KawaiiRice is a player in USA, being active and competitive in Starcraft 1. His recorded videos and livestreams are an inspiration for many new and experienced players alike in Starcraft. Recently, he had been inducted into the FnaticMSI Starcraft team along with several other excellent players in the international level of Starcraft. Now in Starcraft 2, he is among the few players who are actively designing strategies to counter the problems encountered during the Starcraft 2 Beta.

Lok-Yin Kwong in the flesh

Hi, How are you doing today?

Not too good. I got SAT’s in five days T.T;; You?

Congratulations on your entry into FnaticMSI. Let’s get things started. what does Starcraft 2 look and feel like to you when you first got it compared to Starcraft Brood War?

Starcraft 2 feels like a dumbed down version of BW, to be honest. There’s all this new stuff but once you start playing it kind of feels the same, except I find there’s little need to micro and macro is very easy thanks to multiple building selection (which I haven’t used yet as Terran, but for Protoss having 30 warp gates in a custom game is so fun.... xD). In BW, there were so many things you needed to do that it got really overwhelming in an intense game, and it was really hard to keep up. I feel like the skill level will eventually even out and everyone should be able to beat anyone once the game’s been figured out, since it is a bit less demanding.

What kept you committed to being Terran in Starcraft 2 unlike some of the top players (Greg ‘IdrA’ Fields, etc)

At first, I just wanted to stick to something I was familiar with. After getting an understanding of Terran in SC2 though, I just feel comfortable and don’t have any desire to switch. Our team is really lacking in zergs though, so I just started trying out Zerg today, if I get to a decent level with Zerg as well then.. who knows, maybe I’ll play both? :D

How do you feel Terran compares to its Brood War predecessor?

I like it a lot. In SC2, all the Terran units have a practical use. This leads to more diversity in strategies and unit compositions, rather than in BW where some units were completely shunned in some matchups.

How do you feel Terran compares to the other races?

Terran feels pretty balanced at the moment. Perhaps I’m not playing the best of players since my time is limited lately, but beyond TvP needing some tweaking, I haven’t had much complaint.

KawaiiRice doing his thing in WCG USA

Starcraft 2 is being less demanding in minimum APM with Blizzard’s plan to reduce routine and unnecessary clicks in order to emphasize on strategic play. Do you think it is working or is it cut short?

I do feel it is working, maybe a bit too well. Amazing macro will become a norm, and then games will start to look more or less the same... A lot of players that were not mechanically strong in BW seem to do be doing better in SC2. However, ironically, my teammate TT1 used to have low APM at around 120 or so and now he has 190 in SC2. Hmm...

Do you find any problems that cannot be countered by skill?

Protoss! =(

Your FPVODS (First Person video on demand) and live streams were great to watch. How do you feel that everyone is constantly watching behind your back during your games?

It feels like I have a reason to win. Because people are watching, I can’t let them think I’m terrible!

With Koreans which are generally considered higher standard in Starcraft than the rest of the world are now also in the beta, what are the chances for the non Koreans to be competitively successful in SC2?

Koreans were much better with their solid mechanics, but now that SC2 is less about mechanics and more about strategy, I feel that foreigners definitely have a chance to succeed in this game.

Real dedication watching WCG 2009 from the floor

Games (Real Time Srategies included) are being designed to be easier and less demanding for the general gamer. What are your thoughts about it?

It kind of kills the hardcore scene, but with more people hopefully being drawn into the games maybe it can help expand ESPORTS... Time will tell, I suppose.

Do you have a shout out to your fans out there?

Thank you all for your support~ Try out osu! and listen to Mizuki Nana :D! Her new album is coming in July (YAYYYY~~~~)! Special thanks to MSI, and also SteelSeries, BigFoot Networks & UGAME~

Again, congratulations on joining a prestige team such as Fnatic and thanks for your time.

Check out his FPVODs here on Youtube