Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Blizzard talks Heart of the Swarm multiplayer, and what's next for Starcraft 2]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2012/06/12/blizzard-talks-heart-of-the-swarm-multiplayer-and-whats-next-f/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/06/12/blizzard-talks-heart-of-the-swarm-multiplayer-and-whats-next-f/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/06/12/blizzard-talks-heart-of-the-swarm-multiplayer-and-whats-next-f/#comments Blizzard talks Heart of the Swarm multiplayer, and what's next for Starcraft 2Just as E3 was ending last week, Major League Gaming's Spring championships were getting underway in Anaheim, California. Blizzard held a press preview during the opening hours of the tournament to show off the new units and features coming to Starcraft 2's multiplayer component in the upcoming Heart of the Swarm expansion.

Each of the three races in the game has a few new units and abilities to study (which you can see in the included trailer), and hardcore players will no doubt be combing through them as the expansion goes into beta. But Heart of the Swarm's multiplayer represents an interesting change in Blizzard's original plan for the three-part series that is Starcraft 2.

As lead producer Chris Sigaty (who doubles, by the way, as the lead guitarist for Blizzard's in-house metal band L80ETC) tells Joystiq, the new units are all about adding something to the game without removing what's there.

Gallery: Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm multiplayer (6/10/2012)

Continue reading Blizzard talks Heart of the Swarm multiplayer, and what's next for Starcraft 2

JoystiqBlizzard talks Heart of the Swarm multiplayer, and what's next for Starcraft 2 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 12 Jun 2012 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzard-all-starschris-sigatylegacy-of-the-voidmultiplayerpcstarcraft-2-heart-of-the-swarmTue, 12 Jun 2012 08:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Blizzard Dota still on the way, has undergone 'some massive overhauls']]>http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/31/blizzard-dota-still-on-the-way-has-undergone-some-massive-over/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/31/blizzard-dota-still-on-the-way-has-undergone-some-massive-over/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/31/blizzard-dota-still-on-the-way-has-undergone-some-massive-over/#comments Blizzard Dota, the Defense of the Ancients-style official mod that was shown off at last year's BlizzCon, is still a work in progress, according to lead producer Chris Sigaty. The other three mods shown last year were released a little while ago to the community, but the Dota mod, which pits all kinds of Blizzard franchise characters up against each other in a real-time battle, needed a little extra work, apparently.

"We basically put it back up in the shop and did some massive overhauls to some things, which I'm not going to go into specific detail about," Sigaty told Joystiq at a press event last week. "But yeah, we are working on Blizzard Dota, and we do intend to launch it at or around the time of Heart of the Swarm, but the official details will be online later."

Will the mod eventually require the upcoming Heart of the Swarm expansion to play? Sigaty's got nothing yet: "We're not even talking about the business level decision of it at this point." But rest assured that, somewhere on Blizzard's Irvine, CA campus, there are still developers fighting over who'd win in a fight, Thrall, Diablo, or Tychus Findlay.

JoystiqBlizzard Dota still on the way, has undergone 'some massive overhauls' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 31 May 2011 03:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzardblizzard-dotachris-sigatydotamodsofficialpcStarcraft-2starcraft-2-heart-of-the-swarmstarcraft-2-wings-of-libertyTue, 31 May 2011 03:02:00 EST<![CDATA[StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm preview: Kerrigan, again]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/31/starcraft-2-heart-of-the-swarm-preview-kerrigan-again/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/31/starcraft-2-heart-of-the-swarm-preview-kerrigan-again/http://www.joystiq.com/2011/05/31/starcraft-2-heart-of-the-swarm-preview-kerrigan-again/#comments When Blizzard announced that StarCraft 2 would be split into three different games years ago, there was quite a bit of weeping and gnashing of teeth -- lots of complaining that the new corporate entity of Activision Blizzard was triple-dipping our wallets. But time heals all wounds and in this case, the great reviews of the full-featured first title didn't hurt either.

So it may come as something of a surprise to be reminded that as much fun as StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty was, you've got two more campaigns coming your way. At a recent press event inside Blizzard HQ in Irvine, California, we got to take a look at two single-player missions from Heart of the Swarm, the first expansion pack-priced followup, focused on the popular Zerg race.

