Artosis talks StarCraft, Digital Games

I recently interviewed North American StarCraft ladder leader Artosis about the Digital Games, his StarCraft experiences and the future of the SC scene. With the coming of StarCraft II, certain aspects of the scene may go by the wayside. This hardened competitive gamer offered his viewpoint below in this rapid fire interview.

GGL: Please tell us your full name, age and occupation.
Dan Stemkoski / 25 / aspiring SC commentator/player.

GGL: How long have you been playing SC?
9 or 10 years.

GGL: What was your impetus for entering the Digital Games StarCraft competition?
I like to support any StarCraft tournaments/ladders that I can.

GGL: Who is your most dangerous opponent so far and why?
My teammate Machine[Media]. He is a really really good zerg player and he’s beaten me a few times on the ladder.

GGL: With respect to strategies, could you give us a general overview of how the game has changed since you started playing?
The game is infinitely different since I started playing. I started way back a little bit after the game came out when no one had any idea what was going on. It has evolved into by far the hardest, most competitive and unforgiving game ever. Gone are the days of just having strategies that worked. Now you have to be doing hundreds of things per minute with nearly flawless strategy/macro/micro or you will get run over.

GGL: Is there a foreigner (non-Korean) who can hold a candle to the best Korean players right now?
No.

GGL: What are your thoughts on Starcraft 2?
I’m really excited about SC2 coming out. We SC1 die hard fans have waited a long time for a chance to actually be able to make money playing this game.

GGL: Will a foreigner be able to reign supreme in SC2? Why or why not?
Yes. At first many of the top players will be foreigners. The Koreans won’t switch over entirely right away I think. Regardless of that, the vast majority of Korean SC players are just mindless drones who copy the best pro gamers. The mindless drones absolutely will suck at SC2 until it is defined enough that they can mindlessly copy again. Foreigners generally don’t copy and thus will be able to compete for a long time in the game.

GGL: Do you still have pro gaming aspirations or just play for fun these days?
Yes I still aspire to greater things in SC1. We do get at least some tournaments which are important and have nice prizes (WCG / Teamliquid Starleague).

GGL: Who is the best non-Korean player right now?
Impossible to say.

GGL: Will Brood War die with the release of SC2?
The competitive foreigner SC1 scene will die instantly when SC2 comes out. As for Korea, I imagine it will take a bit longer for them to switch over completely.

Any shoutouts?
HI MACHINE!!!!!!!