Chapter 10. Strategy Games

Chapter 10. Strategy Games

The origin of strategy games is rooted in their close cousins, board games. If there is any format of game that is closest to the original precomputer form (where that existed), it is the strategy game. This chapter is the most PC-centric chapter in the entire book, but for good reason: Most strategy games are released for the PC. Console efforts so far have been few and far between.

The benefits that the computer has brought to the strategy game genre include the capability to impartially manage complex rule-sets that would be next to impossible for a human to manage without bogging down the game to a level at which it is no longer fun to play.

On the computer, the strategy game has since diversified into two main forms: classical turn-based strategy games and real-time strategy games. Chronologically, the real-time strategy game arrived on the scene after the turn -based strategy game. Our discussion considers both of these forms.

The archetypal example of a computer strategy game is the Civilization series, originally developed by Sid Meier, before splitting off into the watered-down Call to Power offshoots. Fortunately, games such as Alpha Centauri and Civilization III from Firaxis rescued the franchise from a quiet demise.

Intriguingly, the computer game Civilization III has made a rare transition: from a computer game to a board game. Civilization III: The Board Game was released in October 2002, featuring three sets of rules (basic, standard, and advanced) and 784 plastic miniature pieces. Not surprisingly, Civilization III: The Board Game is significantly more complex than Advanced Civilization , the board game that the original Sid Meier's Civilization game was based on in the first place. This is good evidence that although translating and enhancing board games to the computer is an excellent method of producing compelling and fun strategy games, the converse is not necessarily true.

However, the comparative simplicity of the rules of computer-based strategy games (compared to other genres) lends itself to a good analysis of the effectiveness of the rules of play. In essence, strategy games are the easiest genre in which to generate a consistent and balanced rule-set. That is not to say that they are easier to design. However, the rules are easier to analyze for balance, mainly due to the discrete turn-based nature of the gameplay that most strategy games exhibit.

As a general rule, pure strategy games tend to be turn-based rather than real-time. Strategic thinking, at least in the arena of gameplay, does not lend itself well to real-time action. The player often prefers to mull over his moves, considering the impact of one choice over another. In board games, this can result in frustrating "analysis paralysis," in which one player spends a large amount of time min-maxing his move and breaks the flow of the game. Fortunately, computers are infinitely patient, so this sort of behavior should be tolerated ”although it should not be required by the game design.

An offshoot of the turn-based strategy game concept is the real-time strategy (RTS) genre. Westwood's Dune II is considered to be the first true real-time strategy game, although we believe that the game Battlemaster (screens from which are shown in Figure 10.1), released in 1990 for the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST computers, marks the true origin of the RTS genre.

Figure 10.1. Battlemaster.

RTS games are differentiated from pure strategy games in that time is a constant pressure. There are no "turns" during which the player can ponder his moves ”everything happens at once. Consequently, reaction time and quick action are as important as strategic thinking.

Although the RTS game breathed new life into the strategy genre, and although titles such as Dune II , Warcraft , and Age of Empires propelled it into mass-market acceptance, there has been little innovation to maintain this momentum over the past few years .

Aside from growing more complex, prettier, and larger over the years, the fundamental design of the RTS has remained virtually unchanged since the beginning.