What If StarCraft Had Come Out In 1984?

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
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What If StarCraft Had Come Out In 1984?

If Blizzard's classic StarCraft had been released during the early 80s, it might have looked like this.


Artist/illustrator Owen Dennis was a big fan of StarCraft [http://www.amazon.com/StarCraft-Battle-Chest-Pc/dp/B00001IVRD/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1276713733&sr=1-2], but what he didn't know was that his uncle had secretly worked on the game at Blizzard - more than a decade before the final product actually came out! "I found this in his closet next to an old Colecovision," said Davis of his rare discovery: An early build of StarCraft developed for a platform similar to the NES or Apple II.

It's a far cry from the StarCraft we know today. It may have the same races of Terran, Zerg, and Protoss, and many of the same units, sure. But we no longer have the top-down perspective; the game is instead played from a side-scrolling point-of-view. Also, Protoss are mad overpowered.

In case you haven't figured it out already, this is a fan-imagined de-make; it's an excellent reimagining of what the legendary StarCraft might have looked like if it had been released in 1984. Frankly, I prefer the game we got - though, knowing how glacial Blizzard's development cycle tends to be, it could very well have been working on StarCraft back in the 80s. Yes, that's right. Blizzard was working on the first SC before it was even a company.

Now that's dedication. (Oh, and so is Owen Dennis' video.)

(StarCraft [http://twitter.com/StarCraft/statuses/14177837665] Twitter)

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Jared

The British Paladin
Jul 14, 2009
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Wow o.o now that is certainly impressive!

Some hard work in that!
 

Radeonx

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Apr 26, 2009
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I saw this yesterday, and my mind was blown.
This is arguably the greatest Youtube video I've ever seen.
 

TheWickerPopstar

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Dec 6, 2007
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I think my favorite part of all of this is that the tank noise is the same noise that plays when you enter a cave or dungeon in the original NES Legend of Zelda.
 

Sephychu

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Dec 13, 2009
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Holy piss up my arse. That is the single greatest video YouTube has ever produced.
 

Ragsnstitches

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Dec 2, 2009
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That is crazy... I'd play that game if someone actually made it for real!

Also, those protoss are bullshit!
 

samsonguy920

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Mar 24, 2009
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Every time it selected to make a MRN(Marine) I kept thinking moron. No surprise there. :D

But this is quite awesome. I know I would have enjoyed that. The only thing that was missing was the ghost giving his snarky comments.
 

tetron

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Dec 9, 2009
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I would very much like to play this game. It just goes to show that starcraft would have kicked ass regardless of when it had been made. *Imagines starcraft if it had been like risk*
 

Dirty Apple

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Apr 24, 2008
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As impressive as this is, what really astounds me is the unlimited creativity that consistently shows up on the internet. Sure there's a lot of garbage to sift through, but every once in a while a gem emerges. Kudos, good sir.
 

ENKC

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May 3, 2010
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I like that one guy felt the need to repost it on youtube, presumably to steal views from the original. Last I saw he had 57 views compared to over 200,000.

What is astounding about this is that he didn't just draw a few sprites and throw something together. He took the time to simulate an entire game with all three races and a range of units and buildings. Complete with special abilities!

And I will forever associate Starcraft in my mind with the Judas Priest albums "Ram it Down" and "Painkiller" ('Hard as Iron' may as well be the Terran Marine anthem). But hey, they still had some darn good albums by 1984 that can also sort of fit the theme.