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IAHGames.com is proud to present this exclusive interview with Brian Kindregan, Lead Writer for StarCraft® II: Wings of Liberty™. Brian was in town for the Southeast Asia launch of StarCraft II in Singapore. He finds time for a thoughtful discussion on game storytelling with editor Johnny Tay.

Here is a faithful reproduction of that conversation. Enjoy!

Johnny Tay (JT): Welcome to Singapore! As a StarCraft gamer AND a writer, I’m thrilled to have this conversation with you.

Brian Kindregan (BK): Hey, great to meet you too!

JT: For this interview I’d like to focus on the art of game storytelling. The games industry in this region isn’t as evolved as your home market, and roles such as ‘game writer’ can be very alien to some. So it’ll be wonderful to have you share what it is all about, and how much it really influences a game’s success.

BK: Sounds great!

JT: For a start, can you tell us what led you to become a game writer?

BK: I’ve always loved storytelling. Since I was a kid, I would write and draw pictures to put makeshift stories together. I started off my career as a storyboard artist for the film industry – because here’s a place where I could combine these two skills! I worked on animated features such as Space Jam and Iron Giant…

JT: The Iron Giant? That’s a classic.

BK: Thank you! And I even worked on films like Chasing Liberty, with Mandy Moore.

JT: That’s quite a stretch, from animation to romantic comedy.

BK: I know! But at one point, I was coming home and finding myself playing games in my free time. So then I realized that I ‘just wanna play games’. I became more interested in storytelling for games and wanted to get involved. And so I did.

JT: When you work on the StarCraft story or other projects, where do you get inspiration?

BK: Well, my first source of inspiration is Chris Metzen (Vice President of Creative Development, Blizzard Entertainment®). After all, we are using his story and characters from StarCraft I. These are characters that have been around for years, so we need to get immersed in their world and experience the StarCraft gameplay to really understand the StarCraft universe. Beyond that, I get ideas mostly from science fiction novels and other games.

JT: It’s interesting how the concept of ‘space soldiers’ has been so prevalent. When one looks at the Terran Marines in StarCraft, one can’t help but think of Warhammer, and from there… Starship Troopers.

BK: The novel by Robert Heinlein?

JT: Yeah… I liked that much more than the movie.

BK: Of course!

The idea of ‘space soldiers in power suits’ has been commonplace since the 1930s and 40s. Since then, hundreds of novels featuring space soldiers have been published. What we have done is take this familiar idea and add a twist to it, by portraying the soldiers as ‘space cowboys’. It’s like being in a Western, albeit in space. In Wings of Liberty especially, you’ll get bar scenes and tense gun-toting standoffs.

JT: How do you think game writing has evolved over the last few decades?

BK: Today everyone is interested in games with stories! Game writing has definitely become more important, and developers recognize what their gamers want – storylines. People want to care about characters, and today we have the tools to make realistic characters – with cutting-edge graphics, voice acting and the like. So I can say we’re very fortunate, compared to the old days of game development.

JT: How has the StarCraft story evolved since the first game?

BK: We’re very lucky to have strong, established characters to work with. They all have great personalities, and that helps advance the plot a lot. If we’re thinking of a plot twist, we can easily visualize how each character will react and change how the story progresses. The bottom line is, we have made the StarCraft story more epic and more outstanding for fans.

JT: How are you developing the Terran storyline in this sequel?

BK: Quite early on, we realized that there was too much story to tell! You know how it was supposed to go – 10 missions for each race. Even in the first game, there was a little too much story packed into 10 missions per faction, 30 in all. So finally we decided to expand the Terran story to 29 missions (for Wings of Liberty), to allow ourselves more breathing space to really tell a great tale.

In short, the Terran story is about Jim Raynor, the Terran hero from the first game. Just who is the real Jim Raynor? What has he become? Will he succumb to the ghosts of his past?

JT: And the player decides what Jim will do and define his character?

BK: Yeah. There is a line in the story that I think is very memorable: “We are who we decide to be”. I think this is the essence of the Terran single-player storyline.

JT: Apart from that, I see a lot of mirrors on real life – governments turning tyrannical, political propaganda, media assaults on individuals with the use of ‘terrorist’ labels… It all seems so… familiar.

*everyone laughs*

BK: We don’t try to draw analogies to real life events or make statements on messy situations we’re all dealing with. The thing is, these trends you mentioned are pretty universal. Any government wanting to condemn a threat (rightfully or otherwise) will do what the Terran government is doing in-game to character-assassinate Raynor’s Raiders, for example.

JT: Can you give a run-down on how a story arc/angle flows from concept to reality, in your daily work process?

