There are many real-time strategy games, and some of them are really good. But what was the first title that can be assigned to the genre? Let’s take a look into the past.
Age of Empires, Command & Conquer and Warcraft are some of the best-known representatives of real-time strategy. Their successors are now among the best games in the genre. But their origins lie much further back. This raises the question of which was actually the first real real-time strategy game. Come with us, we’re taking a journey into the dark prehistoric times of video games.
Old school strategy in the trailer for “Herzog Zwei”
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Experiments in real time …
Where do the origins of the genre lie? The first experiments were carried out in the early 1970s. Invasion from 1972 was a mixture of board game and video game and already contained the first real-time elements. There isn’t much left of that today, though.
Especially in the early 80s, a number of titles appeared that contained the first approaches to real-time strategy games. They were called Utopia, Modem Wars or Nato Commander and tried out different approaches. Of course, these games were technically very limited.
… led to a milestone in the genre
What was the first real RTS? Herzog Zwei is considered the first true real-time strategy game. It is a Japanese game from 1989, which curiously has a German title. Of all the games from that time, it is the most reminiscent of later representatives of the genre and contained elements that were groundbreaking.
In Herzog Zwei you control a mech that is guided across the battlefield. But there are also ground troops that the player has to maneuver around tactically in order to ultimately destroy the enemy base.
As is typical, you can give orders to the units, lead them into battle, and have to manage various resources. Herzog Zwei was quite similar to the real-time strategy games we know today. The game revolutionized the genre and can now be played in a slightly improved form on the Nintendo Switch (via the Nintendo Shop).
The breakthrough came from another game
Was Herzog Zwei a success? Unfortunately not. However, the game influenced subsequent titles and served as inspiration. Just three years later, Westwood’s Dune II was released, a game that made the genre more popular and introduced the controls that are now established in such games. It was also based on the novel series of the same name and the film by David Lynch, which incidentally was not the first attempt to bring the desert planet to the screen.
The term “Real-Time Strategy” and the abbreviation “RTS” also comes from this time, namely from Westwood founder Brett W. Sperry, who used it in connection with his Dune II (via gamespot.com)
Subsequent games such as Command & Conquer or Warcraft ensured further popularity, so that the genre experienced its greatest boom in the 90s. A few years later, 3D graphics would once again open up new perspectives and tactical possibilities. But that’s a story for another time. You can find more trivia facts about video games and entertainment on MeinMMO.