What is your perfect Starcraft 2 commercial?

With launch day coming closer, a lot of us suspect that Blizzard is keen to replicate the Korean phenomenon in the west. This is of course nothing easy, as there are years of social stigma attached to gaming that need to be dispelled before competitive gaming gets there, but a good launch campaign could plant the seeds of a new spectator sport.

The launch of Starcraft 2 is thus paramount. The largest game developer in the world and the industry leader, launches what is arguably the most awaited game ever. Will Blizzard play its cards right and launch a new phenomenon, or will this become just another good computer game?

Here's how I picture a TV ad designed to bring SC2 to the unwashed masses:


Player 1 (20-something male) leaving work at the office. In standard ad fashion, he looks healthy, well-adjusted and happy. As he leaves we see him exchange some friendly banter with Player 2, who presumably is a co-worker/friend (same aged male, has a different hair color/ethnicity/height to differentiate him from player 1) We don't want to reinforce the message that computer games are for overweight white males.The message we want to send is that Starcraft 2 is an awesome online mindsport that connects people, which is set in award-winning sci-fi.


Narrator voice:
"Through the ages, there have been many ways to settle a friendly score..."
This is said as Player 1 walks home through the city, passing some chess players in the park, and an outdoors bar where a friendly poker game is going on, a sports screen in the back of the bar.

"but progress, is inevitable"
Player 1 arrives home, sits on a computer chair and the scene inmediately changes into a terran dominion control room, complete with all sorts of gadgets, maps, aides and holograms, while out the fortified windows, some planet's exotic skyline is visible. The player comes into view, now wearing a dominion commander uniform and an assisted reality visual aid/intercom device.

As he gives commands through the intercom, the camera zooms in and changes, showing the marine scouting party he was commanding. High tech-exoskeletons, large weapons, cigars, the works. As we watch, the ground begins to shake, and a large herd of zerglings appear beyond the cliffside and storm the gully the marines are in. Epic marine/zergling battle ensues with the marines fighting desperately for survival. Camera then zooms across the land, briefly revealing a zerg base in all its glory, to player 2, smirking as he pets a zergling.

Camera back to player 1 in his command room (emphasizing the fundamental difference between the races). Unphased, Player 1, nods a short signal. Back in the gully, the battle is interrupted by the roar of jetpacks. As the marines retreat, a squad of reapers engages the zerglings, skillfully using SMG bursts to dispatch attacking zerglings at point-blank range.

Player 2, slightly annoyed now, briefly makes eye contact with an overlord. We see the reaction when, as the reapers finish the last zergling, a reaper suddenly receives hit from a glaive, losing control of his jetpack, spinning out of control and exploding in a spectacular fashion. The sky darkens as mutalisks dive in on the reapers and head for the terran base in the distance.

Player 1, visibly concerned now, is briefly seen commanding through radio chatter. Camera switches to the viking pilot acknowledging the command, as a full viking wing intercepts and begins to destroy the muta swarm, cue brief flashes of epic aerial battle. Confident, Player 1 orders an all out attack with his vikings, now over the zerg base. Player 2 looks at first like's hes lost his confidence, before revealing his killing move with a gleam in his eye. The ground erupts in front of the camera, as large hydras begin to unburrow below the terran fleet, and we get to follow the bulletcam of a hydralisk spine as it skewers a viking, the terran fleet falling apart in the deadly hail.

Back in player 1's command room, the ground suddenly shakes, as a massive nydus worm erupts close by and obscures the view from the windows, swarms of zerglings pouring forth from every orifice, flooding the terran base. Recognizing he's beat. Player 1 pushes a big red button, and is back in the safety of his living room. As the commercial ends, we see both players congratulating each other next day at work.

Edit: This is also what may happen in an actual game: The zerg did essentially a muta feint into hydras, terran loses his viking army to a burrowed hydra ambush, while zerg counters with a ling zwarm in a nydus.

I'm not entire sure what narrative should be through the entire sequence, if any narrator is needed at all. Ideally, he finally stresses the point of the big network community, something in the style of: "you never know who you'll play next".

To bring that point home, we briefly see Player 1 again, relaxing in his terran command room, sipping some cofee. Suddenly the station shakes violently again. A massive, glorious, swirling void ray beam is melting its way through the outer plating. Player 1 has commanded marines to shoot it down, but the marines begin to get sliced in flashes of light by predator-esque distortions. One marine manages to hit one of the cloaked figures before he dies, briefly breaking its cloak and revealing a protoss dark templar in all its glory. Camera zooms in on the dt, travelling and revealing player 3, a confidently smiling girl, hovering amongst protoss crystals/consoles as she commands.

Whats important is to picture all this in blizzard CGI quality, think the SC2 reveal video, not the second-rate quality game commercials tend to have. We should expect the full awe of avatar-level CGI effects. This may sound long because I wanted to give an accurate description, but it all happens fairly fast, matching the 30-second window or so that TV ads tend to have.

Well this daydream got me through 30 mins of jogging at the gym, so I felt i had to write it down. Would this appeal to you? What kind of SC2 commercials would you like?

 

Oh hell yes.

 

yours is best!

 

[youtube]9kruyuAtNXk[/youtube]

EDIT: Although the video may indicate I'm being sarcastic, I'm not.

 

lol. here's another idea, more or less continuing the theme:

teenager starts up a game of SC2. immediately, his room transforms into a Protoss command nexus (very futuristic-looking, holograms and shiny panels everywhere). he's giving out commands and such.

show some in-game action, some CG action of dark templars cutting down tanks, high templar casting storms, ending with a few colossi blowing up a terran command center.

Teen lets out a loud whoop as his room turns back to normal. through his doorway, his dad, in the next room, leans in to see what's going on.

"next game?"

"sure."

dad's room turning into a protoss command, while his is turning into a terran CC.

 

lol asdf that'd be sweet

 

hmm...
how about the two co-workers/father and son fight against some other guys, it gives another feeling if your'e playing with your friends instead of just against them.

Or four men leaving a office building, then playing a 2v2 in the same theme as the OP, then see each other the next day at work saying something GG-ish?

 

Sueco, submit this idea somewhere I can totally see this being a legit Cinematic for SCII, and a commercial.

 

Kerrigan Poses Seductively, Zerglings are doing a line dance. Marines are waltzing with marauders, Mutalisks are flying around in circles micro attacking random structures. Stalkers are blinking, a huge Thor and a BC come into view, fade out, trumpets blare STARCRAFT 2. Than Jim Raynor flashes a thumbs up at you and the screen goes dark.

Epicness.

 

ok, that just sounds like cheesy fanservice.

 

Yes i actually wanted to post this in the blizzard forums, see if maybe i get a blue response. Unfortunately I cant log into them. Ive got SC1, WC3 and WoW cd keys and no combination I try works.

Edit: Nvm figured it out.