A Humble New Idea - Taking Strategy to the Next Level

[KyleBrogan 0]

Introduction

 

Please keep in mind that this is just an idea that’s been kind of bouncing around in my head for the past few years, and I thought that I’d share it, and see what anyone thought.

 

Now, I’ve been a fan of C&C for a long time, but I really got hooked onto Generals and Zero Hour when they first came out. At about the same time, I had a friend introduce me to the Battlefield 1942 mod, Desert Combat. I really enjoyed the strategy of both games, and I wondered if perhaps there wasn’t some way that they might be combined, somewhat like the game Savage: the Battle for Newerth in 2003. I was intrigued with the idea of bringing in reinforcements, and using more specialized strategies in battle, and even switching sides and betraying your countrymen.

 

Something about the online gaming community that has always bothered me is the creation of “clans.” I remember, years ago, getting together with a few of my pals and putting together our super-amazing clan for Starcraft, and “waging wars” and “making alliances” with other clans, all with no real value or effect on our gaming experiences whatsoever. But we sure thought we were cool at the time.

 

Now that online gaming has become much less of a novelty than a necessity in the overall gaming community (even extending to consoles), gamers are able to really network with one another, bringing together unprecedented numbers of players into the same communities, playing games that they know and love. You almost never have to look around to find someone that you can challenge. The only problem is that the only thing that is affected by your wins and losses is a little folder with your statistics on it.

 

And then I got to thinking about clans. What if there was a way to make a game where you not only had to worry about destroying the other guy, but you had to keep your team together as well? Where the world was really at stake?

 

I don’t know how many people play the game of Risk anymore, but I’m a big fan. And so, in my head, a strange combination came about:

 

The Premise

 

Welcome to the next World War. Factions have been fragmented, with nations attacking one another in a mad dash to conquer the world. Yadda yadda yadda. The storyline isn’t as important as the concept at this point.

 

Upon loading the game, you find yourself in a rank, that of a One-Star General. You have access to a small amount of cash with which you can build up a small army for yourself, and can begin to skirmish. Now, while real-time resource harvesting will continue, each player will begin with his or her customizable (but, of course, limited) force, partly hindering the “cheap rush” tactics so prevalent in current games.

 

The object of each battle is, of course, to win.

 

Now, that map is only one of a grid of 100 x 100, which represents the world of that game. Whereas each battle may change the ownership of a single map, it will take several battles to gain enough ground to make a mark in the world. One map being defeated is a small rebellion, whereas taking over seventy is something to be concerned about.

 

Now, of course, you can’t possibly defend yourself against seventy different attackers at once, so what do you do? Well, when another player attacks you, you could try to rely on the computer AI, but that won’t do much good against seasoned veterans. Instead, this is where clans come into play.

 

Other players will begin to notice your abilities, (or lack thereof), and can recruit you to their clan. It is left up to the clan to decide their leaders, and their own methods of recruitment. While logged into the system, you can make as many attacks as you like, but realize that while winning battles gives your clan money and access to map-specific resources, you still have to use those funds to maintain and defend your “property.”

 

When your lands are attacked, an alarm will go off in your “headquarters” – an online site where your clan can chat, develop strategies, post messages and updates, etc. Any player that the leaders allow can jump into the action immediately (after a loading screen, of course), and can take control of your base in order to defend it. But let’s say that you’re getting demolished, because three different generals have decided to attack you at once. Well, you can call for reinforcements, and depending on your “supply lines”, one of your clansmen can come onto the scene, in time to help defend your base. Beware, however, because your attackers have the same options. (Keep in mind the 8-player limit for each battle.)

 

On the battlefield, alliances and betrayals affect the game immensely. Let’s say that your clan unknowingly allowed a traitor into their midst. Well, during a crucial battle, the player decides to switch alliances, and hops over to the other team, taking his units with him right in the middle of the battle to sway things the other way. But of course, it’s not just a matter of one battle. He has, in effect, removed himself from your ranks, but has branded himself as a traitor for the rest of his career.

 

Maybe you can’t get a hold of reinforcements in your own clan? No problem. Call up one of your allied clans and ask for help, and they can jump on in using the same methods.

 

In addition, we have some Sim City elements to consider. Let’s say I took over a map, and wanted to design it so that it was easier for me to defend. I can do that. I can set up base defenses, buildings, and factories, so that I’m ready for whatever attacker comes my way. I can build a mountain, I can create back-woods canyons, or build bridges or tear them down. It costs money, but I can make it so that there’s almost no way to get into my base except with a super weapon, because of my amazing anti-air defenses and sheer-walled cliffs. But that amount of building would cost an astronomical amount of funds just for one map, and no one would be so foolish to try it. (Any smart clan would just work around your map and take you out later.)

 

Well, just like Risk the purpose of the full game is to not only win battles, but to eliminate other clans and take control of the entire map – not an easy task. But with a large number of unique and separate “worlds”, and with varying factions, units and abilities, and with the help of your clan, it’s definitely possible.

 

There will obviously be a number of things to be determined, but this is part of what my imagination came up with. A MMORPG Strategy game. It’s something that I would love to play.

 

Please tell me what you think. I would love to know if I’m onto something, or if I’m just weird and completely off-base.

[TheBlackOut 7]

Can someone sum this up or can you? I'm sorry but that much text is just auggh.

[KyleBrogan 0]

I tried to keep it as concise as possible. Basically, it's a game where each battle is part of a greater war, clans mean something, backstabbing and cheating has real consequence, and you need to know more than just how to "cheap rush" your opponent.

 

It's what I'd love to see for the next C&C.

[Alphabear 11]

I played a MMORTS for a while, it actually was fairly good. Each server would reset after a certain amout of time, usually a month but the map was incredibly large so if you had observation posts set up you could tell when someone was comming because it would take about 3 hours to get from the edge of my territory to the centre if there was no resistance.

[KyleBrogan 0]

Which game did you play?

[Alphabear 11]

It was a while ago but it was Time of Defiance

[Luk3us 63]

Sounds like an interesting game...

 

Also an interesting idea too, Sparticus. I think I heard of something similar a while back too. Main reason I remember it cause one of the features was that if your terrority or nation was attacked you'd get a sms message sent to your cellphone.

[Guest Auronguardian]

It would certainly make games longer and more interesting. Hell, it might even make friends turn against friends in real life. Although with all the betrayal and alliances, games might go on for too long for casual players to be interesting in.

[KyleBrogan 0]

My thought was that there would be two tiers to the game...

 

You could have the normal "traditional" online version of the game, where it's just one game. (The game should be a C&C style, good strategy game on its own.) This could be where casual players hang out, and where new players can gain their skills.

 

Then the second could be the world version, where experience is necessary and teamwork is essential to overall success.

 

Luk, I never thought about the SMS idea, but I really like it. I'll have to remember that.