Game Developers Refuge

This is the first in a series of topics that serves to explore, deconstruct, and re-imagine the game design tropes and mechanics specific to a given genre.

We'll kick this off with the gold standard of tactical RPGS - Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together. The game has had something of a resurgence since its latest rerelease in the form of Tactics Ogre Reborn so its as good a jumping off point as any. It's progeny are multitude so there's a number of ideas to wade through.

But let us collectively strip it down to its fundamentals, inspect and analyze every facet and identify what it is about the genre as a whole that makes it so appealing to those that enjoy it.

So feel free to jump in, with as little or as much insight as you can muster. Quick quips, hot takes, measured analyses, lengthy in-depth treatise to rival graduate-level dissertations - all are welcome.

If Tactical RPGS aren't your thing, and you rather explore different genre, you're welcome to start another topic. Just be sure to use the same naming format for the topic's subject, 'Re-inventing The Wheel - [Your Genre of Interest]'.

But enough preamble. Let's begin shall we...

Opening question - What is the core game loop of a tactical RPG in the vein of Tactics Ogre?

I've never played Tactics Ogre, my most relevant experience would be Advance Wars, Wargroove, and maybe Into the Breach (all of which are heavy on the tactics, light or nonexistent rpg). Are you open to a discussion that is that wide, or do you want to keep it specifically to Tactical RPG?

I grew up with strategy games, and largely abandoned them for tactical games once they regained popularity. There were a fair number of tactical games on older platforms (SSI titles on C64, Mindcraft titles for DOS), and I could feel the pull almost immediately.

I always presumed that the main differentiator for most people was tactical, versus strategic. Having a narrow scope, and interaction at the soldier-level, as opposed to moving battle groups around, gives it a different sense of engagement. Also, it's easier to become attached to individual characters more than "Infantry Unit 009", that got wiped out when they accidentally wandered into mortar range.

I'm thrilled to see Tactics Ogre getting some more love. It's a great game with some odd mechanics and math behind it, and several iterations that all play slightly different (SNES, PSX, PSP, Reborn).