BK: Calling it a ‘process’ is too formal! Crafting a story idea is a very organic undertaking, which usually begins with getting a bunch of very talented people into a room to ‘cook up a storm’. We talk through an idea, sticky good ideas on the board, and bounce concepts back and forth endlessly.

JT: Who decides on finalized ideas? Is it a vote or does one person call the shots?

BK: Titles don’t come into play here – if an idea works, we’ll take it. Usually an idea gets established if someone feels very passionate about it and can explain how it can be applied properly. There might be a debate, and the person who objects should come up with a great alternative. And sometimes, something surprising might come up in the midst of the discussion.

So the word I’d use to describe our decision-making process is 'consensus'. It can’t be put to a vote because that’s the easy way out, and it definitely can’t be one person deciding it all – that won’t give you good ideas 100 per cent of the time, no matter how smart this guy is.

JT: What do you do as Lead Writer to ensure the story is logical and flows seamlessly?

BK: I take all the ideas that have been banded about, and boil them all down to something workable. I make all the ideas fit, write some dialogue perhaps to help the story flow, and polish up everything.

JT: Making sure everything is logical, right?

BK: If a story is completely ‘logical’, it must be pretty boring! The secret to getting a good story is balance – there must be enough unexpected twists to make it interesting, to keep you on your toes; yet the story must make sense in the context of these twists. You literally have to ‘feel’ that a story is right.

JT: How different is game storytelling from movie storytelling?

BK: Games are interactive. The player is a partner in the story’s development and we have to engage the player when crafting our story. This is different from movies, where the viewer merely accepts what happens on the screen.  However, underneath these different forms of expression lies the same impulse to tell a story. The tools may be different but the need for a cool story remains just as important.

JT: At the launch earlier on, you mentioned that Tychus Findlay was supposed to be a nameless Marine in the first teaser video, but now he’s a major character. Kerrigan began as a minor character too, but now she’s a world-famous villain who threatens the entire StarCraft universe. How do you know which characters can be developed to get such results?

BK: Sometimes the characters themselves surprise you. You make a character, and through the storytelling process, want to know more about him/her. Kerrigan was interesting from the get-go. Remember that cut-scene when we were introduced to her and her interactions with Raynor?

JT: I remember! “You pig!”

* everyone laughs *

BK: Yeah, here was a character with a personality. And how do you make fans love an already popular character even more? You kill her off…

JT: Hmmm…

BK: You can never know how a character will turn out. You might be in a situation where you think a certain character is no big deal, but fans turn out loving him/her and that gives you a big surprise!

JT: The first StarCraft was famous for having memorable characters… in a Real-Time Strategy game. That was revolutionary for the market, to have likeable units to play on the battlefield, and units you can persistently click on to get funny responses. How did you realize it was a good idea?

BK: It was a natural idea to have, for us. Whether you are reading a book, watching a film or playing a game, you want to care about characters and what drives them. So why not an RTS game?? Of course this can’t work for all games. We can’t do this for a game like Tetris…

JT: “Oh noes! I put that block in a horrible spot! Poor block!”

BK: “What happened to my square? Noo…!”

JT: What important aspects of game story-crafting have you learned in the course of the job?

BK: Wow! I learn something new everyday and it’s impossible to put it all down in an interview like this. Working at Blizzard has been a wonderful experience. I work with some of the most talented people in the world, and they genuinely want to share their knowledge.

I learn what it’s like to be part of a creative team, to play a role that fits into a big picture. I learn to consistently think about what the fantasy is for the player – what experience you are getting out of the game. Are you a general? A lone wolf? It’s all about the fantasy experience.

JT: Last question! And this helps all those writers who game and dream of being a game writer one day. What qualities does a game studio look for in a game writer?

BK: A unique combination! First of all, writers are solitary creatures, but being a game writer requires you to work in a team with people of different skill sets. So to find a good writer who can work in a team isn’t easy to begin with. In addition, a game studio would want someone who is passionate, creative, talented, and most of all, a gamer.

It is vital that a game writer knows gaming. Otherwise, he will not understand why the game designer would come in and ask to cancel a pivotal scene because it “interferes with a boss fight”. If you just write and don’t game, that would sound  ridiculous! You’d think “To hell with the boss fight, I want my scene!”

But if you write and play games, like I do, you’ll understand such an issue. There should be no conflict between story and gameplay. They are two halves of one whole experience. A good game writer should be able to find a balance and make a game truly enjoyable.

To experience the incredible story that StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty offers, visit our Blizzard portal for more information and local retailer listings.