StarCraft

What it is. An RTS whose reputation rests on one achievement: three factions that share almost nothing — different units, different economy quirks, different production models — yet stay balanced across all three matchups and mirror matches. Terran, Zerg, Protoss aren’t reskins; they’re three answers to the same question (how do I convert economy into a winning army?), and the answers stay fair.

Player fantasy. You don’t pick a colour, you pick an identity — the swarm that drowns you in cheap bodies, the machine-precise army that trades up, the elite few that each hit like a truck. Mastering a faction feels like learning a language; the matchup is a conversation.

Design DNA

Asymmetry is a promise about identity, balanced by a shared power budget. Each faction gets a distinct fantasy (swarm / tech / elite) and a distinct texture (macro rhythm, unit feel), but every unit is priced against a common yardstick so no faction’s answer dominates. The magic is that different but fair multiplies depth: three factions × three opponents = far more than three times the strategies, because each matchup has its own logic. See system-faction-asymmetry for the balancing discipline this demands.

Load-bearing structures

Structure	Why it works
One faction = one identity	Zerg are the swarm; Protoss are few-and-elite. A one-word fantasy keeps every unit on-theme and legible. → `world-faction-identity`.
Distinct production model per side	Larva/hatch vs build-from-structure vs warp-in. The economy feels different, not just the units.
Shared power budget	Cheap-but-weak and expensive-but-strong cost out to the same value; asymmetry without a hidden best side. → `system-faction-asymmetry`.
Matchup-specific logic	ZvP ≠ ZvT ≠ PvT. Each pairing is its own puzzle; balance is per-matchup, not global.
Counter web, not counter list	Units soft-counter across factions; comp and timing decide fights, not a lookup table. → `system-counter-systems`.
Macro/micro split as skill ceiling	Economy management (macro) and unit control (micro) are separable skills; the ceiling is doing both at once. → `system-mastery-curve`.

What to steal

Identity-first faction design: write the one-word fantasy before the unit list. Every unit must express it or it doesn’t belong. → world-faction-identity.
A shared power budget as the balance instrument: price every asymmetric thing against a common yardstick so “different” never means “better.”
Per-matchup balance, not global: verify each faction-vs-faction duel wins its own NvN (FUN.md §9), including the mirror.
Separable macro/micro: two skills the player improves independently gives a long mastery curve with early wins available.

What’s just theme (drop it)

The sci-fi fiction — bugs vs marines vs psionic knights is one dressing of swarm/tech/elite. Fantasy, historical, or abstract carries the same spine.
Exactly three factions — three is a sweet spot (each matchup distinct, still tractable), but the principle is “N identities on one budget,” not the 3.
The specific units — a Zergling is a delivery mechanism for “cheap swarm body.” The role matters; the sprite doesn’t.
Hard-APM execution — the demand for macro+micro is the ceiling; you can raise it with automation without losing the strategic identity.

Composes into

genre-rts — the parent genre; StarCraft is its asymmetry exemplar.
system-faction-asymmetry — the home system; this anchor is its canonical case study of “different but fair.”
system-unit-rosters — three legible rosters, each a clear set of roles.
system-counter-systems — the cross-faction counter web.
world-faction-identity — the fiction that makes each side feel distinct.

Twist seams

StarCraft but the factions are drafted mid-run (structure) — roguelite: each run you compose a roster from a pool, and the “faction” is your draft. Pairs with system-build-diversity.
StarCraft but one hero, not an army (perspective) — you are a single unit inside the swarm/machine/elite fantasy; the faction becomes a class.
StarCraft but no micro (constraint) — armies auto-resolve; the whole game is macro and comp. Pairs with genre-auto-battler.
StarCraft but the third faction is the map (mechanic-swap) — an environmental “faction” (creep, weather, tide) plays against both players as a neutral asymmetric force.