StarCraft Wiki:Canon policy

Canon redirects here. For the StarCraft comic character see Senator Elliot Canon.

	This page is a StarCraft Wiki Policy. The shortcut link for this page is Pol-Canon.

Canon is defined by the StarCraft Wiki as material that Blizzard Entertainment considers as part of the StarCraft universe. The wiki is predominantly concerned with the presentation of this material.

Blizzard Entertainment almost never uses words such as canon and has no official policy. Blizzard has briefly discussed canon, using the term unambiguously in a few interviews.

This policy is developed for the StarCraft Wiki and is not official Blizzard Entertainment policy.

Sources

Official

Software products

In general, the StarCraft games released by Blizzard are canon.

The bonus campaigns and missions, StarCraft: Enslavers, Dark Origin, the StarCraft 64 bonus map, Resurrection IV, and StarCraft: Enslavers II have been referred to as canon by Chris Metzen (he chose the ending where Alan Schezar and Ulrezaj use the powerful EMP generator as the "canonical" branch). Metzen later referred to the Enslavers campaigns as "quasi-canonical".

Dark Origin is explicitly canon, and its events have been mentioned numerous times by Blizzard Entertainment. Downloaded maps are considered generally official by Blizzard.

Game Manuals

Material from the game manuals are canon.

Official Non-Software

Some of the Blizzard Entertainment authorized fiction is actually published by Blizzard Entertainment employees. These include StarCraft: Uprising and StarCraft: Hybrid (authored by Blizzard employee Micky Neilson) and StarCraft: Revelations (authored by Blizzard employee Chris Metzen). Blizzard Entertainment employees have access to material other authors will never see, so their material is considered more reliable. Note that StarCraft map series available on the www.battle.net site fall into this category (namely StarCraft: Precursor, Deception and Mercenaries II).

Other fiction, such as the tie-in novels, are not written by Blizzard employees and have more limited access to background material, but are none-the-less considered official by Blizzard. Eyonix, a former community manager for the World of Warcraft forums, responded to assertions that literature not directly produced by Blizzard were not valid sources of lore:

Could you please stop with the RPG books?

by Eyonix

Any piece of literature authorized and licensed by Blizzard Entertainment is in-fact, official. The book series written by Richard A. Knaak in particular is an excellent example of real 'Azerothian' history and lore available outside of our game software. We work closely with authors that help us expand our game universe, and the material should be considered official.

Thus, the wiki considers literature authorized and licensed by Blizzard to be canon as well.

Blizzard Comments on Lore

Chris Metzen said that Blizzard is "essentially intending to novelize the first three campaigns in the core game. We're going to novelize Brood War at some point just so we have the definitive take on those stories."

BlizzCon 2007 Lore Panel

by Chris Metzen and Andy Chambers

Question: Will you be referencing any of the character development like, say, Queen of Blades towards the ending in any of the upcoming games like StarCraft II... do you kind of say the books were the books and the game is the game? Chris Metzen: These books specifically are kind of the definitive take in my mind, which means we got a chance in Queen of Blades to show you a lot of scenes we could not show in the game. When does Raynor actually meet these guys? When does [sic] Tassadar and Zeratul actually hook up and meet? That's a huge part of the game that we never show. How does Tassadar, this Executor of the Protoss, this really talented, driven guy, get jumped into this whacked cult that his bosses hate and by the end of it become this Twilight Messiah and take down the monster alien of the galaxy. How did that all happen? We never actually touch any of it in the game. I don't even know if it occurred to me that we didn't when we published it... talk about a galaxy-sized hole. So, the books have been our chance to fill in some of those gaps, and try and tell more the story, make it make sense more [sic]. But of course, like Liberty's Crusade wasn't quite as full. There were events in the game that we didn't cover in that book, but the soul of the book is true, like the idea that there were small interaction with Raynor and Kerrigan that we didn't see in the game. A lot of times, so we're trying to tell a story, and it's a wargame, which was difficult to do back in the day, thus our pretty new story mode, but the idea was that you couldn't always get all the beats in that you wanted, even the beats that really make it make sense in a linear fashion and from a thematic standpoint. We actually didn't always get to say everything we needed to say. Surprisingly, the game held up pretty well, like you know, what it was in the day, we're still very very proud of it, but it's almost like despite the technology, we always had a lot of frustrations... we were not able to get everything in, so I guess what I'm trying to say with way too many words is the fact that the books are our chance at redemption and telling the whole tale, so my hope is that they do it well. Andy Chambers: Well, as I mentioned earlier on, we're also taking the opportunity to take characters who may be appearing in the books and put them into the game of StarCraft II, like Matt Horner, as an example, never appeared in StarCraft, but he's there in Queen of Blades... he's a pretty cool guy, we should really use that character. That's all part of trying to make everything together into this grand universe ideal, which I what I trying to shoot for. It's like it doesn't matter how obscure the reference is, if it's out there its got some role that crosses over to the rest. I'm not a big fan myself of "well, they're in the novels, they have nothing to do with the game"... It's a big living breathing universe ... every time you put a brick on the wall it becomes a part of the universe.

