Excellent article mgdpublic!
I haven't seen such a great read since back in the olden days of AoC when we use to discuss game theory.
Game theory absolutely rocks!
Some great points in there about exploiting the game to find its true potential and design. The funny thing is, is that minor game bugs that are counterable on the highest levels get exploited by mid level players making the game very unfun for the majority of players.
And hence the dilemma to the developers (for pc games at least) is:
Do they patch it for the majority even though on the highest levels it's not broken?
or what about the opposite? Should a game be patched to balanced higher level bugs that the majority will never be able to use or notice?
and my final question: Is high level play really all that cryptic with recorded games becoming the norm for rts tournaments? Can a player be knowledgable about higher level tactics and counters, yet unable to achieve them for various reasons?
I think playing to improve is great (it's the main reason I play) but everyone reaches a dropoff in the learning curve. And after that other factors settle in such as gametime and speed limitations. Then playing to improve can become a lesson in patience or frustration, whichever way you look at it.
thanks again for the link, everyone should read this article!
I shall not fear, for fear is the mind-killer