RTS as a Genre

The genre of strategy, or more specifically real-time strategy (RTS) games, are some of the most complicated types of games to design around. Given that players can do dozens of different combinations with units or buildings, it is important for the designer to playtest each and every one of them to look for broken or unintended strategies. A great talk about this came from Blizzard’s former Chief Creative Officer Rob Pardo and how he tackled certain issues with Starcraft.

But more than just how the player incorporates strategies, a good RTS also requires the game itself to behave very cleanly. The reason the genre is so dominated by the giants is that creating RTS’s is a daunting task, one that Petroglyph Game’s Grey Goo worked hard to overcome. So why don’t we see more RTSs?

Clean Mechanics

While it is important to have plenty of unique units to choose from and synergize between, one of the most basic functions that an RTS absolutely requires is clean mechanics. When a player selects a group of units, they expect the group of units to be selected- especially in a high-intensity moment. When the player orders them towards a destination, if the units are scrambling awkwardly around one another to the point that the user has to individually tell each unit how to move out of a canyon, that is not clean mechanics and can become incredibly frustrating.

While strategy can come from making the units behave a bit erratically, unresponsive commands due to bugs and errors slow down the entire experience. Rather than challenging the player to come up with the best strategies they can, they are spending more time trying to overcome the obstacle of the game itself. This is why clean mechanics with sharp responses are invaluable in an RTS.

Playtest Playtest Playtest

In a regular puzzle game, generally speaking, there are only a handful of ways to complete the mission. In a platformer, even if the player finds a way to accidentally platform too well to the point that they skip a section, that is more rewarding than it is feeling like the experience has been lessened. However, in an RTS, if there is one dominant strategy that always wins in every single scenario put against the player, it stops being a strategy game and just becomes a unit building simulator that resets every mission.

Rob Pardo’s talk mentioned that when the Starcraft’s Zerg unit Overlords were first created, they almost single-handedly ensured victory. But how is that? They are just a “supply building” that can’t attack. Fans of the series will also note that the Overlord is incredibly slow. However, they weren’t always. In the early days of development, Overlord units could move as quickly as any other unit. This allowed players to immediately rush their Overlords over to the enemy base and spy on their entire build pattern. Initial feedback was that it didn’t matter, it’s just a scouting unit. However, Pardo insisted on the dangers of such a strong unit and proved it by beating almost every competitor that came against him. Yikes.

This is just one of a thousand examples you could hear from developers. While all games need to be balanced, in an RTS even the slightest tweak of a single stat on a single unit for a single race created a completely broken strategy that could not be beaten. Knowing the ways each unit interacts with every other unit is pivotal in making an RTS go from a game of ever-evolving strategies and tactics to a race of APM.

Great Examples

With all the thought that went into the Starcraft series, it’s no wonder that Blizzard still holds the crown for RTS games. With the release of Starcraft II, that only solidified their hold. The reason this game does so well is because of the previously mentioned rules of RTS making. The game is incredibly crisp, with unit reaction times and pathfinding being absolutely exemplary, coupled with the ever-growing meta being playtested and updated often- even years after release!

Not So Great Examples

While the overall story and design of Grey Goo was phenomenal, many of the issues I take with it was that it felt very stiff. Slow movement speeds, overcrowding, and strange AI behavior made what could have been a five-star RTS in my book instead become a game to beat once and put down. The player doesn’t feel like they made a mistake and rather that they are being cheated when they order all of their units into the fight only to find that only half of them actually went, and only half of the ones that went actually engaged in combat.

This was, however, during its early launch, and may have made improvements from there. The unit styles themselves and the unique play of each race made for very interesting gameplay, but without smooth mechanics, it became difficult to control the gameplay. Still, it is definitely worth a look to anyone who is interested in the genre, as they made the bold choice to step into this dominated field regardless.

Overall

Despite the challenges that come with trying to perfect an RTS game, the payoff is incredibly rewarding. If a designer can harmonize all of the elements that go into this genre and make sure it is both clean and balanced, then they will create an experience that can be enjoyed for years to come. One of the brilliant parts of an RTS is that just because a player beats the game doesn’t mean it lost its value. The player may have beaten it with one strategy or race, yet another one may turn out to be just as fun. Couple that with online play and the number of strategies that spring forth becomes endless! This is why RTSs will stick around for a long time to come.