Chris Metzen also had this to say:

BlizzCon 2007 Lore Panel

by Chris Metzen

...We didn't want to answer the big questions. I knew that this sequel was not going to materialize for many years. We had a lot of projects ahead of us, and I didn't want to get ahead of the bus. I wanted to pick nice, safe little books that would be cool stories in and of themselves but wouldn't necessarily put us in a bad spot and set up questions that we weren't prepared to answer.

Metzen also spoke about how some parts of novels might not be considered canon, when discussing the World of Warcraft comic series at San Diego Comic Con in 2007.

San Diego Comic Con 2007

by Chris Metzen

Yeah, the novels are pretty much considered canon, um, the funny thing is some things are less canon, we shoot for canon...typically the characters in novels are canon... (35:21)

The Dark Templar Saga

Christie Golden: "Considering the nature of some of the events that are portrayed, I can safely say that yes, Starcraft: The Dark Templar series is going to be considered canon." In addition, the Dark Templar Saga was written concurrently with the StarCraft II storyline.

Blizzard had this to say about its canonical status:

BlizzCon 2007 Lore Panel

by Chris Metzen and Andy Chambers

Chris Metzen: ...We didn't want to answer the big questions. I knew that this sequel was not going to materialize for many years. We had a lot of projects ahead of us, and I didn't want to get ahead of the bus. I wanted to pick nice, safe little books that would be cool stories in and of themselves but wouldn't necessarily put us in a bad spot and set up questions that we weren't prepared to answer. So what's been cool lately, Christie Golden has been doing the Dark Templar trilogy, which at its base is an attempt to tell more of the Protoss history, but at the same time, get the engines lit for this sequel, and begin to set up some plotlines. Andy Chambers: Yeah, we've taken that opportunity to actually start building in and foreshadowing some of the events that are going to happen in StarCraft II. It's been a lot of fun... Chris Metzen: It's cool 'cause we're kind of developing them concurrently.

Blizzard Employee Statements

Statements by Blizzard Entertainment employees are viewed as official when they do not conflict with other published sources. They may also trump information older than the quote.

For instance, information on the United Earth Directorate after the Brood War was revealed in an interview with Blizzard Entertainment employees. This information does not contradict any previous material.

However, given the off-the-cuff nature of and contradictions between some of these statements, they do not necessarily rank higher than information from published sources.

For instance, on the topic of infested protoss, Chris Metzen has said in June of 2009 that "there are no infested protoss, period" and Dustin Browder has said "based on the lore, the Protoss do not become infested." However, Blizzard has also contradicted this statement in July 2009.

The end result is the wiki has no official policy on the existence of infested protoss.

Licensed

There is material owned or licensed by Blizzard that may be notably StarCraft-related. Whether they are canon or not may be determined on a case-to-case basis, and it may be necessary for the material to be marked by appropriate templates and categorization.

Software

These include authorized map packs and third-party expansions, like StarCraft: Insurrection and StarCraft: Retribution. They may be considered canon but have weaker precedence when resolving contradictions.

Cut material

Cut material is a form of material owned by Blizzard but may not be considered part of the universe as depicted in final products. This may come from a variety of sources:

• Items removed from final products during development (eg. material from alpha and beta releases or from missions cut from StarCraft).
• Products canceled or never released (eg. StarCraft: Ghost).

If this material does not contradict more up-to-date material, it may be permissible to use it as if it were canon. Where such material is contradicted, they should be added in distinct sections or articles clearly marked by appropriate templates (if format permits).

Easter Eggs

"Easter eggs" are material present in released products but not meant to be taken seriously. They are frequently of an amusing nature. They are not considered canon and have no relevance in lore articles.

Fan-made content

The wiki is mostly unconcerned with the majority of fan-made content. Such material that is included on the wiki are deemed to have outstanding notability but are not considered canon and have no place in lore articles. Fan content may come from a variety of sources:

• Fan-made content acknowledged by Blizzard Entertainment (eg. Vespene Laughs).
• Notable content not authorized by Blizzard Entertainment (eg. StarCraft: Stellar Forces).

