Commander of the War

War Commander

• + Being browser-based allows for access anywhere.
• + Millions of players keep an otherwise bleak landscape interesting.
• + The most dangerous foes are other humans.
• + Excellent point system for immediate player satisfaction. // link to Dave Mark
• - Being browser-based allows for access anywhere, any time.
• A fix: Um... as a player, have self-control?
• - Inconsiderate times for production and collection come during odd hours.
• A fix: Include a standard time during the day for collection or implement standard increments of time for the building/unit timers.
• - Ads are like bad dinner guests; always there, and have a hard time going away.
• A fix: Follow the free-to-play model, relying on micro-transactions for revenue.
• - Unbalanced roster of troop types; some are utterly worthless.
• A fix: Create a rock-paper-scissors style of unit balancing to better play to unit strengths.
• - Lack of any apparent in-game narrative to motivate the conflict.
• A fix: Put up some flavor-text or brainstormed reasoning for the 'war'; possibly open it up to the community to have input on developing a story.

I first heard about War Commander from the KIXEYE info booth at the Game Developers Conference Online in Austin, Texas.  The battles looked cool, so after the Conference, I checked the Facebook game out.  Dozens of hours later, this is what I think of the game.

War Commander is dangerous; being browser-based, I can play it anywhere.  Whether there is time to kill, or important work needs to get done, the game is always present.  The blessing is a game that requires only an internet connection; the curse lies in the self-control to prioritize.

It is a good thing that War Commander can be accessed nearly anywhere, since timing my resource collection had to happen at strangely odd times.  Production was like that too – when trying to keep the base building, setting an alarm would help greatly.  Once the morning comes, it’s time to get ready to catch the game back-up to speed.

Now, it’s a fallacy to say that the game is lonely.  +6 million registered players make this game a top-dog of Facebook games, and each one represents an in-game violent foe or temporary friends.  War Commander is very beginner friendly, with senior players acting almost as ‘bosses’.

Speaking of loneliness, I’m never ‘truly’ alone; ads are always companioning my play.  Whether it be a small icon on my home-base screen, the running sidebars on Facebook, or merely logging in, War Commander advertises both itself and others to a very high degree.

Despite it all, I keep coming back.  The resource point system the game uses is highly effective; the reasoning of which is mention in my Dave Mark blog post.

The resources garnered in game are usually quick to be spend on research, upgrades, and repairs.  The reason for this in-game struggle is utterly nonexistent.  I take that back – the conflict lies in there not being enough resources, enough space, to go around.  Sound familiar to the real world?

To be fair, War Commander doesn’t intuitively demonstrate that it is a good game for any excuse but one: it keeps players coming back.  Progression and gathering are what make this game addicting.  Give it a try; I know I will still be a ‘war commander’ anyway.