So, it's been a while since I last wrote a devlog. I'm back now, and I hope to stay here for a good while. This time I'll be talking about strategy, a topic @BlackIceTheGame suggested to me a loong time ago (but at least I remembered to do it!) This won't be that much about my game, though.
What is strategy in games? (according to me)
I'm probably not qualified at all to give a good definition of strategy, so I'll just give you the practical definition that works for me (a dude who doesn't make strategy games): strategy is a sequence of goals needed to reach a certain objective when the best solution to this sequence is unclear.
Let me give you an example. If you're playing a platformer and there's a big hole, what do you do? Jump over the hole. There's a bit of technique related to doing the best jump, but ultimately, the solution is the same. Now let's go to the other extreme. If you're playing chess and the enemy has checked you (put your King in danger), what do you do? Let’s see:
- You could simply put a piece in front of the king to protect it.
- The enemy might have made a mistake and you may be able to eat one of the enemies piece while saving your king.
- Or maybe it might be best just to move your king out of the way.
The point is, none of these solutions is the immediate best one, you'll have to consider the different elements of situation and your plan to decide which choice is the one that suits you most in that moment.
I recently saw a talk from Jan Willem (“50% of indie studio Vlambeer”) where he said that if you give the player a button, give him a reason not to press it. That perfectly sums up the basics of interesting strategy in games for me. For each choice to make, there’s a reason to make it and not to make it.
