Useful... Categories of Action in Strategy Gaming In this article, I'm going to seek to elucidate a theory of how players' actions operate in the context of strategy games - mostly, in a competitive setting, though I think it also applies to single player or co-op as well. Specifically, I'm looking at how games' rules direct player action into one of 4 interrelated categories of action, which I'm calling "Preparatory" actions, "Anticipatory" actions, "Direct" actions, and "Reactionary" actions. 'll take a look at each category separately, using examples across a range of games, and then talk about how these relate to one another, and where I feel existing game design could do a better job of providing a more rewarding experience. Preparatory Actions Categories of Action in Strategy Gaming
Man, that was a cool read. I'd never heard of these types of actions before but they make total sense. Also, Supreme Commander is still one of my favorites. Forged Alliance Forever! ^__^
Thanks for the post. That was interesting! I haven't played any of these games so most of the time I have no idea what the author is referring to, but it's interesting food for thought. To tie it in with LitRPG -- based on the amount of love for base-building out there, there must be a lot of love for "Preparatory" action.
Have you heard me rant and rave about Zero-K yet? Free RTS that is the spiritual successor to Supreme Commander which was the successor to Total Annihilation way back in 1997. Here's me introducing the Zero-K community to LitRPG ... hah... The Legend of Koda Commander - forum thread - Zero-K And me playing...