User blog:Hawki/Loving the Skin You're In

So, the new skinset has been released, lore blurbs included. And while such blurbs aren't new, what is interesting is what they're hinting at...maybe. I might be reading too much into it, but it seems to me that there's a more concentrated effort this time to hint at future developments, whereas other skinsets have been just worldbuilding.

So, let's start with the Umojans. On one hand, while this is an issue that the setting has had since Brood War, it's a case of hemogenization with terran forces, in that they've just copy-pasted Dominion tech. Kinda par for the course, but it does make the Umojans a bit less unique. Arguably, the Umojans are in a weird spot right now, because if Valerian's Dominion is more humane, with stuff like the Ghost Program and Reaper Corps, what makes the Umojans different. That said, there's a bit of a hint that the Umojans are trying to assert themselves more, and seem to be focusing on the Dominion. The marine skinset hints at a future conflict, their Thor is said to be a counter to the Dominion's Thor, and the Imperio tank is said to be a counter to the Crucio. Likewise, "Imperio" translates roughly as "government," "power," or "sovereignty." You can read into that how you will. Still, we do get some worldbuilding, with the Umojans apparently being more reckless in robotics and somesuch, but hey, take what you can get. So, while I still stand by that anything post-LotV is technically unneeded plot, if the Umojans want to assert themselves in future stories, I won't say no.

Moving onto Project Simulant. What's weird is that the skins actually tell a narrative, albiet out of order (but it's easy enough to pin together). Yet I actually find this the least engaging. Basically, it's your "science gone wrong" scenario that we've seen a thousand times in sci-fi already. Likewise, robotic duplicates are already in the setting (Purifiers), and you could at least do something culturally interesting with them, whereas the simulants appear to be just zerg. I can't help but entertain the notion that the new investors are Lio Travski (really stretching there I know) or some kind of activists, but I can't think of any real motivation except anarchy here. Also, how are these things even able to reproduce? If they can, that's weird. If they can't, then they're not really that big of a threat (see Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom for a similar apocalyptic scenario that isn't actually apocalyptic when you think about it).

That brings us to the protoss, which have their own MAGA movement now&mdash;Make Aiur Great Again. Again, really mixed on this. On one hand, I like the idea of a protoss traditionalist movement emerging. Makes sense in the context, makes sense for the protoss, makes sense that this would generate some tension. On the other hand, what's the end game here? We've already gone through the whole rigamarole of tensions within the Daelaam, we don't need to go through it again. You could point out that realistically, prejudices and nostalgia for a supposedly better time would always remain, and you'd be right. That doesn't mean it's a story that needs to be told. Sometimes, a happy ending is just fine with being a happy ending - in Lord of the Rings for instance, we know that Aragorn spends a lot of time in the Fourth Age pacifying the Haradrim and Easterlings, that doesn't mean we actually need those events depicted. If anything, the potential for protoss tribal tension is even worse because it could undo LotV. And fine, I get it, conflict is the essence of drama, and in this case, physical conflict. Just don't feel it's a conflict that needs telling for the second time.

But anyway, that's just me. It could possibly come to nothing, that this is just an exercise in worldbuilding rather than a course for future plotlines. HotS for instance does a good job in worldbuilding with its skins, but those worlds are always going to remain static.