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Galcon

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Developer: Imitation Pickles Publisher: Imitation Pickles Genre: Strategy > Real-Time Strategy Released: Dec 08, 2006 Players: 12 Website Download Purchase

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With so many indie games available it's very easy to dismiss something with a cursory glance or a 30 second play of the demo. I try to avoid falling into that trap, but it is human nature. That's why I'm glad I'm reviewing this game as otherwise I might have passed it by as it doesn't make for the most compelling screenshots.

The developer has looked long and hard at 4X space sims like Master Of Orion and isolated the adrenalin packed end game, where giant space fleets clash in an orgy of destruction. There's no need to research technologies, make alliances, construct new ship designs, etc. All of this meat has been cut away. Thankfully the marrow of actual combat is rich in tactical game play and there is even a sprinkling of strategy.

So what are we left with? Organizing space fleets, selecting formations? Nope. Just click on one of your planets, mouse wheel a percentage of ships to take flight and then click on the destination. Once all the planets on screen are flying your colors you've won.

Surely there is more to it than that? No, there isn't. It takes seconds for the idea to sink in and then you're off. You can click and drag to select any number of planets, set the percentage of units to launch and then unleash hundreds of tiny vector arrowheads (iconic ships) to annihilate your neighbor.

Some definitions we need to be clear on:
▪ Tactics - the technique of deploying and directing troops in effective maneuvers against an enemy.
▪ Strategy - a plan of action designed to meet some particular goal that may contain a number of steps or sub-goals.

When a developer tries to abstract some complex idea into its absolute bare essentials we can often lose tactics, strategy and immersion. Galcon requires a great deal of tactical skill in wielding your ever-growing armada. Launch an attack, weakening your source planets and the enemy will counter attack, grab your fleet while still in flight and swing them around to hit his newly weakened planets while launching some reinforcements from your rear guard to bolster your defenses. Soon you'll have mesmerizing "seas" of ships flowing back and forth. In single player the strategy is too condensed, requiring only that you bolster your front line planets and select new conquests carefully to maximize resource potential. However, if you can get online with friends then team games add a new strategic layer as alliances are made and broken.

That something so simple could capture such strategy, tactics and speed is amazing. The problems begin to surface as a direct result of this simplicity and speed. Although there is a specific tutorial, the single player game is really just one big tutorial. Time to get online. Usually a game starts out with each player frantically grabbing planets before the field becomes evenly split. If you're unlucky someone will have a faster mouse hand a quicker eye, they'll have an immediate advantage in numbers and it will soon be all over. If you're lucky then all sides will reach balance and the play field will stabilize. Each side will send probing attacks at the other and as one-player gains the advantage another will help the victim drive them off and restore balance. Maintaining this equilibrium is very difficult and signals you have some evenly matched thoughtful players. In fact when a game isn't evenly matched players can get quite upset and express their frustrations with colorful language :). If you're lucky then you're in for a hyper condensed ten minute treat. Alternatively you could organize a lunchtime match with work friends and guarantee some good games. The speed of play makes it an ideal game for short breaks.

The developer refers to it as "arcade risk" which I think is a good description. It reminds me a great deal of that other wonderfully condensed battle game, