miclogic
Posts: 14
Joined: 8/26/2003
From: Open Space (Wyoming)
Status: offline
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Nice thoughts all around. One challenge presented by the genre in and of itself is the learning curve, period. Good interface or not, beautiful graphics or not, without some level of understanding on the part of the player most wargames simply will never make it past an initial, cursory glance.
To further make my point, I present myself and my 4 brothers. I am in my mid-30's and I've been playing war games from back in the Ancient Art of War days on something like a TRS-80 or something like that. Having been instilled with an initial love from this simplified game, I've gone on to read many books on military history, biographies of military personnel, watch movies about war, visit battle sites whenever I get the chance, and of course, play just about every war game I could get my hands on since then. (It didn't hurt that I became a programmer and thus had a constant need to upgrade my computer hardware, allowing me to keep pace with technological improvements). My 4 brothers, on the other hand, range from in ages from 19-34 and never had these influences working for them. They only recently acquired computers of their own (within the last 5 years) and my efforts to get them interested in war games has fizzled on every front with very few exceptions, ie., Call of Duty, Blitzkrieg, and of course the online games like Vietnam or Road to Rome, etc.) I love Highway to the Reich, for example, but trying to help them come to love the game simply doesn't work because the manual doesn't provide them with enough information to play it well. Yes, it explains the interface and how to make things happen the right way, but how can they WIN? (Well, they could invest another $20 in the strategy guide, of couse, but GOOD LUCK trying to get another $20 from someone who doesn't like the game yet anyway!) Without some background into what type of units work with other units, what their roles are, how they operate properly and coordinate with each other, and a background in the history of the battles, they have little if any hope of winning and that is simply NO FUN. When you boil it all down, games have to be FUN or why will we play them? If I want to learn, I have several options, I can read a book or watch a movie, etc, both of which would probably help me learn faster and better, or at least be more enjoyable, why would I try to hack my way through 50 hours of gametime trial and error before I can play properly? Pick up one of the above mentioned games, however, and you can play at an acceptable level in no time at all, in part due to their simplistic nature.
My point is, wargames can be fun and immersive, most of us have experienced that, but not without the right kind of understanding on the player's part. If publishers want to open up a larger market with new players, they might want to consider making wonderful tools like the strategy guide for HTTR a part of the game package to begin with, because that is what this newer market of players NEED in order to enjoy the game at the level they want. They want to WIN, and they have a chance right from the get go, not be required to invest weeks of their lives before they have a prayer at playing head-to-head with another player.
Anyway, I doubt I've made any kind of point, much less the point I am intending to make, but it's my 2 cents anyway. Enjoy! 
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RE: Is the Wargame Genre Killing Itself? - 
. Which simply ain´t happening for me with counters, sorry.
) 3d games just don't interest me that much. I prefer PC wargames that look and play like my favorite old board games. (see HPS sims Panzer campaigns and Squad Battles series.) 
RE: Is the Wargame Genre Killing Itself? - 
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