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Is Dwarfheim spectacularly generic, or did it just casually reinvent the RTS?AoE2 in the streets, Factorio in the sheets
AoE2 in the streets, Factorio in the sheets
When the trailer forDwarfheimpopped up during the PC Games Show earlier, I was underwhelmed. In fact, if anything, I was antiwhelmed. I love dwarves, as you probably know. And I loveDwarf Fortress. And when you really love something, you can get protective of it. Over the last few years, there’s been an increasing trickle of management-ish games themed on dwarves, and while some (like the promisingHammerting) seem thoughtful and original, there’s an awful lot of churned-out dross to pick through if you want to find the gems.
Dwarfheim, then, initially seemed to fall into the latter category - thetrailerhad a gruff Scots voiceover saying forgettable things about chieftains and clans and conquering, and the game’s visuals had that balloony, buildings-rising-out-of-the-ground quality that instantly evokes garbage mobile games with names like Clash Of Empires Mobile, King’s Conquest Online and Clans: Build Your Kingdom. The name “Dwarfheim” doesn’t do a lot to dispel the notion, does it? But my goodness, did this trailer ever bury the lede. Because the thing about Dwarfheim - and I’ve not got time to properly think this assertion through, so apologies if I’ve missed something obvious - is that I think it’s doing something entirely new with the real time strategy format. And if it does what it looks like it does, it could be amazing.
Underground
And what Ireallylike is the differentiation in the roles. The underground game looks to be something in theFactoriomould, using production lines and banks of automated machinery to process dug-up raw materials into complex resources with which to build things and arm troops. The overground game, meanwhile, looks quote Age-Of-Empires-2-ish, with lumber camps, farms, and all those sorts of things going on. The military game, of course, is presumably your standard RTS fare.
Overground
The first reason I like this is that it opens up the possibility to play the bits of an RTS you particularly want to play. Sometimes while playing AOE2, I wish I could just get on with quietly booming my economy, without having to constantly hotkey my way over to four different simultaneous battles and micromanage crossbowmen. Equally, sometimes I just want to get stuck in with the brutes, and have someone look after farm placement and resource management for me. It had never even occurred to me that I might want to just play a game of Factoriounderthe map while two mates do all of the actual Age-Of-Empiring, but good gravy would I ever like to do just that. It’s a hell of a promise.
But the second, juicier reason I like this mechanic, is that it opens up a fascinating metagame about interplayer communication. The underlord, I presume, would constantly be fielding resource requests from both the overlord and the warlord, and would have to decide how to split output. Meanwhile, the warlord would be having to work out what troops to send underground, and which to keep above the surface. And the overlord would have to constantly negotiate where to send all the food. If handled deftly, the whole thing has the makings of something beautiful, full of dilemmas and bargains and tense team politics.
Wombling free
They can have yours too, potentially, as Dwarfheim is having itself a beta from June 19 through June 21, and you can sign up for ithere.
Whatever you call it, hit ourE3 2020tag for more from this summer’s blast of gaming announcements, trailers, and miscellaneous marketing. Check outthe PC games at the PlayStation 5 show,everything at the PC Gaming Show, andall the trailers from the Xbox showcase, for starters.