Challenges

Since the first release of StarCraft, Blizzard has steadily added to and revised the universe's background with new products. While Blizzard may have a coherent picture of the universe internally, this material may not be released to the public in an equally coherent fashion. To outside parties, this manifests as contradictions between products/releases.

The wiki constant attempts to detect superseded and/or obsolescent material and revise accordingly. The following discusses some of the challenges involved.

Retcons

Blizzard Entertainment sometimes applies "retcons" to their universe. As these retcons are rarely announced as such, this wiki uses guidelines to determine what counts as a retcon. If changed information is consistently repeated, it may be considered the subject of a retcon. For instance, the population of Korhal when it was attacked by the Terran Confederacy was 4 million in the manual but has been consistently described as 25 million in multiple later sources.

More recent information is more likely to be accurate. For instance, Artanis and Zeratul both underwent eye color changes in Queen of Blades. Artanis' eye color was confirmed in StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga: Twilight and Zeratul's eye color was confirmed in numerous places, including videos from StarCraft II itself.

Clearer information is preferable. Information from just one source should be considered "clearer" than information pieced together from more than one source.

Dealing with Contradictions

In the event of a conflict between otherwise valid resources, the preferred approach is that the conflict should be noted in a notes or reference notes section. But to the greatest extent possible valid resources should be construed so as not to be in conflict. The presumption should be that a conflict does not exist unless no other explanation is reasonable under the circumstances.

In the event that two valid resources (for example, two spoken lines of dialogue; a spoken line and a graphic) conflict, either can be referenced as a valid resource, provided the other is also included in some manner in the article and the conflict noted. Explanations of the conflict (for example, suggestions for reconciliation) and the reason for the selection of one resource over another can appear on a discussion page.

In writing articles contributors should be guided by the principle that a valid resource with a higher precedence can (but does not have to) be given slightly greater evidentiary weight for purposes of writing the article from a StarCraft universe standpoint than the valid resource with a lower precedence. The conflict still needs to be noted in the article, though.

For instance, Liberty's Crusade and StarCraft: Precursor conflict on the matter of Edmund Duke's movements shortly before the destruction of Chau Sara. Liberty's Crusade has him aboard the Norad II, roaming around the Terran Confederacy for three months before warping to Chau Sara as a result of the protoss attack. In contrast, Precursor has Duke personally directing troops on Chau Sara in November 2499 (only one month before the attack on Chau Sara). The latter example is clearly timestamped, so should hold more evidentiary weight. Even so, lore conflicts should be noted in the relevant articles.

When two equally valid "highest weight" sources conflict, whichever position has the most supporting evidence from "lower weight" sources should be used.

Timelines

There are two ways of establishing dates in the StarCraft universe.

The first involves information plainly and clearly presented with timestamps. For instance, Rebel Yell plainly starts in December 2499 (this is clearly stated in pre-mission splash screens for Boot Camp and The Wasteland), and the StarCraft II: Heaven's Devils timeline plainly presents The Dark Templar Saga as taking place in 2503. Timestamps from published material takes precedence over timestamps from unpublished material (such as dates plainly stated in Biting the Bullet).

The second method involves derived or conjectural dates which are approximated, for example through inference. Timeline information from such sources should have reference notes labeled with "[time/date] based on [fill in the blank]." For instance, the Battle of Backwater Station can be determined have taken place on December 16, 2499, as it's possible to measure the time between the destruction of Chau Sara and the battle in the novel Liberty's Crusade.

Less clear information can still be used if it doesn't conflict with other clearer sources of information, especially if it corroborates a clearer source of information. For instance, the time between the Fall of Mar Sara and the activation of the psi emitter on Antiga Prime can be considered six months, due to an interplay of various sources:

StarCraft: Ghost: Nova has the Fall of Mar Sara and the beginning of the Battle of Antiga Prime in Part 1. Part 3 takes place six months later, and has the Confederacy reporting on the defeat of its forces there.

Most of StarCraft: Issue 1 takes place in June 2500, which is clearly timestamped. According to an interview with the author, this takes place during or slightly after the use of the psi emitter on Antiga Prime.

Such information includes at least some timestamping, and so is valid provided it does not conflict with clearer information sources.

Dates derived from "relative timing" should still use an approximate timestamp as a starting point, such as an important event in the StarCraft universe. An extremely vague approximate timestamp, such as Arcturus Mengsk's statement that "I saw Zerg within Confederate holding pens myself, and that was over a year ago." in The Jacobs Installation should not be regarded as sufficient.

