely everyone, from Morhaime to the receptionist, would put their tasks aside, start the game, and then provide feedback." In the first two Warcraft games, balance wasn't a concern: each human soldier dealt as much damage as their orc counterpart. Asymmetrical races in StarCraft required much more caution: if even one of them became slightly more powerful than the others, it would affect the multiplayer aspect and make the game less fair, and thus less engaging. "We spent countless hours on the game," remembers StarCraft artist Geoffrey Vonn. "We polished it round the clock, making tiny balance adjustments." Outsiders would come to the office and play test builds, then provide an overwhelmingly extensive list of suggestions. "I think sometimes studios neglect their projects," says Vonn. "In those days, friends and relatives would visit Blizzard's office to play, and their feedback was taken very seriously." Adham even hired Rob Pardo, a former Interplay producer known as a top-notch RTS player. Pardo’s duties included coordinating with the testing team and conducting continuous StarCraft game sessions, for which he had to provide notes.

When Blizzard developers weren't working on balance changes, they were adding various Easter eggs and humorous elements to the game — from references to Diablo and "The Simpsons" to jabs at their main competitor. Westwood, the studio behind Dune II, released a strategy game called Red Alert featuring a heroine named Tanya (referencing the rivalry between American figure skaters Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan, which culminated in Harding's ex-husband attacking Kerrigan in 1994. This event caused such a huge cultural shock that it's remembered to this day. In 2017, the movie "I, Tonya," starring Margot Robbie, was released), so Robert Georgievich boldly suggested that StarCraft should feature a commando named Kerrigan, after the rival skater. Sarah Kerrigan, a special agent from Earth, would later become one of Blizzard's most famous characters — ultimately succumbing to the Zerg and becoming a corrupted supervillain.

Throughout the year, StarCraft became increasingly dynamic. Thanks to its aesthetic refinements, it felt different from anything else on the market: Terran structures hovered in the sky, Zerg hordes amassed on viscous purple slime, and Protoss soldiers teleported and became invisible. Later, Patrick Wyatt, the key programmer behind Battle.Net and Diablo 2, talked with two artists who worked on the impressive Dominion demo shown at the 1996 expo. He laughed when he learned the truth about the game that sparked StarCraft's reboot. It turned out the "demo," which made Blizzard staff doubt themselves, was really a pre-rendered video. The team merely pretended to be playing it. Outside the video, the game didn’t work at all.