How to write...a Strategy game - bit-tech.net Forums

The_Pope · 9th Jan 2008, 10:10

http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/2008/...trategy_game/1

The third instalment in our exploration of how computer game stories are written and designed looks closely at Strategy games. With an in-depth interview from Magnus Jensen, lead designer on World In Conflict, we show you just what it takes to make an RTS game.

Digg for keeps: http://digg.com/pc_games/HOW_TO_Desi..._Magnus_Jensen

samkiller42 · 9th Jan 2008, 10:48

Very interesting read Joe, very well done.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Article

It's no surprise that Westwood Studios

Westwood Studios for those who don't know, was bought out by the evil Electronic Arts.

Sam

DeKemp · 9th Jan 2008, 11:14

To bad westwood was briljand, love RA2.

Darkedge · 9th Jan 2008, 11:45

RTS moving to consoles? Red Alert was released on the PS1 way back when...
How about RTS's designed for consoles first like Halo Wars?

Interesting article, but wish Magnus had been a bit more involved or spoke more so we really could've got his point of view not Joe's interpretation

C-Sniper · 9th Jan 2008, 11:52

RIP westwood. i still play most of their RTS games going back to Dune2000. nice article.

Gunsmith · 9th Jan 2008, 13:04

imo an RTS on a console is a laughable concept at best. I honestly cant believe supcom is getting ported to 360.

it'll prolly only have 4 units per side :P

ryanjleng · 9th Jan 2008, 13:40

good read!

i love RTS since dune.

very much into pvp in C&C and Starcraft. i was surprised to see Starcraft being still being played in south korea on recent visit.

strangely enough, reinstalled all the Rise of Nations series last week.

Bauul · 9th Jan 2008, 15:16

Good read Joe, although to be honest my gauge of a good RTS story is based solely on whether Joe Kucan is in it or not.

Though, sorry to be pedantic, but isn't Theme Hospital technically a God Game, not an RTS? They're pretty destinct genres.

Brett89 · 9th Jan 2008, 15:17

nice read. Does RA2 really look that dated? lol, greatest RTS i've ever played. and yes I agree boo on EA for buying Westwood and cancelling Renegade 2

CardJoe · 9th Jan 2008, 15:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bauul

Good read Joe, although to be honest my gauge of a good RTS story is based solely on whether Joe Kucan is in it or not.

Though, sorry to be pedantic, but isn't Theme Hospital technically a God Game, not an RTS? They're pretty destinct genres.

I think because it has a very narrowed scope on a competitive environment and because it has clear Win scenarios it is a Strategy game rather than a God game. You can if you mess up your spending and you have got firmly set aims to progress through the levels. A God game is more about managing a civilisation, or something with a very broad scope. They tend not to have structured levels per se and often just perpetuate endlessly without a clear victory - like The Sims, Theme Park, Civ etc.

liratheal · 9th Jan 2008, 16:45

I have a question about the review images.

Last page, the RA2 image. What mod is it?

It looks awesome, and I wants it.

CardJoe · 9th Jan 2008, 16:53

No idea I'm afraid - I can't find the site it on and lost the original since I've reformatted my PC since the article was started. These things take bloody weeks to write!

liratheal · 9th Jan 2008, 17:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by CardJoe

No idea I'm afraid - I can't find the site it on and lost the original since I've reformatted my PC since the article was started. These things take bloody weeks to write!

D'awww.

Ahwell. time to scoure some of the RA mod sites still in existance.

Nice article, too. Enjoyed reading it.

CardJoe · 9th Jan 2008, 17:52

N'ah, I'm sure one of the people here should be able to help you out. Yes Bauul, I'm looking at you...

lewchenko · 9th Jan 2008, 20:22

Interesting article, but I was hoping for more of a technical discussion regarding the challenges of designing RTS games, and new ideas that are coming to the table. The article focussed too much about bringing the story and narrative the the game and hybrid RTS/RPG elements.

Its starting to look like the 360/PS3 can now 'game' on par with a relatively newish PC - or should I say that the AAA games for the PC are making themselves 'console viable' - COD4, OrangeBox, UT3, Supreme Commander, World in Conflict..

How about an article about how control schemes for RTS games on consoles ? Or about the more technical details of what makes RTS as a concept work ?

