One video game I really enjoy is Starcraft 2 (both are good, SC2 is better). This game is advertised as an RTS – Real Time Strategy as you control troops in a third-person view from one of three races to defeat your opponent or the AI. Yet this description does not capture the game’s aesthetic successes. The main game is 1v1 matches meaning this game hinges mostly on the competitive aesthetic, as players compete to climb the game’s ranking system with each match they win. The game also features fantastic graphics (for 2010), in addition to having an absolutely epic soundtrack, contributing to the sensory aesthetic. In addition to the 1v1 gameplay, there is a narrative single-player campaign mode that is a continuation from SC1, giving a narrative aesthetic to the game. This campaign mode also gives a challenge aesthetic as the campaign is separated into unique and increasingly difficult levels. I must admit I am not by any stretch of the imagination good at this game- I am however, capable of playing it. Obviously there are players who are truly unimaginably good at this game- and SC2 still has a thriving Esports scene to this day, because of how well this game uses these aesthetics as part of the wider (although fading) RTS genre. (I’ve included a youtube link to last year’s championship SC2 game between Serral [Zerg race] and Classic [Protoss race]):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Rf8QAOoxXc
-Noah
