Recalling Warcraft 3 RPS and Other Reminiscent Titles

Warcraft 3 Pre-ECTS 1999 Screenshot. Taken from Blizzard Archive.

Some games are undergoing fundamental changes throughout the development process. That's one of many aspects of video games that usually fascinate me, sometimes even if the game itself doesn't interest me. I often find myself looking at Alpha or Beta versions of specific title with genuine curiosity and Warcraft 3 is no exception here.

It's no wonder that this game had an interesting journey, given its importance to Blizzard Entertainment and gaming industry as a whole. A lot of fans are most likely familiar with early Alpha iteration of Warcraft 3 from 1999. For a long time it stood out to me as a unique game due to the fact I simply haven't seen (or remembered) anything like that.

However, lately that has changed as I've ended up stumbling on two old games that are (to me) pretty similar to "Warcraft 3 RPS" and I wanted to take a quick look at them to see what could've been.

Role-Playing Strategy.

As I've previously mentioned, some of you might already know the development history of Warcraft 3 in as much detail as humanly possible. Despite that, I would still like to start off with an "excursion" from the main topic in order to inform those who aren't aware of the topic or simply refresh your memory about the origins of the game.

Initially this game wasn't a direct sequel of Warcraft 3. There're mentions of two different titles: Warcraft Legends and Heroes of Warcraft. I'm not sure if those are different names for one project or two different things as I don't have access to some sources. Since their description sounds relatively similar to me, I will roll with the former. So, the game took its RPS form after going away from the concept of instanced multiplayer title that would later serve as a foundation for Guild Wars after some developers left to form ArenaNet.

Warcraft 3 Korean Trade Show 2000 Screenshot. Taken from Blizzard Archive.

Still, the game differentiated quite a bit from its final version while caring forward some of its main elements. Those include emphasis on micromanagement and multiple heroes. Notable differences were the absence of Fog of War, different camera controls and art style. Focus was on heroes, which you could switch between without the ability to freely move your camera around the map like in previous games. Even the amount of controlled units was determined by a specific stat. Most of that was changed as Blizzard kept scrapping RPS ideas from Warcraft 3 before it became a much more recognizable RTS with RPG elements.

The Legacy of Warcraft 3 RPS still lives on through both World of Warcraft (which began its development around the same time) and previously mentioned Guild Wars series, but that's not the main topic of this post. We're here to talk about other games that "carried the torch", sort of speak. Although that phrase might be not exactly accurate...

Sacrifice.

Alright, I'm going to talk about Sacrifice now and there're three primary reasons why: this game inspired me to write this article, it just came out early and much closer to what Warcraft 3 could've become. I was introduced to this interesting title after watching MandaloreGaming's review, so I would definitely recommend checking it out if you're interested. Despite this, I would still provide some information about it.

Taken from MobyGames.

It's important to note that this game started development in August 1997 — around two years before Warcraft 3. That's why I was hesitant to say something along the lines of "Sacrifice is the predecessor of Warcraft 3 RPS" as I think that would undervalue it. If anything, their roles might as well be reversed. Although it's also worth to mention that a couple of developers from the small team at Shiny Entertainment (Eric Flanuum and James Phinney) did come in from Blizzard.

In Sacrifice, player controls a wizard with a locked-on camera in third-person perspective. You run around vast maps in this wacky cartoonish world that fits pretty well with some other titles from Interplay or even Warcraft series itself, despite the grim atmosphere of a ruined world. As you might've noticed, this game has a lot of character: a crazy one, but in a good way. 

Giants: Citizen Kabuto.

From one game published by Interplay to another. I learned about this game thanks to one good guy I've met on Internet who expressed his desire to host a dedicated server for it as a part of his hobby. While I would say that Giants: Citizen Kabuto is a game in different genre (Third-Person Shooter), it still contains some elements of RTS that I think allow to fit it in this post somewhat organically. These elements consist of typical resource gathering and building your base. 

Nevertheless, gameplay focuses primarily on single character and action instead of managing your troops as that was the intent of Planet Moon Studios. Ironically enough, they originated from MDK's development team at Shiny Entertainment with the intent to create Giants. As far as I can tell, there were no ex-members of Blizzard Entertainment, but I wouldn't be surprised if I'm wrong.

Taken from GOG.

Not to mention that there're options for first-person view and even racing mode... Combinations of different genres can provide some interesting results and Giants: Citizen Kabuto appears to be one of those fortunate enough to deliver on that. While it might be not as strategic as Warcraft 3, this game deserves at least an honorable mention for its experimental and humorous nature.

Conclusion.

Sometimes you can just be fortunate enough to discover something truly unique. From an early version of classic title to a lesser known (but similarly interesting) RTS and TPS games, I hope you found this short dive into 1997-2001 as interesting as I am. Whenever you already knew everything mentioned here or that's something you've read about for the first time, it seems hard to not get some joy from it.

Would Warcraft 3 ended up being better if Blizzard stuck to this vision? Yes and no. While I don't think that it would have been as great of a game and influential overall as Reign of Chaos, getting this Warcraft Legends alongside it could've been awesome. But that's all just assumptions. Instead, we have three different titles that share something in common one way or another and that's for the best.

I hope that sparks enough of your interest to try out these games for the first time or return to them after a long time. Don't follow my example if you can and just go have some fun in your spare time.