Strategy Informer: To start, could you share your involvement in the development process of StarCraft II with our readers?

Dustin Browder: My name is Dustin Browder, and I’m the lead game designer on StarCraft II.

Strategy Informer: We understand the single-player campaign follows on from StarCraft: Brood War. What new additions have you implemented to improve on the previous game?

Dustin Browder: The campaign in StarCraft II will offer players a lot of choices to tailor their gameplay. In our past RTS campaigns, we’ve typically walked players through a linear series of missions that first introduced basic units, and then slowly ramped up the complexity by introducing more units and structures as they advanced. In StarCraft II, players will have some significant choices to make, not only as to the order in which they tackle missions in the campaign, but also which units and technologies they want to unlock as they proceed. ------- The campaign follows the Terrans and focuses on the exploits of Jim Raynor as he undertakes mercenary missions throughout the galaxy. In each mission, Raynor collects currency that the player can use to unlock units and technologies. So if you prefer using infantry, you can choose to purchase combat shields and stimpacks for your marines. Another player who prefers using vehicles can opt instead to spend credits unlocking and purchasing upgrades for siege tanks and hellions.

The campaign also gives us an opportunity to offer players some units and technologies that aren’t available in the game’s multiplayer aspect. Some examples would be classic units like wraiths and firebats, or special bunkers that fit up to six infantry instead of the usual four - a great option for players who like to turtle. By offering such a wide range of options, players can tailor the gameplay to suit their style, and there’s also a good deal of replayability built right in.

Strategy Informer: Can you give us an in-depth description of the new characters and a roundup of key class types that are new to the series?

Dustin Browder: One of the new characters that people have already seen is Tychus Findlay - he’s the marine who players first saw being welded into powered armor in the cinematic we unveiled when we first announced StarCraft II. Tychus is a former associate of Jim Raynor and is character with a checkered past. Early on in the campaign, he alerts Raynor to the existence of valuable alien artifacts that play a key role in the plot of StarCraft II.

As for new units, there are numerous new unit types, buildings and abilities in StarCraft II. One example on the Terran faction is the versatile viking. Vikings are produced from the starport and can transform from a walking assault mech to an air-superiority fighter. In its mech form, the viking assaults ground targets with machine guns. When transformed into a fighter, the viking can volley missiles from long range at airborne enemies.

On the Zerg side, one of the interesting units we have is the infestor. Infestors have the unique ability to move while burrowed underground. They can sneak into enemy bases, spawn infested marines, and spread disease among biological targets.

The Protoss have their own array of new units as well. One of these is the towering colossus, a giant walking mech that has the ability to stride up and down cliffs. The colossus can attack a wide swath of ground with its thermal lance, making it a devastating weapon against massed infantry units.

Strategy Informer: StarCraft II was first playable to the public at BlizzCon 2007. How was the feedback from the early participants?

Dustin Browder: We’ve featured playable builds of StarCraft II at several public events now, including BlizzCon and Leipzig Games Convention in 2007 and 2008, our Worldwide Invitational in Paris in 2008 and a handful of eSports tournament events. The feedback we’ve received from press, public,and pro players alike has been very positive. We’re pleased with the progress we’ve been making.

Strategy Informer: Do you expect to exceed the amount of players that took up the challenge in the first StarCraft title?

Dustin Browder: We hope so. It’s been about 11 years since the original StarCraft and the gaming market has grown by leaps and bounds since then.

Strategy Informer: Is this game purely aimed at RTS veterans, or can a newcomer pick it up and play?

Dustin Browder: As with all of our games, we’re designing StarCraft II to be easy to learn but hard to master. The single-player campaign will be accessible to a wide range of players so everyone can enjoy the epic storyline. The story builds on the events of the first game, but doesn’t require knowledge of them in order to enjoy it. Advanced players can enjoy the game’s strategic depth, employing a variety of unit types and abilities to take on opponents in multiplayer matches.

We’re also looking at creating special tutorials that will teach new players some of the skills they’ll need to get their feet wet in online play. We hope that these tutorials, combined with more advanced matchmaking functionality in Battle.net, will make online play a less daunting experience for new players.

Strategy Informer: It is said that StarCraft II will feature the new Battle.net service for online play. Could you give us a few more details on this?

Dustin Browder: The kinds of things we want to do include improving our matchmaking and tournament functionality, facilitating exchange of replays and more. We’re not quite ready to go into further detail at this stage, but we’ll be discussing Battle.net in more depth as we draw closer to StarCraft II beta testing and the release of the game.

Strategy Informer: How in-depth are the map-making tools? Can players create the experience they want to have with the game?

Dustin Browder: With each new RTS release, the map-making tools that we include grow more powerful and robust. StarCraft II’s map editor will offer the community the ability to create some very compelling content. We’ve seen the popularity of tower defense maps from Warcraft III and, of course, Defense of the Ancients, so we’re looking forward to seeing even more creative things coming from the StarCraft II map-making community.

Strategy Informer: Do you feel pressured to deliver a title that follows up the success of the first? Is it harrowing knowing a solid fan-base is waiting patiently to see the result?

Dustin Browder: There is definitely some added pressure in creating a sequel to a successful game. However, much of the team working on StarCraft II have been at Blizzard Entertainment since the original StarCraft and have worked on Warcraft III as well. StarCraft had to follow in the footsteps of Warcraft II, and Warcraft III arrived on the heels of StarCraft. So we’re no strangers to working on games knowing that our fans have high expectations.

Strategy Informer: Piracy. This is a pretty big problem for the PC at the moment. What is Blizzard's take on this?

Dustin Browder: We have not yet announced a release date for StarCraft II. As to the question of piracy, we feel that the strong multiplayer component of our games has been a big deterrent. With World of Warcraft, the entire game takes place in an online environmen, and you need a legitimate copy and account to play. We also encourage players to play with legitimate copies of our games by giving them compelling incentives to do so, such as frequent updates and support and the ability to play on Battle.net. To this day, we are still releasing updates to StarCraft, Diablo II, and Warcraft III.

Strategy Informer: On the subject of Beta's, do you have any idea when Starcraft 2's beta test will be ready?

Dustin Browder: We don’t have any specific details to announce just yet regarding beta testing or demo possibilities.

We’d like to thank Dustin very much for his time, stay tuned for the latest StarCraft II news that’ll be brought to you as soon as we get it.