Characters of StarCraft - Casting and Design

Casting and Design

The characters and story of the StarCraft series were created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney. However, as Phinney was not involved in StarCraft: Brood War, Chris Metzen alone is credited for the development of the plot in the expansion. Despite the series' success globally, particularly in South Korea, Blizzard Entertainment has not made any major comments regarding the development of the characters and the storyline of the StarCraft series.

However, interviews with the two of the voice actors have given a glimpse into small parts of the development process. An interview with Robert Clotworthy, the voice of Jim Raynor in all released StarCraft games to date, has revealed that for the most part the voicing for the characters was done over only a few days in sessions of up to four hours, a fact mirrored in a similar interview with Sarah Kerrigan's actress, Glynnis Talken Campbell. Clotworthy also stated how the concept art for the game—usually used for the visual development of characters and locales in games—was used by him in order to develop the personality of his character.

Visually, most of the characters and units in the games were developed from artwork by Metzen and Samwise Didier, although at least two other artists—Glenn Rane and Peter Lee—have developed concept art for StarCraft II. It is also implied by some of the authors of the novels that the development of the characters in their books was influenced by Metzen as well as Andy Chambers and Evelyn Fredericksen. This is particularly notable for characters later appearing in the games, such as Valerian Mengsk.