StarCraft general manager says 'tension' was the key to designing a StarCraft game from a first-person perspective 'Every shot matters. Everything you do matters'

Date:
Wed, 16 Sep 2026 03:00:00 +0000

Description:
StarCraft general manager and creative director Dan Hay has explained the process of designing a new game in first-person, revealing that "tension" was crucial.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter StarCraft 's first-person perspective will offer a new sort of "tension" General manager and creative director Dan Hay says the tension is "subtly different" from the original RTS game Since the game is in first-person, "You have to protect yourself" StarCraft general manager and creative director Dan Hay has explained the process of designing a new game in first-person, revealing that "tension" was crucial.

Blizzard's next StarCraft game won't be a real-time strategy (RTS) title, but a story-driven, open-world first-person shooter, which will be a fresh direction for the beloved series. Hay, who discussed the game's inspirations with TechRadar Gaming at BlizzCon, explained that because of the new perspective, this meant the team had to think carefully about how to manage a combat system, the world, and enemies of StarCraft in a new way, while still being faithful and familiar to the original RTS game. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

"The combat has to feel very, very clean and dangerous and mean and dark,"
Hay said. "I think StarCraft does that well. The mood is dark, but also, in a strange way, hopeful."

Without giving away too many details, the developer said that the team has to make the enemies the player is fighting "feel real" while also balancing the challenge of what it's like being inside 10-foot armour that weighs 1000 pounds. You may like StarCraft general manager says the shift to open-world shooter came about because 'Every time we drew a picture or every time we talked about' the game 'it was boots on the ground every time' Blizzard says designing a StarCraft open-world shooter presents specific challenges in
scale and perspective 'If you're 10 feet tall and you're wearing something that weighs 1,000 pounds, doors are a challenge' Blizzard says StarCraft will have the same 'gritty' atmosphere and be inspired by the 'interstellar western' of the original RTS 'Our real world has asymmetry to it, and so I think leveraging that and putting that into this world was key for us'

"It's because the thing that's out there is going to try and shuck me like an oyster," he continued. "The thing that's out there is going to try and just flay me open, and eat my insides. And so we have to build it in such a way that it all makes sense, which means when you move, when you attack, when you shoot, it has to feel real, and then whatever it is that's attacking you which we all know what's probably going to be attacking you it has to feel like it's an onslaught where you have to stem the tide, you have to figure
out a way to stop that biomass from attacking you, and it has to feel real."

Hay said the "key" to designing this experience was "tension," which players got a glimpse of in the CGI trailer, adding that it's the same tension from the RTS "but it's subtly different." Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals,
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In the RTS game, players would be confronted with a wall of Zerg enemies, and that would be the tension, but in StarCraft , a first-person experience, the top-down perspective is gone.

"Now your boots on the ground," Hay said. "We have to give you the tension of deployment, and you saw us actually do that in the teaser, and then we have
to give you the tension of there not being a whole bunch of marines around that you can just go through. It's you. You have to protect yourself. You
have to figure out how to fix your armor. You have to figure out how to push back against it.

"Every shot matters. Everything you do matters. So the tension feels even greater."

StarCraft is currently in development and is set to arrive in 2030. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button! The best gaming consoles All the best consoles of this generation

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/gaming/starcraft-general-manager-says-tension-was-th e-key-to-designing-a-starcraft-game-from-a-first-person-perspective-every-shot -matters-everything-you-do-matters


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