Strategy Video Games Overview

Overview

The lecture covers the core types of strategy video games, exploring their mechanics, genres, and cultural impact. Key examples include Civilization, Starcraft, and League of Legends, highlighting strategic thinking, team dynamics, and real-world applications.

Types of Strategy and Simulation Games

• Strategy games emphasize intentionality, planning, and skillful thinking, often similar to board games.
• Simulation games simulate real-world activities, such as city-building (SimCity), life management (The Sims), and vehicle simulators.
• 4X strategy games (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) include titles like Sid Meier's Civilization and Empire Earth.
• Artillery strategy games involve calculating physics for projectile attacks, e.g., early tank games.
• Auto battlers, like Teamfight Tactics and Hearthstone Battlegrounds, involve tactical unit placement on a gridded board.
• MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) games focus on team-based arena combat, e.g., League of Legends, Dota, Smite.
• RTS (real-time strategy) games feature individual control to quickly build and command forces, e.g., Starcraft, Age of Empires, Command & Conquer.
• Tower defense games center on defending a base from waves of attackers using upgradable defenses.
• Turn-based strategy and tactics games, e.g., Civilization and Final Fantasy Tactics, allow careful decision-making without time pressure.
• Grand strategy war games handle large-scale operations and management.

Civilization: Turn-Based and 4X Strategy

• Civilization is a benchmark for turn-based and 4X strategy games, now in its sixth edition.
• The game imitates real-world complexity with diplomacy, war, social, religious, and health systems.
• Used in corporate training to teach strategic thinking, resource allocation, and management skills.
• Tutorials are crucial due to the game's complexity.

Starcraft: Real-Time Strategy and Cultural Impact

• Starcraft, developed by Blizzard, shifted RTS game narratives to science fiction with three distinct factions: Terrans, Zerg, Protoss.
• Each faction offers unique strengths and playstyles, leading to strategic variety.
• Starcraft pioneered asymmetric multiplayer factions and became a major esport, especially in South Korea.
• The U.S. Air Force uses Starcraft to train personnel in stress management and tactical strategy.

League of Legends: MOBA Genre and Global Esports

• League of Legends is a leading MOBA, with high international popularity and large prize pools.
• Matches involve two teams of five, each playing defined roles (top, mid, bot, jungle, support) on a map called Summoner’s Rift.
• Objectives include destroying enemy turrets, inhibitors, and ultimately the opposing nexus.
• Key features: fog of war, minions, experience and gold accumulation, jungle objectives (Rift Herald, dragons, Baron Nashor).
• Pre-game drafts involve champion bans and selections, influencing strategic outcomes.
• The game evolves with new champions, meta shifts, and ongoing updates.

Cultural and Practical Relevance

• Both Starcraft and League of Legends have significant global followings and media coverage.
• Strategy games serve as training tools for critical thinking and teamwork.
• Understanding these games provides insight into modern esports and their societal roles.