Three hundred actions per minute
A look into a South-Korean gaming phenomenon
Introduction
This essay focuses on a fast paced multiplayer game series called Starcraft and how it became a national sport in South Korea. I will first go through the history of creating and development these games and then analyze some of the reasons behind the success.
What is Real Time Strategy? (RTS)
Real Time Strategy is a gaming genre where players compete against each other or computer-AI via controlling different kinds of soldiers called units. These units vary in abilities and their production costs. Different units work well against others and vice versa. The goal of any RTS game is to defeat your opponent. [1]
Before the internet revolution RTS games were mostly single player format. Game developers created complex single player campaigns and later players themselves made tools to produce more maps and campaigns to play with. Multiplayer gaming had been implemented in RTS games since 1995, but rarely used due to internet usage fees. [2]
Currently the focus of the game developers is to produce balanced multiplayer experiences, where players across the globe can play against each other in a competitive, ranked environment.
Genre defining games before Starcraft
Although strategic games have been around since 1982 [3], the first game that really was considered as real time strategy came out in 1992. The game was called Dune 2: The Building of a Dynasty, by Westwood Studios [4]. Before Dune 2 the games had been turn-based. Now all the action was happening real time and the players had to react instantaneously. In the following years RTS-genre boomed as many good and not-so-good games were rushed in to the market. After 1992 the most notable RTS game series came from these four companies:
1. Warcraft-series from Blizzard Entertainment
* Warcraft: Orcs & Humans (1994), Warcraft II: The Tides of Darkness (1995)
2. Command & Conquer-series from...