StarCraft improved on its predecessor Warcraft II, which showcased two incredibly related playable factions, by introducing asymmetry amongst the units and technologies available to its a few races (Protoss, Terran, and Zerg). This asymmetry was just like that pioneered while in the lesser-identified 1996 SSI release War Wind. The unit styles accessible to Every single race outline its racial identity. The Protoss can field impressive and high priced warriors and machinery, whilst the Zerg count on sheer quantities and pace to overwhelm their opponents.

The protoss OST was built to be "deep, strong, and cerebral."[28] It had been much more orchestral than the terrans, and Stafford centered on instrumentation that might maintain them feeling particularly unique from Warcraft, taking inspiration from Jerry Goldsmith's rating on the movie Alien. Cautious of parallel growth, he purposefully avoided the movie Starship 격투기 Troopers.