This wiki made a mistake on that very topic. The events Mengsk described took place in StarCraft: Uprising, and the wiki used to time Uprising as taking place in 2498 as a result of that comment. Dates of other events in the same novel, such as the Destruction of Korhal, were based on this inference. However, StarCraft: I, Mengsk made it fairly clear that the Destruction of Korhal occurred in 2491, a whole seven years earlier. The Heaven's Devils timeline very clearly timestamped the event as taking place in 2491.

The clear timestamp method takes precedence over the second "relative timing" method when sources present conflicting information. For instance, using information derived from the original manual, the timing of the settlement of the Koprulu Sector by terrans was estimated at 2298 (based on approximate measurements of Earth technological development, and the age of the Terran Confederacy, listed as about two centuries). The Heaven's Devils timeline clearly timestamps this event as taking place in 2259 (thirty-nine years earlier). One clear timestamp outweighs several vague inferences.

Storyline Branching

Storyline branching occurs when a player may choose which campaign missions to play. The choices made may influence plot progression; events arising from one set of choices may conflict with those portrayed arising from yet another set of choices.

In such situations, information may be divided into two categories:

1. Invariant
2. Variant

Blizzard Entertainment has claimed to ignore branch paths when it comes to canon. However, this statement has been contradicted numerous times by specification (see below).

Variant

Variant information derived from storyline branches should be split into two categories: storyline information (eg what has happened) and lore information (eg "facts").

"Storyline" information should only be considered valid if it's from the a "main", non-branched mission. Whatever Jim Raynor does in Zero-Hour is fine, since it's a mission you have to play. However, saying he attacked Castanar's space platform without designation is not fine, since that's a choice made by the player, not by Blizzard Entertainment. For these situations, an appropriate template should be used.

Invariant

Invariant information is information that may come from any branch but can be reasonably expected to apply to all branches.

Using "factual" variant information taken from branch missions is okay. For instance, information regarding events that happen before the campaign but may only be revealed in certain branches. As an example, we learn that Dr. Ariel Hanson is a scientist from Agria in the mission The Evacuation. It's okay to add that information to articles.

Storyline information from both branches can be added to articles. For instance, regardless of which version of Emperor's Fall is played, the United Earth Directorate defeats the Terran Dominion, and the same dialogue occurs, so all that information can be used in an unrestricted way in any article.

Making a Branch Canon

Blizzard Entertainment can choose to make one branch canonical. For instance, one branch of the StarCraft: Enslavers campaign was made canon in introductory material for its sequel, StarCraft: Enslavers II.

StarCraft: Enslavers II itself had two branches, and years after its publication Chris Metzen chose one branch to be canonical. Similarly, if supporting evidence, such as from a novel or later mission, supports only one branch, then that branch has "higher evidentiary weight". In this situation, the branches should be distinguished through using template: PlotBranchBrack. Put the canon branch first, and include a brief note stating why that particular branch is canon, then put the second branch on the same page.

In regards to Wings of Liberty, Blizzard does not discuss choices made by the player and these choices will not carry on into Heart of the Swarm. Blizzard decided not to branch the story based off player choices.

The Behind the Scenes DVD suggests the choices made by Jim Raynor in some instances (sides with Gabriel Tosh and Ariel Hanson over Nova and Selendis respectively, meaning Breakout is considered higher canon than Ghost of a Chance and Safe Haven is considered higher canon than Haven's Fall). Another DVD adaptation of these events is being planned by Activision.

Optional Missions

In Wings of Liberty, a number of missions (Colonist Missions, Covert Missions and Rebellion Missions) are optional and a player can beat the campaign without completing them.

Variant information from these optional missions should be denoted with the appropriate template: template: Colonist Missions for Colonist Missions, template: Covert Missions for Covert Missions and template: Rebellion Missions for Rebellion Missions. The Cinematics DVD suggests that all the branches were "played".

The Colonist Missions and Covert Missions ended with branch points, meaning such information should be first marked with the appropriate template, then template: PlotBranchBrack used to divide the choices.

An example follows:

This article or section contains information from the optional Covert Missions in StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty.

Gabriel Tosh convinced Jim Raynor to let him on his ship.

Plot branch : Raynor's Raiders continue helping Tosh. The Behind the Scenes DVD indicates this is the official story.

They got along really well. Raynor helped Tosh free his comrades.

Plot branch ends here

Plot branch : Raynor's Raiders side with Nova against Tosh

Raynor didn't trust Tosh. He sided with Nova instead.

Plot branch ends here