Death in Starcraft II

As this is a class about video game sin culture, we talk about many themes with respect to video games. We especially talk about the visceral experience of playing video games versus the visceral experience of real life. This seems to be a centering point for anti-gaming lobbies: video games seek to emulate real life and thus the lessons they teach need to be regulated like the real-life experiences we regulate. Take Grand Theft Auto, the franchise that sends anti-gaming lobbyists into a frenzy. The morality of that game is very clear: killing and stealing anything and everything are means to your end of money and influence. I can see how some people could have problems with this, both the means and the end. 'Death' in Grand Theft Auto is not a grave matter. It's the way of life in that universe, and that way is not delicate nor does it have any respect for human life and suffering. However interesting GTA is, this blogpost was supposed to be about Starcraft II and how death functions in that universe. I only bring up GTA because I believe it will forever be a part of that discussion.

You could basically call the Starcraft franchise "Kill everyone else" and you wouldn't be far from what the game is (in its most basic way). In fact, Starcraft paints a bleaker picture that just "kill everyone else" because the game really says "Kill everyone else, because everyone else is trying to kill you." If we extend Starcraft morality outwards to our own, we get a pretty bleak view of existence, all things considered.

Death is the name of this game, but it functions in interesting ways when its idea is extracted a bit. For example, the Zerg species function as a hive-mind with each member knowing that is job is to serve the greater good of the species. There is no death as there is no free will, similar to how ants or bees function. The Protoss have a great reverence for life and while they can be mortally wounded, advanced teleportation systems in their armor sense when warriors are in grave danger and warp the injured to a safe place. When they return, warriors are given the choice to be placed in the shell of an "immortal" where they can rejoin battle as powerful support units. This aspect of Protoss play is not one the user needs to know in order to play, but is simply part of the lore. Compare these mentalities to those of the Terrans, who as humans view death the same way we do. You're alive, and then you're dead.

Regardless of the race, the player functions as a commander of these units. More skilled players can keep their units alive longer than less skilled players. It should also be mentioned that the win condition of the game says nothing about killing units. When a player loses all of his or her buildings is when the game ends. However, the game really forces you to kill other units in order to win. It's just a part of life in this universe.