One note of warning before we begin: There are story elements revealed in these missions that will sorta, kinda spoil the plot of Wings of Liberty if you haven't finished it yet. If you aren't done with Jim Raynor's Terran campaign, play that and then come back. Otherwise, feel free to read on.

Gallery: StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm (5/31/2011)

Continue reading StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm preview: Kerrigan, again

JoystiqStarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm preview: Kerrigan, again originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 31 May 2011 03:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>activisionblizzardblizzard-entertainmentbrian-kindreganchris-sigatyexpansionkaldirpcprotossstarcraft-2starcraft-2-heart-of-the-swarmstarcraft-2-wings-of-libertyzergTue, 31 May 2011 03:01:00 EST<![CDATA[Blizzard 'hard pressed' to make 2011 for next StarCraft 2]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/25/blizzard-hard-pressed-to-make-2011-for-next-starcraft-2/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/25/blizzard-hard-pressed-to-make-2011-for-next-starcraft-2/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/25/blizzard-hard-pressed-to-make-2011-for-next-starcraft-2/#comments Blizzard may not have an "official" release window for Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm, but don't expect it to occur in 2011.SC2 Lead Producer Chris Sigaty told IGN the company would be "very hard pressed to bring [Heart of the Swarm] out next year." He noted that there is no release date, but because the sequel-spansion is more ambitious than Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne was to its core game, he doesn't "anticipate it being done in that one year time frame."

Sigaty's words are in the same vein as those of Battle.net project director, Greg Canessa, who implied the game would have an early 2012 launch. So, for those still holding out hope for a 2011 release for Heart of the Swarm, just keep on weaning that dream.

JoystiqBlizzard 'hard pressed' to make 2011 for next StarCraft 2 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Activision-BlizzardBlizzardchris-sigatymacpcStarcraft-2starcraft-2-heart-of-the-swarmMon, 25 Oct 2010 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Interview: Starcraft 2 lead producer Chris Sigaty]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/29/interview-starcraft-2-lead-producer-chris-sigaty/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/29/interview-starcraft-2-lead-producer-chris-sigaty/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/29/interview-starcraft-2-lead-producer-chris-sigaty/#comments
Chris Sigaty has been a faithful Blizzard employee for thirteen years and served as the lead tester on the original Starcraft. He's worked his way up the ladder on various titles, and is now hauling the reins of three different races as the lead producer on the followup Starcraft 2. Additionally, he's the rhythm guitarist in Level 80 Elite Tauren Chieftain and has a rockin' metal head of hair.

We sat down with him recently to talk about the much anticipated sequel, which became a trilogy somewhere along the yellow brick road of development. Blizzard is still hoping to release Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty later this year, featuring the Terran single-player version of the game along with all three races in the multiplayer that you've come to love like a dear friend ... a dear friend that sucks up all of your free time and enjoys kicking you in the ribs when you're down.

Read on for all the Starcraft 2 goodies we could squeeze out of him, and find out why this title is poised to glue more butts to seats very soon.

Continue reading Interview: Starcraft 2 lead producer Chris Sigaty

JoystiqInterview: Starcraft 2 lead producer Chris Sigaty originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>BlizzardChris-SigatyProtossRTSStarcraftStarcraft-2Starcraft-2-Wings-of-LibertyTerranZergMon, 29 Jun 2009 15:10:00 EST<![CDATA[Joystiq Interview: StarCraft 2 Lead Producer Chris Sigaty]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/11/joystiq-interview-starcraft-2-lead-producer-chris-sigaty/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/11/joystiq-interview-starcraft-2-lead-producer-chris-sigaty/http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/11/joystiq-interview-starcraft-2-lead-producer-chris-sigaty/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


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The big announcement at BlizzCon yesterday was the morphing of StarCraft II into a trilogy. I had the opportunity to sit down with one of the people instrumental behind this change, StarCraft II Lead Producer Chris Sigaty. I spoke with him right after the announcement was made, and we talked about how this will impact SC2, what it will mean for multiplayer games, and what challenges the developers are facing in making SC2 the best game it can be.

Gallery: BlizzCon 2008: Starcraft II

Continue reading Joystiq Interview: StarCraft 2 Lead Producer Chris Sigaty

JoystiqJoystiq Interview: StarCraft 2 Lead Producer Chris Sigaty originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzconblizzcon-2008chris-sigatyjoystiqfeaturesMacPCstarcraftstarcraft-2Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EST