StarCraft: History of the RTS That Launched Korean Esports
How Blizzard's 1998 StarCraft came to be, how its three races play, its impact on Korea's pro leagues, and how you can play it today.
StarCraft is a real-time strategy (RTS) game released by Blizzard Entertainment in 1998. Three races, the Terrans, Protoss, and Zerg, battle across space, and the basic flow is to gather resources, build a base, produce an army, and crush your opponent.
The game holds special meaning in Korea in particular. Televised pro leagues and corporate-sponsored pro teams emerged, and StarCraft played a central role in establishing Korean esports. Korean Wikipedia also notes that the game played a decisive role in spreading PC bangs across the country.
In this article, we look in turn at how StarCraft was made, how it plays, why it has long been regarded as a classic, and the influence it had through its sequel and Korean esports.
At a Glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Release | March 31, 1998 (North America, Windows) |
| Developer | Blizzard Entertainment |
| Platforms | Windows, classic Mac OS (1999), Nintendo 64 (2000) |
| Genre | Real-time strategy (RTS) |
Origins
Development of StarCraft began in 1995. At the time, Blizzard had found success with the fantasy strategy game Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, and StarCraft started out built on that game's engine.
When it was first shown at the E3 trade show in 1996, it wasn't well received. Critics called it Warcraft with a space backdrop, and Blizzard subsequently overhauled the game substantially. A great deal of effort went into making the three races feel distinctly different from one another.
Michael Morhaime, James Phinney, and Bill Roper served as producers, while Chris Metzen and James Phinney handled design.
The game launched first for Windows in North America on March 31, 1998, followed by Europe on April 9 of the same year. That December, the expansion StarCraft: Brood War was released in the United States. A classic Mac OS version followed in 1999 and a Nintendo 64 version in 2000. The Nintendo 64 version was co-developed with Mass Media and published by Nintendo.
How It Plays
Players choose one of three races to fight with.
- Terran: The human faction. They can move and repair buildings, and are known for flexible play that combines infantry and armored units.
- Protoss: A highly advanced alien race. Each unit is expensive but powerful, and protected by shields.
- Zerg: A swarm of rapidly breeding alien creatures. They excel at producing large numbers of cheap units and overwhelming opponents with sheer numbers.
The basic flow is to gather minerals and gas with workers, use those resources to construct buildings and advance your tech, and produce units to attack the enemy base. The three races use the same resources, but their buildings, units, and production methods are completely different. As a result, the same situation calls for entirely different decisions depending on your race.
The single-player campaign tells its story from the perspective of each of the three races in turn. In multiplayer, you could face other players through Battle.net, Blizzard's online service. A map editor was also included, which gave rise to a culture of players making and sharing their own maps.
Why It's a Classic
The most frequently discussed point is the balance between the three races. Races with completely different characteristics were tuned so that none had an excessive advantage, and this balance was refined further through the expansion and later patches. Thanks to this, new strategies and builds continued to be studied for years.
The second is a structure that lays skill bare. Fast hands and decision-making, the information war of reading your opponent, and resource management all affect the outcome. Because skill matters more than luck, viewers could clearly see the players' abilities. This became the foundation for its establishment as a spectator sport.
The third is its commercial success. According to English Wikipedia, StarCraft sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide in 1998, making it the best-selling PC game of the year, and had sold over 11 million copies by February 2009. Korean Wikipedia states that 4.5 million copies were sold in Korea as of January 31, 2009, about 40% of worldwide sales.
Sequels and Influence
The Starting Point of Korean Esports
StarCraft created a culture of professional competition in Korea. In July 1998, KPGL, known as the country's first professional StarCraft league, was held, and the game broadcasters OnGameNet and MBCGame later ran their own individual leagues (OSL and MSL). From around 2003, pro teams sponsored by companies such as Samsung, SK Telecom, and KT emerged, and the team-based Proleague also began that year.
Many star players came out of this era. Lim Yo-hwan won the WCG twice, in 2001 and 2002, and players such as Lee Jae-dong and Lee Young-ho also made their names by winning major tournaments.
There were hard times as well. In April 2010, a match-fixing scandal came to light and 11 players were banned from professional play. That same year, a copyright dispute broke out between Blizzard and the broadcasters over broadcasting rights, which was resolved with a licensing agreement in 2011. The Brood War Proleague came to an end after the 2011–2012 season, and in 2012 teams either disbanded or moved to StarCraft II.
Even so, competitive play of the original never stopped. In 2016, AfreecaTV launched the Afreeca StarCraft League (ASL), and the original's league scene continued, with Lee Young-ho winning ASL Season 2 in 2017.
Sequel
The official sequel, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, was released on July 27, 2010. In Korea, it entered full service on September 18, 2010, after its open beta ended. Expansions followed, and StarCraft II also became an established esports title.
How to Play Today
The original StarCraft and Brood War have been distributed for free since April 2017. On March 26 of that year, StarCraft: Remastered, with graphics upgraded to high resolution, was unveiled at an event at COEX in Seoul, and it was released as a paid title in August 2017. Remastered keeps the original's gameplay rules intact while updating the graphics, sound, and Battle.net features.
If you're playing for the first time now, we recommend downloading StarCraft from Blizzard's Battle.net app and starting with the campaign. Following the story in the order of Terran, Zerg, and Protoss lets you naturally learn the differences between the three races. From there, move on to matches against the computer or online. Watching pro matches to learn builds and strategies is another great way to enjoy the game.