Real Time Strategy (RTS) games are arguably the most popular genre on PC and with good reason, as they are highly competitive and enduring due to the different ways an RTS can be played. Today I want to give you an RTS story that will give you an idea of where it all started.
RTS games are still a fairly new genre compared to others because the first PC strategy games revolved around turn-based strategy, which while fun, doesn’t offer the frantic thrill you might expect. of a real-time strategy game. The following is a discussion of the most influential RTS games:
Herzog Zwei– Surprisingly, what is now considered the first real-time strategy game was released on the Sega Megadrive in 1989 instead of the PC. The game was mainly focused on split screen multiplayer action (Yes that’s right, a split screen RTS) where each player had a main base with several support bases, the maps also consisted of neutral bases that any player could capture and use to your advantage. What made Herzog Zwei work on console is the control of a single unit, with all other units acting as support, a pretty nifty move that could be implemented in future console RTS games.
Dune II– After the release of Dune II, the RTS front suddenly fell silent until late 1994, when Warcraft: Orcs and Humans was released by Blizzard Entertainment. This game moved away from the sci-fi aspects of Dune II and into a magical fantasy world that was thoroughly entertaining. There are two resources to harvest in this game; wood and gold. The two would have to be successfully managed to build a powerful war machine. The units on both sides were essentially mirror images of each other, yet they still looked distinct from each other.
Warcraft: Orcs and Humans– After the release of Dune II, the RTS front suddenly fell silent until late 1994, when Warcraft: Orcs and Humans was released by Blizzard Entertainment. This game moved away from the sci-fi aspects of Dune II and into a magical fantasy world that was thoroughly entertaining. There are two resources to harvest in this game; wood and gold. The two would have to be successfully managed to build a powerful war machine. The units on both sides were essentially mirror images of each other, yet they still looked distinct from each other.
command and conquer– Westwood responded to the launch of Warcraft in 1995 with the release of Command & Conquer, which was a spectacular evolution of the Dune II formula. Command & Conquer could have been released under a different name, but Westwood decided it was time to make a new game without a license attached. Command & Conquer follows the story of a charismatic battle between GDI (Global Defense Initiative) and the Brotherhood of Nod, led by the ruthless Kane. The game made use of cutscenes, which were quite cheesy but proved to be a hit with gamers.
conclusion– There you have it, these are the most influential games in RTS history and all but Herzog Zwei have spawned several sequels and clones. Today, developers often merge RTS elements into other genres, and it’s not hard to predict that this trend will continue as more advanced technologies are released that allow more creative expressions from software developers. The genre may start to make a comeback on consoles as recent attempts have been more successful, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars being a prime example.