During 'GG Together', an open event for the newly anticipated game, 'StarCraft: Remastered', we had the opportunity to speak with its developers. The members who partook in the interview are as follows: 'Vice President of Online Technologies', Robert Bridenbecker; senior producer, Pete Stilwell; and the engineering lead for the game, Grant Davies.

During the interview, the 3 developers shared their reasons for developing the game, as well as hardships that occurred while doing so.

What was the #1 priority while developing StarCraft: Remastered?

Grant: Our #1 priority during development was to maintain the same kind of gameplay as the original while making it able to support 4K graphics.


What are the goals of developing this game? 

Robert: Our goal is to introduce the newer generation of gamers to StarCraft. The game has been played for 20 years already by many players, and we want it to be playable for another 20.


You guys are being very open about the game even before its release in Korea. Any reasons why?

Robert: I have been frequently visiting Korea for about 15 years. I'm still surprised at how passionate some fans are towards our game. StarCraft was and is a treasured game in Korea; so it's an honor for me to work on it for the newer generation.

Pete: I grew up playing StarCraft, so it eventually became my dream to work on the game. My seniors told me before, "If you want to develop StarCraft, you will have to learn more about Korea." So starting from last year, I started visiting Korea frequently. And from my visits, I too was surprised at how passionate some people were for StarCraft.

Their passion became our drive to work harder. A past professional StarCraft player, 'Guk Gi Bong', once said, "When developing a game, you have to aim towards making it popular in Korea. It's because Koreans are very picky about their games."

Grant: For me, this is my first time visiting Korea. So I can't talk as descriptively as the other two. But it still feels amazing to see that so many people have gathered outside. 

Robert: One day, the president of Blizzard, Michael Morhaime, came up to me and asked, "When will you start working on a remastered version of StarCraft?" 20 years ago, he personally partook in the development of Starcraft, so I told him that we will keep the same gameplay as the original while working on the remastered version. Michael then told me all the bugs and glitches from the previous title, and that we should fix it. (Laughs) And so, we are now fixing his bugs 20 years later.

Grant: While working on the game, I looked into the source code developed by Michael Morhaime and Frank Pearce. Then, I suddenly felt a weight on my shoulders. Developing a game to have the same gameplay as a game released 20 years ago was definitely hard on my part. 

Will Battle.net also be reworked?

Grant: It will be relatively the same as the original... other than a couple more functions being added.


How will the model of the game be like in Korean PC bangs? (Korean Net Cafes)

Robert: We have been partnering with PC bangs for a long time. I truly think it's very important to do so. Gamers who play the game from PC bangs will also receive many different benefits. After today's event, for 2 weeks, players will only be able to play Remastered at PC bangs; this itself shows how important we believe PC bangs are.

Every PC bang will have its own leaderboard. So a player will be able to see his own name whenever he goes to his local one. Items that boost the amount of experience gained will also be provided for those players, allowing them to save up fast for unlocking an in-game portrait of his choice. 


StarCraft and esports have had a very close relationship since its release. We are curious in how the relationship will continue with the release of StarCraft: Remastered.

Robert: We have been watching the game closely for a long time. What to change, what to keep - we have been receiving constant feedback regarding our game. The same goes for the esports scene. Of course, the scene has shrunk in size compared to the past, but there are still many fans that show love for the game. We can't exactly make a certain statement regarding it as of now, but please note that we are approaching the idea very positively.