STARCRAFT
How did this thread get this long with ME posting in it without ONCE talking about Starcraft 1?
Probably because I've been watching too much competitive Starcraft 2.
At any rate, Starcraft 1 and its expansion, Brood War, are among Blizzard Entertainment's most beloved franchises. The sci-fi answer to Warcraft and Blizzard's answer to Command and Conquer, Starcraft puts the player in control of three races - the versatile Terrans, the fast, numerous, and fragile Zerg, and the slower, heavy hitting, and tough Protoss - as each race tries to carve out a piece of the galaxy for itself. The storyline of the main campaign follows the adventures of Hero characters through each race, utlimately allying Terrans and Protoss against the seemingly unstoppable insectoid aliens known as the Zerg, who are out to consume and assimilate all life in the galaxy in an attempt to create the perfect race.
Each race has a distinct play style, with different build requirements and resource management demands that become extremely evident in competitive play. The extra units from Brood War and constant patch changes for competitions ensured balance during high level tournament play, while keeping the metagame (that is, the ability of one player to anticipate the moves of another player by timing, build order, lack of certain structures/units, appearance of certain structures/units, and resource use) constantly in flux and in evolution.
Indeed, in watching competitive Starcraft 1 matches, it isn't the battles that is the most exciting moment.
Its watching how constant scouting changes players' entire strategies without a single bullet being fired.
The lack of a gas-extracting building could suggest that the enemy is preparing to quickly rush you because he is focusing his resources on building cheap units instead of going for the more gas-intensive builds.
The presence of a long-range unit or "spellcasting" type unit may suggest that the enemy is going into a tech-heavy build, meaning there is a potential opening for a quick attack if you are fast enough.
The presence of an extra base suggests the enemy is preparing for a longer game, meaning you may want to invest in tech-heavier builds to counter whatever advanced units he may have.
There is an elegance to Starcraft metagaming that, to me, began right here in Starcraft 1 and only evolved from there.