I have a 360/Wii/PC. The PC will always be my first point of call for RTS games, but Im pleased they are coming to the consoles to widen the market.

And with regards to SupCom on the 360.. it will be 500 unit limit, with 4 player multiplayer, and units comparable to the PC version. I hear its going well from the beta, and the interface is very easy. graphics are supposed to be very good. People need to give the 360 credit here.. its more powerful than people realise. We'll never see SupCom on the Wii though!

Brooxy · 9th Jan 2008, 21:10

Looking back at that Dune I screenshot brings back good early gaming memories. Anyone know if it'll run on XP? If so, I might be forced to bring out the discs for it later...

CardJoe · 10th Jan 2008, 07:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewchenko

How about an article about how control schemes for RTS games on consoles ? Or about the more technical details of what makes RTS as a concept work ?

Hm, maybe I'll look at that in the future - seems like a good idea.

Bauul · 10th Jan 2008, 12:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by CardJoe

N'ah, I'm sure one of the people here should be able to help you out. Yes Bauul, I'm looking at you...

Lol, you know me so well!

Quote:

Originally Posted by liratheal

I have a question about the review images.

Last page, the RA2 image. What mod is it?

It looks awesome, and I wants it.

Unfortunately, that isn't a mod, it's an extremely early promotional screenshot Westwood released long before the game ever hit Gold status. In other words, it's an alpha build, and all the funky units you can see must have been subsequently dropped before the game was finished. There might be some mods out there of people adding them back into the game themselves, but it'd be a long shot with a game this old. Sorry!

CardJoe · 10th Jan 2008, 12:11

...even I'm stunned by that level of geekiness

liratheal · 10th Jan 2008, 14:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bauul

Unfortunately, that isn't a mod, it's an extremely early promotional screenshot Westwood released long before the game ever hit Gold status. In other words, it's an alpha build, and all the funky units you can see must have been subsequently dropped before the game was finished. There might be some mods out there of people adding them back into the game themselves, but it'd be a long shot with a game this old. Sorry!

Quote:

Originally Posted by CardJoe

...even I'm stunned by that level of geekiness

Stunned but appreciative!

I ended up scouring some RA2 mod sites, and there are a few with the same units in use (Guessing they're fan models) but the projects all look pretty dead, at least, a last post of four years ago doesn't look hopeful!

Thanks for the info, Bauul.

9th Jan 2008, 10:10	#1
The_Pope Geoff Richards Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UK Posts: 2,089	How to write...a Strategy game http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/2008/...trategy_game/1 The third instalment in our exploration of how computer game stories are written and designed looks closely at Strategy games. With an in-depth interview from Magnus Jensen, lead designer on World In Conflict, we show you just what it takes to make an RTS game. Digg for keeps: http://digg.com/pc_games/HOW_TO_Desi..._Magnus_Jensen Last edited by CardJoe; 9th Jan 2008 at 11:03.

9th Jan 2008, 11:14	#3
DeKemp BEER. Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Netherlands Posts: 57	To bad westwood was briljand, love RA2. __________________ _____________________ Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.7Ghz, Geforce7900GT 580/1380Mhz. Unbreakable Casemod In Progress Dutch. CASEJUNKIES.COM

9th Jan 2008, 13:04	#6
Gunsmith my supersonic radar will help me! Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 1,391	imo an RTS on a console is a laughable concept at best. I honestly cant believe supcom is getting ported to 360. it'll prolly only have 4 units per side :P __________________ People who optimise code are wimps. My code knows it's awesome, so it'll take all the time it needs. You can wait in awe

9th Jan 2008, 15:16	#8
Bauul Sir Bongaminge Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Godalming, near Guildford Posts: 1,553	Good read Joe, although to be honest my gauge of a good RTS story is based solely on whether Joe Kucan is in it or not. Though, sorry to be pedantic, but isn't Theme Hospital technically a God Game, not an RTS? They're pretty destinct genres. __________________ Pentium 4 CPU 3.4 Ghz \| 1Gb + 2x512Mb Corsair DDR2 667 Mhz Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 512Mb\| WD Raptor 36Gb, Seagate 300Gb \| Asus P5LD2 SE Ibanez RG 470 Japanese Edition \| 1991 Japanese Lo-TRS Tremolo \| V7 S1 Custom V8 HSH Pickups

