Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
on a particular fight and move the camera around to different points of view. See
the
Total War
series for a good example. A few games implement intelligent cameras
that automatically move to locations where particularly important events are tak-
ing place, but if you do this, be sure the player can turn it off. In a strategy game,
especially a real-time one, the player needs control over what she's seeing.
User Interface
The problem in designing the user interface of a strategy game is that the player
must be able to control action at different scales— from that of the whole army to
the individual fighter. Presenting such different kinds of information seamlessly
without breaking the flow of the game can prove difficult.
Most strategy games present different kinds of data in separate windows in much
the same manner as a windowed operating system. Most games do not offer all the
window-management features of an operating system, however, nor do they use
the operating system's visual style. No designer wants her game to look like just
another business or productivity application. Assuming that you take a windowed
approach, try to ensure that, within reason, the windows behave as the player
would expect. Make buttons clear, concise, and recognizable. If a button is not
appropriate for a given unit—a movement command for a building, for instance—
leave it visible but dim it, or apply a gray to indicate that it can't be used, or if
possible remove the button from the window for units that can't use it.
Remember to cater to both experienced and inexperienced players. Inexperienced
players need clear and easy ways to find commands, whereas more advanced play-
ers need quick access. You may also consider providing separate levels of
command—a beginner mode and an advanced mode—so that the player can issue
more complex commands as he becomes more experienced. For the advanced play-
ers, provide keyboard shortcuts for
every
command in the game.
Ensure that your game presents the user with sets of commands grouped by func-
tion.
SimCity 4
, though not a strategy game, provides an excellent example of a
well-planned user interface in this regard. A nested sequence of menus ensures that
related commands are displayed together. At the top level, the player can choose
between
mayor mode
and
god mode
. Mayor mode provides standard commands for
building the city grouped by functions such as those pertaining to roads, to water,
or to civic buildings. God mode provides an unrelated set of commands that allow
the player to unleash all sorts of fantastical and supernatural events upon her
unsuspecting sims.
Single-player strategy games often present the fiction that the player is opposed by
another player like himself, who makes moves just the way the player does. In war
