Strategy games and buildy games have huge thematic and community overlap

[RiotGearEpsilon]

I'm writing a paper for my Video Game Theory class, the topic therein being on the overlaps between the community of strategy gamers and build gamers. By 'build-game' I mean games that revolve around the creation of structures or simulations that function to some extent without player involvement - societies, usually.

The games themselves often overlap, as I'm sure you'll agree if you take a moment to consider, and so it seems likely to me that there are some significant overlaps between the communities centered around such games. So I turn to you, since I assume there are members of both communities abounding in here, and I ask:

Do you play strategy games? Which ones?

Do you play build games? Which ones?

If yes to both, which do you enjoy more: winning against an opponent, or producing a structure/sim that you love and thrives?

 

[RiotGearEpsilon]

You bet. It's what I got Civ IV for.

 

[Oddible]

Hey Riot, what program are you in? I just started the masters program at the school of interactive arts and tech at simon fraser in vancouver.

Video Game Theory!!! W00t!

Maybe I'll write my thesis on the effects of playing CIV for 12 hours a day for a week straight... hmmm.

Only... I just found out that I need an ethics board to approval all experimentation or polling that involves human subjects, and... that no Canadian ethics board will approve polling via U.S. internet servers because the U.S. judiciary has softened privacy legislation to a point where it is too easy for individuals, corporations and the govt to access useage data

So... why don't you make your question a poll on these forums with write-in answers?

Also, what about overlap games? Patrician / Port Royale

My Strategy / Build games are: Civ IV Warlords, Patrician / Port Royale II, Victoria (!!), Tropico (& II), Europa Universali II, Warcraft III/TFT / Starcraft

I have to say that I love being a builder in strategy games. I'm not so partial to SimCity / Railroad Tycoon though I've played them a little. I prefer to have the opportunity to kick down a rival now and then!

 

[RiotGearEpsilon]

Thanks, Oddible. I'm in the Comparative Media Studies program at MIT. My dad's Canadian, tho, for what that's worth.

The main reason I haven't made a poll is because this isn't really a statistical study. I'm trying to get a feel for the tenor of the community by really probing at it - and besides, forums make a Q&A format easy and fun.

My theory is that you can define strategy/buildy games as part of the same continuum - that ultimately, for the majority of players, the root enjoyment for the two genre's is the same. I can't provide proof of this thought at this stage, not yet, but I can see if I can find some anecdotal evidence for it.

Let's get to a more specific inquiry on your experiences. Tell me about the most recent strategy/buildy game experience that you enjoyed enough to want to brag about it.