Strategy Game Design and the Operational Level of War (White Nights Conference Prague 2017) The official conference website — http://wnconf.com

1. OPERATIONAL
LEVEL OF WAR
AND STRATEGY GAME DESIGN
GUY ULMER, PLARIUM

2. About me
Work at Plarium
We (mostly) make social
strategy games

3. About me
Early Childhood
Started tinkering
with games

4. About me
C&C / Red Alert
Spent more time
on modding than
I’d like to admit

5. About me
In the Army
Intelligence NCO
at the IDF

6. 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…

7. ● Define game vision
● Find the right
audience
● Competitive
analysis
● Arguing on the ‘net
HOLD MY CALLS
SOMEONE IS WRONG
ON THE INTERNET
Why classification is important?

8. “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?

9. LEVELOFWAR
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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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
Plotting the level-of-war chart

13. 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
“Classic” strategy game flow

14. Levels of war separation

15. Defense: Strategic level of war
Building your force/nation/stronghold,
focusing on long term growth

16. Defense: Operational level of war
Collecting resources and managing
economy to fulfill strategic goals.
Sustaining your supply chain.

17. Defense: Tactical level of war
Using your available resources to
defend and adapt.
This is usually where s**t happens.

18. Offense: Strategic level of war
Choose the best available option to
achieve your set goal and defeat
your opponent(s)

19. Offense: Operational level of war
High level combat management:
which units to utilize and when

20. Offense: Tactical level of war
Maneuver and individual unit control

21. 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?

22. 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
4X Strategy games

23. 4X Strategy games

24. 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
Godlike strategy games

25. 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
Real Time Tactics?

26. 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
Offensive tactical games

27. 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
Tower defense games

28. 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
Social strategy games

29. Gates of War: Gen-3 social strategy

30. Gates of War: Gen-3 social strategy

31. Platform limitations

32. Or just design decisions?

33. Why Clash Royale is interesting

34. 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

35. 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

36. 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

37. 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

38. 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

39. 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

40. 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

41. Influence Royale
Gates of War

42. Influence Royale
Smite Rivals

43. Influence Royale
Minion Masters

44. Influence Royale
Halo Wars 2

45. Influence Royale
Force Arena

46. 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?

47. 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?

48. Closing remarks
… more what you'd call
guidelines than actual rules

49. Thank you! Questions?
● On War – Wikipedia article:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_War
● Operational level of war
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operational_level_of_war
● Plarium is hiring
company.plarium.com/career/

50. Backup slides

51. Do I really need this layer?

52. Do I really need this layer?

53. 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.

54. 4X Strategy Games

55. 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

56. “time management” games?

57. Tower defense games