Fundamentals of Strategy Game Design

Introduction

This e-book applies the principles of game design to strategy games, concentrating on the most popular subgenre, war games. We’ll define the genre and then address in detail the features that characterize it. Next we’ll examine the types of challenges that war games typically offer and the actions that the players may take to meet those challenges. The bulk of the book, however, is devoted to core mechanics: designing the units; creating special capabilities, upgrades, and technology trees; and handling logistics issues. We’ll also look at the different kinds of game worlds that war games are frequently set in. The book ends with a brief look at the various ways that programmers can implement artificial opponents in strategy games. ...