Untouchable Online

While at Blizzard’s World Wide Invitational (WWI) tournament and convention in Seoul, South Korea, we had the opportunity to interview Chris Sigaty, the Lead Producer for Starcraft II. The WWI was an insanely busy tournament. In addition, there were tons of press people pushing for interviews. Chris, of course, as the Lead Producer of Starcraft II, was the man of the hour and was in high demand. Those circumstances are enough to test the patience of a saint. And yet, despite this, we found Chris to be affable, amiable, funny, friendly, and willing to talk to us at length.


Chris Sigaty - StarCraft II Lead Producer

IncGamers: So Chris, what is the significance of this weekend?

Sigaty: [Laughing] Well, we announced the release of Starcraft II! It was a tremendous relief to finally get that announcement out there. We’d been working using code names for so long, I was glad to finally be able to say it. I met with some of the other people on the team as soon as the announcement was made and – it was a joke – said “Hey, we’re working on Starcraft II!”

IncGamers: Can we know what the codename for the project was?

Sigaty: Yeah, I can tell you. It was “Medusa”.

IncGamers: Is there some significance to that?

Sigaty: [Smiling] Not really. It kind of goes with Karigan a bit, but….


IncGamers: RTS games were the games that made Blizzard into a major gaming company, but now it’s been a while. Warcraft III was 2003. What took Blizzard so long to get back?

Sigaty: [Amused] Well, there was a little something that came along called World of Warcraft. We made the decision to make Starcraft II right after the ship of the Frozen Throne. But we couldn’t start in true earnest because of the impact of World of Warcraft. It was so huge, and so foreign to us at the time. RTS and action RPG games (like Diablo) were our bread-and-butter.

We made the decision to do it, and there were always a few people working on elements of it, but we couldn’t collectively attack it, because our artists would be pulled off to help work on this or that [for World of Warcraft].

IncGamers: There was a big gaming website that stated – definitively – that this big announcement would, in fact, be a Starcraft MMO…

Sigaty: [Laughing out loud] Yeah, I read that.

IncGamers: So why, at the last minute, did you switch things up and go with Starcraft II instead?

Sigaty: [Still laughing] Well, here’s the deal. Last Monday, we decided that because they said that, we wanted to screw them over and go with Starcraft II.

IncGamers: So, you exchanged a few inter-office memos, and got it changed?

Sigaty: Yeah.


IncGamers: In all seriousness, the minute we got on the ground here in Korea, we had a pretty good idea what you’d be announcing, even without using our psychic powers. The bang thing here is huge. You guys are all known by gamers here. When Mike Morhaime took the stage to make the announcement, South Korean gamers cheered like mad. How does all that make you feel?

Sigaty: It’s pretty crazy. Look, 6 or 7 years ago one of our guys came over here and he met with South Korea’s vice president. They put on a show for him, in which people danced around in Zerg and Protoss costumes. It was insane.

It’s a crazy anomaly. I’ve had some experiences where, just walking around, and people want to take your picture. It’s really cool. I just love the Korean culture. I’ve been here for 3 WWIs, and we do signings, and it’s especially nice, how things are presented, and how there’s just so much respect between people. It’s totally humbling and really crazy. Nobody’s trying to be a rock star or some recognized entity, and it’s just been crazy to have [the reaction of Korean gamers] happen, and totally cool.

IncGamers: On that note, we’ve never seen a single Blizzard developer go off in a strange direction with the fame – nobody’s gone all John Romero, if you remember him – despite all the attention. How do you guys stay humble? This is a LOT of attention.

Sigaty: One of the things we make a conscious decision to do is spread around who talks to the press. Look, up until the announcement was made, there was still a lot of speculation about what the game would be – an MMO, something completely different, or whatever. But it didn’t leak. The people that work at the company didn’t want to cause an issue by talking. People don’t want to have big heads, they like how it’s rolled out, and feel great to be a part of [Blizzard].


IncGamers: It appears to be a part of your corporate personality that you’ve scrupulously avoided appearing self-centered. Now, Blizzard is arguably the most influential game company in the world, and you guys are still nice as pie.

Sigaty: I’m glad it’s perceived that way. I don’t like the whole “step on a pedestal” or “take credit” thing.

IncGamers: How many developers did Blizzard send here? It seems like a lot.

Sigaty: Just the fact that the executive staff made that decision [to send so many developers] was remarkable.

IncGamers: And…Enter Mike Morhaime [as Morhaime walks into the room].

Sigaty: [Laughing] Thanks Mike!

Sigaty: Look, this is a big deal. It’s important for the development team, who’ve heard the stories [about gaming in Korea] to kinda get an opportunity to see how big it truly is. It’s big and really crazy.

Morhaime: [To IncGamers] We wanted you guys to see [the Starcraft II announcement] too!

IncGamers: We appreciate your bringing us here Mike and thanks for all the sandwiches and energy drinks [in the press room] too!


Morhaime: [Laughing] Right on. Don’t miss the Starcraft final! It’s already starting. [At this point discussion breaks about between Morhaime and Sigaty about the French player winning the Warcraft final. Morhaime then heads out to the arena, excited that the Starcraft final is beginning.]

IncGamers: When we got to Korea, seeing the reaction to e-gaming could have knocked us over with a pebble. It’s huge. Knowing this, are you gearing Starcraft II toward e-gaming?

Sigaty: We’re going to make a great game that’s going to take into account e-gaming. Warcraft III and Starcraft are among the games that are considered at the top of competitive gaming. We’re very close to that. We’ve formed community teams in Europe and Korea and Asia and the States as well to support that competitive community.

IncGamers: Will you be supporting Mac?

Sigaty: Absolutely. We’re working on that now. We’ve always been big Mac supporters, and that will continue.

IncGamers: Thanks for your time, Chris.

Sigaty: No problem!

For more information on Starcraft 2, head to starcraft.incgamers.com.