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How Age of Empires Changed the RTS Genre Forever
Age of Empires is one of the most well-known RTS franchises of all time, even years after the closing of developer Ensemble Studios. With Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition releasing and Age of Empires IV in development, the series is still going strong.
RTS games were around long before Age of Empires released, but the series helped propel the genre into new heights of popularity. Before long, to many people, Age of Empires became synonymous with the RTS. Each iteration added on something new and unique, including the spinoff Age of Mythology.
The RTS genre has grown leaps and bounds since the release of Age of Empires III, but the franchise's impact can still be seen. Here's how Age of Empires changed the RTS genre forever.
Age Of Empires Perfected Its Gameplay Pacing
A lot of RTS games have a big focus on economy and slowly building up a base, but Age of Empires created a methodical system that encourages expansion and planning. Many RTS games encourage quick offense that ends matches quickly, but Age of Empires bucks that by integrating elements of city-planning on top of typical RTS strategy. Almost every building serves a dual purpose, producing units and purchasing research. A big part of this is the massive tech tree the game has, which was only made even more massive in Age of Empires II.
There's a unique sense of progression that happens in Age of Empires with advancing to each new age and getting a wealth of benefits that go along with it. The game's wide array of civilizations also bring more variation to playstyles, and how players approach both offense and defense.
The first Age of Empires was the blueprint, but Age of Empires II is where Ensemble perfected everything. On top of a strong single-player offering, Age of Empires II added vital features to the RTS, like the town bell and idle villagers button. The town bell allowed players to hit a single button to make all villagers garrison in the town center or towers, while the idle villager button instantly let players know when a villager is idle, letting them retask them immediately. These two featured changed the game enough, but there's an entire list of other changes and enhancements the sequel made on the original game. Age of Empires II doubled down on that idea of city-building, giving players more options than ever for structuring out their city, including the powerful castle which produces units and acts as a massive defensive structure. It's little wonder that Age of Empires II went down as one of the best RTS titles ever made, and it still has an active player base to this day.
Age Of Empires Made The Historical RTS Popular
Before the release of Age of Empires, the RTS genre mainly focused on sci-fi and alternate time-periods. Part of what made Age of Empires such a success is that it attracted players that weren't normally into RTS games, or video games in general. The aesthetic makes it appealing to anyone interested in history, especially with Age of Empires II's campaign that focuses on actual historical events, with embellishment. Age of Empires isn't as complicated to pick up as something like Civilization, and the slower-paced gameplay means that anyone unfamiliar with RTS can pick it up and learn. Age of Empires is immediately more approachable because it's something people are already familiar with, unlike a sci-fi or fantasy-focused RTS. People are at least familiar with the idea of Joan of Arc, Samurai, Crusaders, and more. Since Age of Empires, historical RTS games have flourished, with titles like Empire Earth, Company of Heroes, Total War, and much more. The popularity of historical strategy games was bound to happen eventually, but Age of Empires kickstarted that interest at an even faster rate.
Age of Empires IV is currently in development.
