Starcraft 2 fans across the world have been hailing an announcement by Blizzard that has nothing to do with how they play the game and everything to do with how they watch it.
Blizzard announced Thursday that it had brought Ryan Schutter to the developer’s headquarters in Irvine, Calif. to work with its engineers there. Schutter is the creator of renowned Starcraft 2 mod Gameheart, which is solely focused on improving the spectator experience within the game.
The replacement overlay allows for features such as a functional telestrator, zooming, and a customizable scoreboard. In fact, customization is a big part of what Gameheart as a whole offers, as tournament organizers can correct player names, display how many games are to be played in a series, and change the overall aesthetics to give each event its own look.
As he tweaked and fine-tuned his creation, Schutter indicated that he would like to see Gameheart implemented during World Championship Series tournament broadcasts. The WCS is Blizzard’s officially sponsored professional Starcraft 2 tour, with events spanning the globe.
Fans of the game echoed Schutter’s desires, and their wish has now been granted. Blizzard will be working with Schutter to create a specialized version of Gameheart for use at WCS events, though the new version will also be released to the public for use in unaffiliated competitions. The collaboration will allow Blizzard’s team of developers to offer their expertise in improving Gameheart’s functionality.
While Blizzard did indicate that Gameheart would be the new standard at WCS events moving forward, they did not announce when it would first be implemented.
The next WCS event will take place this weekend in Anaheim, Calif. under MLG’s banner.
Published: Jun 20, 2014 02:25 pm