The User Experience

Strategy games often have extremely complicated core mechanics. Consequently, the design of the user experience is critical, even more so if the game is in real time and the player is under time pressure. The interface must present complicated information in clear, well-organized ways so that the player can grasp it easily. If you don’t design the presentation well, the large amount of information available can make the game overwhelming, especially to inexperienced players.

Interaction Model

For strategy games, the interaction model tends to be on a large scale. Rarely do you find a strategy game with a single avatar, although the PC version of Battlezone (not to be confused with the original coin-op) is a notable exception. Generally, the player indirectly controls the units under his command while enjoying a godlike view of the game world. The true interaction model, in this instance, is related to the scale of the world. How many units does the player control? Is it a small squad or a large army?

The feel of a small squad is much more personal and intimate than a large army. The player can explore the personalities of the units more and tends to care more about the individual fates of his units. Also, with smaller groups, individual characters may improve their skills and abilities as the game goes along. The X-COM series of games is particularly strong in this area—the player controls several small squads of about 20 soldiers each, small enough so that the player can keep a handle on each individual member. Incidentally, in these games, the player can also build up a team of noncombat units by recruiting one at a time the scientists that research the alien technology.

For larger-scale games, it is too hard for the player to keep track of every single unit in the army, although some games do attempt this. Civilization III, for example, allows units to upgrade from Recruit to Veteran to Elite status, a simple progression that players can easily understand. Others, such as Warcraft III, designate a small number of units as Heroes. A Hero has special abilities and requires personal attention from the player. The player can easily focus his attention on the small number of Heroes while treating the fighters in the other squads in the army as undifferentiated groups.

Camera Model

For many years, computer strategy games displayed their game worlds in two dimensions as seen from above, effectively treating the video screen like a map or a tabletop game board. Later games adopted an isometric perspective in which buildings and units appeared to stand up above the surface of the landscape, although the underlying model of the world was still 2D. With the arrival of 3D display engines, strategy games began to include fully three-dimensional worlds with 3D modeled hills, valleys, and other landscape features, as well as 3D modeled units.

Regardless of the display technology, players of strategy games need to see the big picture, the overall view of the game world. The player cannot plan an effective strategy if she is forced to view the world from one avatar point of view. Unless you’re trying to model what warfare was like for a general of ancient times—back when generals fought alongside their troops—you should choose some form of aerial perspective. The player will also find it valuable if you allow her some control over the camera so that she can zoom out to see the whole battlefield or zoom in 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 taking 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 (UI) 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 players 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 players, provide keyboard shortcuts for every command in the game.

Ensure that your game presents the user with sets of commands grouped by function. SimCity 4, though not a strategy game, provides an excellent example of a well-planned UI 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.