ABSTRACT
Chris Park is a huge
proponent of simplicity in game design in general -- so why has he
created such an incredibly complex game as AI War? This lengthy article
examines the market forces that lead to various kinds of complex games,
and why a game like AI War or Dwarf Fortress is able to gain more
popularity than certain game designers or reviewers might expect. The
short answer is that there is an underserved niche for certain kinds of
complex games, which meet certain needs for genre experts. The long
answer is more robust and explores this from a cross-genre,
history-of-gaming perspective.
Complexity for the sake of complexity.