It’s a testament to the power of the StarCraft 2 editor that with a little bit of fiddling, and more than a little wizardry, the sci-fi RTS that’s so near and dear to our hearts can be transformed into a turn-based card game that ties together all of Blizzard’s universes under the auspice of a bar fight. That’s exactly what Chinese modder Crusade of Blader and his three teammates have managed, winning the Blizzard Shanghai best StarCraft mod contest.
Read about its development and how it works below.
First, an instructional video:
Much of BarCraft’s challenge lies in the game’s mystery. When you sit down to a fresh table you don’t know which heroes you are playing against nor what cards each player has in their hand, making the first few rounds a hazardous, paranoid, guessing game. Then as the game progresses it is about playing to your hero’s natural strengths and pummelling your opponents into submission. Simples.
“We chose to make a card game because there is so much we can create with this platform,” Blader told Blizzard in a Battle.Net interview. “Actually we started to work on a card game back in last year’s Arcade Contest, but that project ultimately stalled as we didn’t yet possess the same kind of mastery of the editor as we do now.”
It’s mastery of the basics which Blader advises budding modders work towards: “We all know that the editor is a powerful tool, but it also comes with a deep learning curve. Start with the basics.Once you master that, design an outline for your game and then gradually start to fill it out. […] It takes time and dedication to make something that other players want to play, so be patient.”
You can check out BarCraft through the StarCraft 2 Arcade.