Theory into Practice: Single Player RTS design for Company of Heroes

Speakers: Erin Daly, Joshua Mosqueira

Track: Game Design

Format: Lecture

Experience Level: All

Description: Multiplayer is the focus of most Real-Time Strategy games, and indeed, much of the game industry at present. And yet in a market as large as the RTS genre, more than half of players never play a single match online. Virtually all players play the single player game, however, which is why it remains a a critical part of RTS game design today.

At this session we'll explore how Relic Entertainment created a high-quality single player experience for Company of Heroes. The focus of the talk will be on practical processes, methods, and design approaches - how to take well-known single player design theory and turn it into a reality on-screen.

The process of creating a mission from concept to completion will be shown in detail, with a particular emphasis on the production methods and design practices. The design theory is simple - quality execution is the key.

Questions that will be addressed include: What makes a great single player RTS mission? How can you leverage your underlying game mechanics to the greatest possible effect? What kind of tools and programming support does a design team need to implement a triple-A single player game? How can you empower your designers to iterate the design efficiently? How do you guide the iterative process in the right direction? How do you integrate a strong aesthetic vision from the art team into the mission design?

Idea Takeaway: Developers will learn a set of best practices and proven design approaches for single player game design. Although the focus is on Real-Time Strategy games, the methods can be applied to any genre.

Intended Audience: Game designers, producers, and anyone looking to gain a better understanding of single player game design.