Let's start with this letter from forum member Freddy:

I hear you, brother. You know what though? I've tried. Lotsa times.

My favourite genre is FPS. I like racers a lot too, but to a much lesser extent. I just can't get into RTS's or RPG's. They attract my attention, but I suck at playing them from the outset and I never seem to stay interested long enough to give them the same practice as I would a FPS or a racer! Oh, the awesome gaming experiences that I will never, erm, experience.

That's pretty much where I'm standing right now. My skills at RTS games in particular suck harder than a Hoover, for reasons that I cannot fathom. Perhaps it's an innate inability to coordinate and implement decent tactical strategies. Perhaps it's the amount of multitasking and, at times, micromanagement that pummels my brain into mush. Perhaps it's simply due to a lack of experience in the genre. Whatever the reason, it's your last point that's my primary motivation to improve: I know that there are great games in these genres, and I'm only doing myself a disservice by not giving them a go.



The fact that I don't have much experience with RPG's makes me feel even lesser a geek. I hate that feeling.

Never mind, just buy a Klingon dictionary or take to wearing a USB thumbdrive around your neck. Instant geek cred.



Another reason why I hardly ever play RTS's or RPG's, is because I like to be more involved in every attack on an opponent or opponents. I've gotta say, while RTS's and RPG's attract my attention from the view of controlling multiple characters at one time, I'd rather be controlling the individual attacks rather than some automatic bullcrummer.

An interesting point, and possibly the reason that FPS games appeal to me also. (The payoff is delivered as soon as you pull the gun's trigger, not at the end of the round.) Sure, looking for one genre's gameplay experience in another genre is something of a tall order, but if nothing else this demonstrates that each gamer is different. Each gamer has different tastes. And the fact that there's a range of games out there that can cater to them is encouraging. It's like going to the shop to buy a can of tuna and seeing fifty different types: possibly daunting at first, but a welcome offering in the end. Hooray for consumer choice!

Forum member Extronic wrote in to suggest a number of games suited to my cause:

Flight Sims:
Freelancer. Ok, so it's more of a space sim, but it's damn good. Made by Microsoft but don't let that make you turn away, it's one of their more refined games.

MMORPG:
Anarchy-Online. I tried to get this put in the DVD but it never was. So it's 800MB and free until Feb 15th 2007 so if you have time (I doubt it) give it a go. I have been playing this for 2 years so they must be doing something right.

Strategy:
Command and Conquer: Generals (also includes Zero Hour). Many hours spent here, and it's not hard jump on TS and ask for a game and me and ROM can show you how it's done... well, ROM will try and show you, he can defend himself so that's good I suppose.

One out of three ain't bad. I've already got and have played Freelancer, and I agree, it's quite an enjoyable game. Accessible, too. But to call it a sim? Hmm. Is it technically a simulation when you're flying a fictional spacecraft against a fictional alien race in fictional alien ships? It is a sim when the interface of your ship doesn't actually exist beyond the confines of the game? Feel free to correct me, but I'd look at Freelancer as more of an action game. Fanciful space combat, or some such thing.

The other two, I've not played. However, I've made sure Bali's been informed about Anarchy Online, so maybe, just maybe, you might see it on a future coverdisc. And as for Command and Conquer: Generals, I've looked at the box. Hopefully I'll get around to actually playing it sometime and join in with you lot making fun of ROM's tactics.

Finally, Rd0t is another gamer who has felt the pinch of RTS gameplay:

I have to say this, RTS's bore me. No matter how hard I try, I cannot stay around long enough to actually complete more than two or three stages/mission/whatever. I think it has something to do with the repetitiveness of the stages: once I've done something, I don't want to do it all over again. Even a slight variation would be good. It is ironic though that I keep coming back for more. I have both Empire Earth's, Age Of Empires 1+2, Dark Reign, and a few others, yet I only play these games for about 1-2 hours and then I uninstall it. What's wrong with me!?!?

Yep, if there's one thing I've learned from my brief flings with RTS games, it's that they require a significant investment of time and attention in order to succeed. You can't run in roughshod and plough through the enemy's defences (and believe me, I've tried). As for the genre's repetition, I imagine there's a process of "create units, bandbox them, click on an enemy, repeat", but when you get down to it, every game is repetitive in some way. First person shooters, you shoot and move. Racing games, you drive around in circles. Diablo, you click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click. Look purely at the nuts and bolts, and you're bound to run into repetition. But if a game can have you completing different objectives, throw increasingly cunning AI at you, present different terrain and implement random variables (like physics and weather) into the mix, then your gameplay approach -- one would hope -- must adapt accordingly.



I am surprised, though, that I have kept around for so long with Homeworld and Darwinia, maybe because they both play slightly different to other RTS's. Darwinia's WASD movement and right-click to fire remind be of the FPS style, and I just like Homeworld for its 3d space idea. Maybe there is some hope for me after all...

Therein lies the benefits of developers trying new things in a genre. Even if it's only a small change, the potential for success is greater than doing the same thing each and every year. Of course, there are risks, like alienating the purists and confusing the newcomers, but play it safe for too long and people will get bored. New developments are exciting to watch unfold, and have the potential to herald in new aspects of gameplay, or even new genres. If nothing else, a different approach will likely impress those who have seen -- and played -- it all before, so to the developers out there, don't be afraid to take a chance, eh?

(Mental note to self: must try Darwinia.)