OPERATIONAL
LEVEL OF WARAND STRATEGY GAME DESIGN
GUY ULMER, PLARIUM
About me
Work at PlariumWe (mostly) make social strategy games
About me
Early ChildhoodStarted tinkering with games
About me
C&C / Red AlertSpent more time on modding than I’d like to admit
About me
In the Army
Intelligence NCO at the IDF
The strategy video game genre
● Early ties to military board games
● Not necessarily military conflict
● Birth of new subgenres/spinoffs: RTS, Tower defense, Time management, MOBA…
● Define game vision
● Find the right audience
● Competitive analysis
● Arguing on the ‘net
HOLD MY CALLSSOMEONE IS WRONG ON THE INTERNET
Why classification is important?
“War is the continuation of politics by other
means”Carl von Clausewitz*
* 19th century military dude. Wrote the book “Vom Kriege”. Also coined the term “fog of war”
What is war?
LEVEL O
F W
AR Strategic: the art and science
of employing national power
Operational: the planning and conduct of campaigns
Tactical: the application of concentrated force to gain
objectives
Levels of war
Wikipedia definition:
“In the field of military theory, the operational level of war
(also called the operational art, as derived from Russian:
оперативное искусство) represents the level of command
that connects the details of tactics with the goals of
strategy”
Operational level of war
At the most basic level, a conflict is like a game of tug-of-war.
Offensive and/or defensive maneuvers are being carried by opposing teams, both trying to tip the balance in their favor.
Breaking Down Conflict
Level of war Defense Offense
StrategicBase and force
building
Choose best plan
to achieve goal
OperationalEconomy
management
High level combat
management
TacticalDefensive layout
and maneuvers
Individual unit
control
Plotting the level-of-war chart
Level of war Defense Offense
StrategicBase and force
building
Choose best plan
to achieve goal
OperationalEconomy
management
High level combat
management
TacticalDefensive layout
and maneuvers
Individual unit
control
“Classic” strategy game flow
Levels of war separation
Defense: Strategic level of war
Building your force/nation/stronghold, focusing on long term growth
Defense: Operational level of war
Collecting resources and managing economy to fulfill strategic goals. Sustaining your supply chain.
Defense: Tactical level of war
Using your available resources to defend and adapt.This is usually where s**t happens.
Offense: Strategic level of war
Choose the best available option to achieve your set goal and defeat your opponent(s)
Offense: Operational level of war
High level combat management: which units to utilize and when
Offense: Tactical level of war
Maneuver and individual unit control
Classify subgenres
● Where lies the “center of gravity”?
● 4X / Grand strategy games
● Tower defense games
● Real Time Tactics
● Food for thought: Are MOBAs even strategy games?
Level of war Defense Offense
StrategicBase and force
building
Choose best plan
to achieve goal
OperationalEconomy
management
High level combat
management
TacticalDefensive layout
and maneuvers
Individual unit
control
4X Strategy games
4X Strategy games
Level of war Defense Offense
StrategicBase and force
building
Choose best plan
to achieve goal
OperationalEconomy
management
High level combat
management
TacticalDefensive layout
and maneuvers
Individual unit
control
Godlike strategy games
Level of war Defense Offense
StrategicBase and force
building
Choose best plan
to achieve goal
OperationalEconomy
management
High level combat
management
TacticalDefensive layout
and maneuvers
Individual unit
control
Real Time Tactics?
Level of war Defense Offense
StrategicBase and force
building
Choose best plan
to achieve goal
OperationalEconomy
management
High level combat
management
TacticalDefensive layout
and maneuvers
Individual unit
control
Offensive tactical games
Level of war Defense Offense
StrategicBase and force
building
Choose best plan
to achieve goal
OperationalEconomy
management
High level combat
management
TacticalDefensive layout
and maneuvers
Individual unit
control
Tower defense games
Level of war Defense Offense
StrategicBase and force
building
Choose best plan
to achieve goal
OperationalEconomy
management
High level combat
management
TacticalDefensive layout
and maneuvers
Individual unit
control
Social strategy games
Gates of War: Gen-3 social strategy
Gates of War: Gen-3 social strategy
Platform limitations
Or just design decisions?
Why Clash Royale is interesting
Clash Royale Breakdown
Level of war Defense Offense
Strategic Base and
force building
Choose best
plan to
achieve goal
Operational Economy
management
High level
combat
management
Tactical Defensive
layout and
maneuvers
Individual unit
control
Level of war Defense Offense
Strategic Base and
force building
Choose best
plan to
achieve goal
Operational Economy
management
High level
combat
management
Tactical Defensive
layout and
maneuvers
Individual unit
control
Clash Royale Breakdown
Level of war Defense Offense
Strategic Base and
force building
Choose best
plan to
achieve goal
Operational Economy
management
High level
combat
management
Tactical Defensive
layout and
maneuvers
Individual unit
control
Clash Royale Breakdown
Level of war Defense Offense
Strategic Base and
force building
Choose best
plan to
achieve goal
Operational Economy
management
High level
combat
management
Tactical Defensive
layout and
maneuvers
Individual unit
control
Clash Royale Breakdown
Level of war Defense Offense
Strategic Base and
force building
Choose best
plan to
achieve goal
Operational Economy
management
High level
combat
management
Tactical Defensive
layout and
maneuvers
Individual unit
control
Clash Royale Breakdown
Level of war Defense Offense
Strategic Base and
force building
Choose best
plan to
achieve goal
Operational Economy
management
High level
combat
management
Tactical Defensive
layout and
maneuvers
Individual unit
control
Clash Royale Breakdown
Level of war Defense Offense
Strategic Base and
force building
Choose best
plan to
achieve goal
Operational Economy
management
High level
combat
management
Tactical Defensive
layout and
maneuvers
Individual unit
control
Clash Royale Breakdown
Influence Royale
Gates of War
Influence Royale
Smite Rivals
Influence Royale
Minion Masters
Influence Royale
Halo Wars 2
Influence Royale
Force Arena
Level of war Defense Offense
Strategic Base and force
building
Choose best
plan to achieve
goal
Operational Economy
management
High level
combat
management
Tactical Defensive
layout and
maneuvers
Individual unit
control
Are MOBAs even strategy games?
Closing remarks
● Analyze your game: where can you place it on the level-of-war model?
● Compare to the competition
● Do the game mechanics actually support the intended approach?
Closing remarks
… more what you'd call guidelines than actual rules
Thank you! Questions?
● On War – Wikipedia article:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_War
● Operational level of waren.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_level_of_war
● Plarium is hiringcompany.plarium.com/career/
Backup slides
Do I really need this layer?
Do I really need this layer?
Platform limitations
● Consoles/Gamepad● Web/Social● Mobile/Touch
● Make sure that your chosen levels of war blend is appropriate for the chosen platform and its associated input method. A real-time 4X mobile game with heavy focus on unit micromanagement? Perhaps that is not the best combination.
4X Strategy Games
Time management games
Level of war Defense Offense
Strategic Base and force
building
Choose best
plan to achieve
goal
Operational Economy
management
High level
combat
management
Tactical Defensive
layout and
maneuvers
Individual unit
control
“time management” games?
Tower defense games
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