When I’m asked what my favorite game of all time is, I usually give a top five rather than pick just one. When I’m asked what my favorite genre is however, I always respond by saying RTS without question. What can I say, I’m an army brat.
Find out what kicked off my love affair with video games, RTS titles in particular, my thoughts on their evolution and the future of the genre after the jump!
I’m not really sure what the very first video game I ever played was, but I can say the first one I vividly remember playing as a child was The Ancient Art of War back when I still had a Mac in the mid 1980’s. I know, Mac had games back then, hard to believe eh?
The Ancient Art of War is one of the grandfathers of the genre we all know today as RTS. Once I got a taste of power, controlling armies, formulating strategies, I was hooked. Just call me GenghisPolarBear!
Even after the Nintendo came out I found myself going back to controlling the Barbarians, Swordsmen and Archers of AAoW. I was on the road to becoming a serious gamer in general, but I was already a hardcore RTS fan.
If AAoW was my first RTS girlfriend, than Dune 2 was my first RTS love. Arguably the father of modern RTS games, Dune 2 put the term “real time strategy” on the map. Which makes sense since Westwood Studios’ Brett Sperry coined the term RTS to market Dune 2.
Building upon the foundation created by games like The Ancient Art of War, Utopia, and Nether Earth, Dune 2 would become, imho, the basis for all RTS titles that would come after it. Dune 2 brought together elements of its predecessors like fog of war, mouse controlled units, tech trees, base building and resource gathering to create an iconic title that will never be forgotten. I still pull the game out now and then to this very day.
It didn’t hurt that the game was loosely based on the most successful science fiction novel of all time, Frank Herbert’s Dune. Which just so happens to be my favorite book of all time too!
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DUDE! i cant mange to read that much about real time strategy sorry but thats to much for me xD
awesome article pacmanpolarbear I love RTS games but how come the only console thats getting an rts is the 360? im sure the ps3 with its mouse and keyboard would be much more suited?
What about Tom Clancy’s end war? I think it’s the first really well done console strategy. It has great controls (i mean without the mic, i don’t really use mic control much) and it has the best online ever with a great turn based multiplayer which has everyone choosing a faction and duking it out. You should get that PMPB! Also I think starcraft is second to End War (to be honest End war is GOTY in my opinion) and I recently got it for the third time because I can’t find it.
^^^^^^kaan is crazy^^^^^^
end war better than star craft you should be stripped of your gamer cred.
@PMPB Good article bro, RTS is a great genre
and I am also looking forward to Halo wars control scheme, I hope it works.
Hi! just a dumb question, what’s the meaning of pwn??
I’ve always liked RTS games, first time I played an RTS game was when my buddy let me play C&C Red Alert, but just because I like them doesn’t mean I’m especially good at them. I really do suck at RTS games.
Rts is my favourite genre by far because of the variety. What other genre has the elements of turn-based stratagie (well its nearly the same just in real time)mixed in with games ranging from settings of at the start of civillisation to the far future.
Great choice of favourite book there pacman, though i must say i think i prefer “God Emperor” to the original…….but only just:D
I love RTS games! This is a great article. I bet it took a while to write!
Roman…
According to net legend:
Pwn = Own.
Came about (supposedly) from some PC player mis-typing “Owned” as “Pwned” and people (or morons… your choice…) running with it. It’s now a long established slang for kicking someone’s arse in a game.
@Roman
http://tinyurl.com/8fehj7