No!
Urgh!
Oh come on!
Are you kidding me?!
(tsk)
Et tu Spurius?
Julius Caesar, I AIN'T.
But I intend to be...
Hello Internet!
Welcome to Game Theory.
Where our motto is: Veni, Lusi, Dixi
I came, I played, I learned.
I have a confession.
I've never told anyone this.
So don't judge me too harshly but...
I think I can trust you guys.
So come closer.
Closer.
Closer
WHOA! Too close.
Alright, perfect.
I SUCK at strategy games.
(gasps) I KNOW!
I know! I'm ashamed to admit it.
Seriously, I may be a smart guy but
for whatever reason they don't click with me.
I mean, just because I didn't advance
to the Nuclear Age first,
doesn't mean I have to lose and hour's worth
of wood farming again Age of Empires!
Hey! I'm just trying to erect a granary over here okay?!
But I'm also not the type to just admit defeat.
Especially when I see mobile strategy games like
Clash of Clans
being all the rage.
And with PRETEENS!
Seriously!
These kids are like the Rain Men of base building.
And I REFUSE to be shown up by
Justin Beiber fans who shop at Justice.
So it's time to teach this old dog a new trick.
I'm gonna get good at a strategy game.
And, in the process, reclaim my gamer pride from
Ms. Miller's sixth grade homeroom.
So first, I gotta pick a game.
There are lots of mobile strategy options like this right now.
So, after going through the list
and trying out a handful,
I settled on the game Total Conquest.
It felt a bit more mature and I was attracted to the historical themes.
Ya know, cause that's how I roll.
It's all based on Ancient Rome.
And even starts with: Caesar has died
Great! Right up my alley.
THIS shall be my vehicle to claiming victory.
Annnd START.
Tutorial!
Tutorial...
Tutorial.
ALRIGHT!
Battle ready!
Let's go beat some eleven year olds in a game of strategic screen tapping!
AAAAGH!
(sigh) Okay, that could have gone better.
Clearly I need help.
BUT!
I have a secret weapon in mind
that's sure to make me 'Sultan of the Swipe'.
Research.
Since this is a game based on Ancient Rome, what
better strategy guide than Ancient Roman military tactics
and city planning?
I'm sure there's...something
I can use.
Right?
Let's start with the basics.
The first, and probably most crucial
early decision that I need to make
is city layout.
Should things be clustered together or spread apart?
To me, this is one of the most stressful questions about any strategy game.
Because in those first few minutes of playing,
this decision can either make you or break you.
And CLEARLY there is a value to be had in both options, right?
Clustered together means easy resource management,
and the ability for defenses like turrets
to really protect more of your city.
They can even overlap their coverage area.
Like a Venn Diagram of DEATH.
In other words, more BANG for your BUCK.
Or, in the case of Total Conquest,
gold crown things the game uses as currency.
Spread apart though means enemy troops have to travel from building to building
as they destroy your base.
Which equals more time for defenses to pick them off.
And in instances where there is an area of effect attack,
being more spread out means fewer precious resources are going to be effected.
Whoo!
Okay, so it's a tough question to solve.
Maybe Ancient Rome has some insight on the matter.
Well, looking at our Pox Romana strategy guide,
Copyright year CCC,
We see that the Roman military would build
bases for defense
that they referred to as Castra.
These Castra always followed a very strict layout starting with two major streets:
The Cardo Maximus, running North and South,
and the Decumanus Maximus, running East and West.
The central area where the two streets met,
was made into a forum with city services.
Much like a business district.
Surrounded by a compact grid of smaller streets.
The whole thing got wrapped inside a wall equipped with guards and a portcullis.
Or, fortified gate.
This grid layout, down to the exact size, was
replicated each time they needed a new encampment
partially because soldiers could be positioned anywhere
in Rome's vast empire.
As such, having a standard layout meant
that a soldier could easily navigate around a city
whether he was stationed in Pompeii or Constantinople.
Constantinople, not Istanbul.
Keeping the same layout regardless of where in the world you are?
This is like an ancient civilization's version of Target.
Now let's take a minute to unpack all that
because there is a lot there that I can use.
First, if we're to translate Rome's strategy to
Total Conquest
the City Hall would be stationed in the middle of everything else we build.
This makes sense as the City Hall ultimately dictates whether
a battle is won or lost.
By keeping it towards the middle,
everything that we build around it serves as a defense mechanism.
Invaders will have to work their way through the entire city
before hitting this key building.
Just like Romans kept their business center protected in the middle of the Castra.
And, looking at the Total Conquest leaderboard, we see
top players all following this model.
So it seems taking a page from Rome's city planning is already starting to pay off.
