I don’t think it’s a mystery that the vast majority of RTS games tend to fail, so I’d like to make a few suggestions that, as a player, I personally consider essential for playing an RTS.
- Campaign. I don’t think I need to explain that when you start playing a video game, you always begin with the campaign. It’s the perfect way to introduce the factions and set the scene for the players. Furthermore, a good story along with good gameplay is what will make players want to buy your expansions and what will guarantee a good and thriving community.
- Game modes for single-player and for playing with friends. Variety is key to making the game entertaining on its own; casual players tend to play more solo or with friends in their favorite game modes. It’s an excellent idea to have several game modes to grow the community, after all, these are the players who will nourish the competitive sector in the future.
- Fun above all, but without forgetting balance.
A good video game has to be entertaining; this includes all the previous points and is fundamental to the game’s success. There’s no point in creating something tedious or boring. Obviously, an RTS game must have a balance for competitive play, but this should never be at the expense of the casual player base. - Restraint and respect for the developers’ artistic vision. No matter how talented a developer is, if they are forced to do something out of pure corporate greed, the result will be mediocre or bad, which in the medium term will be counterproductive and generate poor results.
Having said that, the developer must also maintain some restraint in their aspirations; not every idea is good, and sometimes those who try to do too much accomplish little.
I’d like to recommend a couple of potential RTS video games that I think could be interesting. (Obviously, provided the points mentioned above are respected.)
Age of Great War: Focused on the first world war, it could be a much darker story, dealing with more “serious” themes and could have gameplay similar to the dawn of war games.
Age of New World: A game focused on the New World, the resilience of the local peoples against European invasion, the birth of new nations, and their conflicts with both European powers and the original inhabitants. I think the gameplay could be similar to AOE4.
After these two games, I think the numbered saga will have rested enough and production of an AOE5 could begin.
I want to clarify that this is just my opinion on what would be most convenient; feel free to do an AOE5 immediately after the AOE4 if you want.
Thanks for reading and have a good day. : D