Starcraft 2 news » Announcing Rock the Cabinet 2017: Co-op Edition

The wait is over! Rock the Cabinet 2017 is finally here and this year, we’re setting our sights on the very popular Co-op mode. Last year we asked players to design their own Mutators and create a brand-new custom Mutation. This time around, we’re challenging our talented map-making community to create, test, and polish their very own Co-op Mission. If you take first place, we’ll incorporate your winning entry into an all-new Co-op Mission that anyone will be able to play.

To give you guys the tools you need, we’ll be adding a template map that will allow you to set up your Co-op Mission with Raynor, Kerrigan, or Artanis. You’ll be able to edit and publish your map to the public for testing purposes. We’ll have more details about this template map when it’s released.

Additionally, we’ve prepared the following co-op guidelines document describing some of our design philosophies when building Co-op maps. By following these guidelines, you will be increasing the likelihood that you'll receive positive marks from the judges who review your entries. Though these are not requirements, we strongly suggest you keep them in mind when creating your map.

Rock the Cabinet 2017 begins on January 24. All games are due on Wednesday, April 26, 2017. After the deadline has passed, we’ll review all entries and present to you the ten missions that we feel have the most potential. Then, the Blizzard community will get to decide which missions make it to the final five by voting for their favorites. After the votes are in, we’ll gather our panel of judges and declare the winners of Rock the Cabinet 2017.

So if you’re ready to start working on your creation, here is what you’ll need to keep in mind:

• The game must be set in the StarCraft Universe
• The game must be a Co-op map.
• The game should require two human players.
• The game must be in English.
• The game must be published to the North American Region of StarCraft II using the map editor.
• The game’s info page in the StarCraft II Arcade must have a description, at least one screenshot, and the ‘How to Play’ section must be filled out.
• A forum thread must be created on our Map Showcase Forum with the following requirements:
  • The title of the thread should read “RTC 2017: [GAMENAME]”
    • Example: RTC 2017: StarJeweled
  • A link to your game should be provided.
    • Example: battlenet://starcraft/map/1/85968
  • A description of your game should be included in the first post in the thread.
• Once the contest deadline passes, you may not update the game in any way. The version you submit to the contest is the one that will be judged. Any changes made to your game after the submission deadline will disqualify your entry.
• Official rules coming soon.

The purpose of creating a thread on the Map Showcase forum is to allow you to share the vision of your game to us and the community; to give us insight on your creation. This will also allow players to offer feedback and opinions and help make your game as awesome as possible.

Accessibility

One of the most important elements of a good game, this refers to how quickly new players can jump into your game and start having fun. Are the game objectives clear? Do players understand how to succeed? Being able to answer these questions helps make a great experience.

Fun

The most subjective part of the judging process, but also one of the most important: when it comes down to it, are players enjoying themselves? It doesn’t matter what the objectives are, the theme of the map, or the cool effects your game has if no one is having a good time playing it.

Creativity

Showing us something fresh and interesting can really win points and push your game to the top of the list. Whether you re-imagine some of the mechanics in current co-op maps or give us something brand new, the freshness of your creation will add to your overall score.

Theme

Each co-op map Blizzard has released has had a centralized story theme. A strong theme ties together the mechanics of the map into a unified experience for players to enjoy. We will judge the map on the overall theme but not the specifics.

1^st Place

• $10,000
• Two tickets to a future BlizzCon event
• Raynor Figure
• Void Probe Plushy
• Pylon Charger
• StarCraft Risk CE
• Dev Jam – A chance for the winners to interact with members of the StarCraft II development team and discuss high-level game design topics
• A Co-op Mission made by Blizzard Entertainment directly inspired by your winning entry.

2^nd Place

• $7,000
• Void Probe Plushy
• Pylon Charger
• StarCraft Risk CE

3^rd Place

• $5,000
• Void Probe Plushy
• Pylon Charger
• StarCraft Risk CE

4^th and 5^th Place

• $1000
• Void Probe Plushy
• Pylon Charger
• StarCraft Risk CE

6^th through 10^th Place

• $250
• Void Probe Plushy
• Pylon Charger

As always, we can’t wait to see what the community has in store. We’ll update this blog with the official submission page so make sure to check back in the coming weeks.

If you have any questions about the contest, please feel free to leave them in the comments or email us directly at arcade@blizzard.com. Good luck!