Which means we should also probably talk about the Cardo and Decumanus Maximi.
These were the roads straight into the heart of the city
protected by a gate.
We can apply a similar idea in
Total Conquest.
And, really, into any other strategy game.
Strategy games always tend to program
computer enemies to flood towards any opening
in a defensive wall.
By designing a base
with a narrow path similar to a Castra's Cardo
you funnel enemies in one-by-one.
Making it much easier
to thin the opposition's numbers rather than
having to take on large groups all at once.
So that's TWO design features I can work into my base right off the bat.
Let's see how I do!
Well hand me a fiddle and call me Nero,
'cause I burned that city DOWN!
This whole 'Roman strategy thing' seems to be working.
I need more!
What else can I use?!
Well, Castra tended to be divided into three districts.
The Latera Pritori,
the Praetentura,
and the Retentura.
In the Latera,
or sides,
you found sacrificial altars
and guard houses, as well as store houses for grains and other foods.
The Praetentura, which means 'stretching to the front',
contained the most costly buildings.
the hospital, metal and woodwork shops,
and the upper echelons of troops.
In the rear was the Retentura,
which was a safe-keep for plunder and a prison for hostages
and high-ranking enemy captives.
In other words, the layout of the Castra ensured the separation of resources.
If there was a breach near the Praetentura,
sure you might lose a blacksmiths' forge
and a stable,
but your storehouse of treasures from past raids would still be safe in the rear of the camp.
And the food stores were keep safe along the sides.
It's a lesson that translates perfectly into the world of Total Conquest.
By structuring my base
in a way that positions my gold stores
as far away from my food stores as possible,
I ensure no one raid ever completely cleans me out.
I've defeated the enemy troop long before they're able make it to the other side of the map!
And again, look at all the top tier players of the game,
their bases are set up in a very similar way.
And speaking of separation of resources,
Rome was fortified SEVEN TIMES!
Each time it received a new set of walls to
expand the city's urban limit.
In fact, in a trip I made to Rome last year,
I remember these walls.
They were INTENSE!
And despite being built in 500 A.D.
they STILL stand today.
So not only were resources spatially separated
they were also mechanically separated.
Walls buy you time.
Couple that with strategic watch towers,
that pick off enemies as they literally bang their heads against a wall
and you have reached, QED.
Quite an effective defence.
For me I tend to be a resource hoarder.
I have a hard time spending, well, ANYTHING in any game honestly.
If I have 999 rupees
in a Zelda game I'm STILL hesitant about spending TEN on arrows or a new set of bombs.
But the thing for me to remember here is that
the walls in Rome are still standing today!
Those walls were a long-term investment.
The soldiers, aren't standing today.
Meaning that in Total Conquest,
I need to budget more funds to walled defenses and less to manpower.
So, moral of the story?
Separate as much as you can with additional layers of walls.
Forget the college fund, THIS is an investment in my future!
A good defense is TRULY the best offense.
So with all those new additions set up,
'once more into the breach!'
Oh come on!
There's cyclops in this game?!
Oooo-uuuggghh!
Okay,
so ancient history and strategy only got us so far.
In the end, it is still a video game.
In a genre that, you know what? I'm feeling a little bit more confident in.
Thanks in large part to my peeps Cicero and Caesar.
And in the end it just goes to show
those who know their history should probably repeat it
when playing a mobile strategy game based on a similar ancient period.
But hey, that's just a theory...
A GAME THEORY!
Thanks for watching!
Can I just say how cool it is that we just did a whole video on city planning?
From science, to video game lore,
to math, to new tech, to
urban renewal!
That's what I love about doing this show.
Each week it's something new.
Anyway, welcome back to the:
Where last time in a less than shocking turn of events,
you selected Minecraft Creeper explosions as an upcoming episode.
So expect that to happen, sometime in June!
Today, something pretty exciting!
I'm gonna be in a video game!
The game Pop-up Dungeon successfully raised enough money for their kickstarter
and yours truly will be a character!
It's pretty awesome actually.
When they reached out to me I was incredibly flattered.
So this week, you're going to help me decide what power I should have.
Basically anything's within limits.
So here are two options I had in mind:
One, the Barrel Roll
which actually shoots a wave of energy out in front of me in a true barrel roll pattern.
Or two, the Theorist Fist.
A call back to our old video on the Pewds.
So those were two options I came up with.
Click on the one you like better or, in the comments, write what power you think I should have.
Based on your votes and suggestions I'll come up with a few to actually put in the game.
It's pretty awesome right?
This is your chance to actually affect a video game.
So I'm really excited.
But in the meantime, if you'll excuse me,
I have a Castra to rebuild and a cyclops with my name on it.