Categories of Action in Strategy Gaming

Discussion in 'Gaming' started by Paul Bellow, Feb 18, 2019.

  1. Paul Bellow

    Paul Bellow Forum Game Master Staff Member LitRPG Author Shop Owner Citizen Aspiring Writer

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    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

    764990-command-conquer-3-tiberium-wars-windows-screenshot-a-good.jpg
     
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  2. TravisBach

    TravisBach Level 15 (Guardian) LitRPG Author Citizen

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    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! ^__^
     
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  3. Windfall

    Windfall Level 18 (Magician) LitRPG Author Citizen

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    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. :D
     
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  4. Paul Bellow

    Paul Bellow Forum Game Master Staff Member LitRPG Author Shop Owner Citizen Aspiring Writer

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    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...

     
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  5. TravisBach

    TravisBach Level 15 (Guardian) LitRPG Author Citizen

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    How did I not know about this? I'll totally check it out.

    Thanks!
     
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  6. Paul Bellow

    Paul Bellow Forum Game Master Staff Member LitRPG Author Shop Owner Citizen Aspiring Writer

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    I've been wanting to start a LitRPG clan haha
     
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