tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5415259115390030406.post2853629906636759877..comments2022-03-02T02:57:05.231-05:00Comments on Post-Launch Reviews: Mechanics and Narrative: RTSDominic Mattehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09711711981365429057noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5415259115390030406.post-35870673818613278932012-10-10T14:53:31.470-04:002012-10-10T14:53:31.470-04:00Yeah, XCOM looks very interesting to me, even thou...Yeah, XCOM looks very interesting to me, even though I typically don't play many RTS/strategy games. I'm looking forward to playing it in a few months :pDominic Mattehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09711711981365429057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5415259115390030406.post-74069016375628527222012-10-10T13:40:32.638-04:002012-10-10T13:40:32.638-04:00I certainly think that strategy games struggle to ...I certainly think that strategy games struggle to provide as convincing a narrative as an RPG or an FPS, and I'm not sure that it's quite possible to create as personal a connection with the format. However, I've played a bazillion strategy games, and some of them have gotten me very attached to the soldiers I'm ordering around the battlefield.<br /><br />Of course, it's all really a matter of scale. The larger the scale, the less the attachment. I love a good game of Age of Kings (best strategy game of all time, along with Civ 2) or Red Alert 3, but the ones that really suck me in are Dawn of War II and XCOM: Enemy Unknown. In DoWII, you have just a few persistent squads throughout the entire game, while the narrative is still presented in a mostly standard fashion, you do learn quite a bit about them and get attached to certain ones over others.<br /><br />XCOM just came out, and it really is something. There is an overarching story, but the real narrative comes from the player, because you get incredibly attached to each and every one of your soldiers. They get better as they progress through the ranks, and losing one is *very* painful. Death happens with extreme regularity in XCOM, and it's powerful because of how attached you are to your little soldiers.<br /><br />That might be the best way for a strategy game to do it - design the game mechanics to facilitate attachment to characters within a broad narrative framework (along with extensive customization options for your soldiers), and allow you to create your *own* narrative as the game unfolds.M. Sewallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13202272920034881741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5415259115390030406.post-66101435815951465562012-10-04T11:00:29.933-04:002012-10-04T11:00:29.933-04:00The first thought I had was some kind of story rev...The first thought I had was some kind of story revolving around this omnipresent character and how he/she felt about their actions. Maybe the game has a campaign where you have to make the choice between saving a village and saving half your available units (or something).<br /><br />Then, jump to a scene where some of the units are reporting to you and you have to hear the complaints and consequences of your actions. Combine RTS with RPG. This could then affect future battles in many ways. Troops may be less loyal to you, and thus less effective, or they be scared into obediance and more effective in some ways. I don't know, I think the average RTS player would hate this idea, but maybe there would be a way to incorporate it somehow.Dallas Kasaboskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09475032211385823114noreply@blogger.com