9th Jan 2008, 15:17	#9
Brett89 Ultramodder Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Grand Forks ND Posts: 1,084	nice read. Does RA2 really look that dated? lol, greatest RTS i've ever played. and yes I agree boo on EA for buying Westwood and cancelling Renegade 2 __________________ C2D e6700 @ 3.25 Asus P5n-e SLi, 4GB of OCZ Platinum, Xonar D2, 320 and 160 GB Seagate, eVGA 8800 GTX and an Antec P182. C2D T7500 2.2ghz, 2GB DDR2, Quadro NVS 135M 14.1in screen

9th Jan 2008, 11:45	#4
Darkedge Supermodder Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: UK Posts: 334	RTS moving to consoles? Red Alert was released on the PS1 way back when... How about RTS's designed for consoles first like Halo Wars? Interesting article, but wish Magnus had been a bit more involved or spoke more so we really could've got his point of view not Joe's interpretation

9th Jan 2008, 13:40	#7
ryanjleng ... Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 323	good read! i love RTS since dune. very much into pvp in C&C and Starcraft. i was surprised to see Starcraft being still being played in south korea on recent visit. strangely enough, reinstalled all the Rise of Nations series last week.

9th Jan 2008, 16:45	#11
liratheal Just got a great book on tape Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: High Wycombe, UK Posts: 3,552	I have a question about the review images. Last page, the RA2 image. What mod is it? It looks awesome, and I wants it. __________________ Gigabyte MA790FX, X4 9950 Black Edition, 8gb Geil Black Dragon, 2x4870 512mb, Antec TruePower Quattro 850w I game, Do you?

9th Jan 2008, 16:53	#12
CardJoe Player Character bit-tech Staff Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 7,940	No idea I'm afraid - I can't find the site it on and lost the original since I've reformatted my PC since the article was started. These things take bloody weeks to write! __________________ this is joe's non-bit-tech blog

9th Jan 2008, 17:52	#14
CardJoe Player Character bit-tech Staff Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 7,940	N'ah, I'm sure one of the people here should be able to help you out. Yes Bauul, I'm looking at you... __________________ this is joe's non-bit-tech blog

9th Jan 2008, 20:22	#15
lewchenko Supermodder Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 322	Interesting article, but I was hoping for more of a technical discussion regarding the challenges of designing RTS games, and new ideas that are coming to the table. The article focussed too much about bringing the story and narrative the the game and hybrid RTS/RPG elements. Its starting to look like the 360/PS3 can now 'game' on par with a relatively newish PC - or should I say that the AAA games for the PC are making themselves 'console viable' - COD4, OrangeBox, UT3, Supreme Commander, World in Conflict.. How about an article about how control schemes for RTS games on consoles ? Or about the more technical details of what makes RTS as a concept work ? I have a 360/Wii/PC. The PC will always be my first point of call for RTS games, but Im pleased they are coming to the consoles to widen the market. And with regards to SupCom on the 360.. it will be 500 unit limit, with 4 player multiplayer, and units comparable to the PC version. I hear its going well from the beta, and the interface is very easy. graphics are supposed to be very good. People need to give the 360 credit here.. its more powerful than people realise. We'll never see SupCom on the Wii though!

9th Jan 2008, 21:10	#16
Brooxy Powered by the PG Monkey... Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 1,245	Looking back at that Dune I screenshot brings back good early gaming memories. Anyone know if it'll run on XP? If so, I might be forced to bring out the discs for it later... __________________ Scorpion - Opteron 146 - 1GB RAM - 120GB Maxtor ATA133 HDD - 8x DVD-RW - 16x DVDROM - nVidia 7800 GTX Graphics - Gigabyte GA-K8N51GMF-9 Mobo - Undergoing Case Mod Phoenix - Toshiba A120 - 1.73 Celeron (Dothan) - 1GB RAM - 60GB HDD - ATi 200m Graphics Salamander - Intel Pentium III @ 733MHz - 256Mb RAM - Total HDD @ 80Gb

10th Jan 2008, 12:11	#19
CardJoe Player Character bit-tech Staff Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 7,940	...even I'm stunned by that level of geekiness __________________ this is joe's non-bit-tech blog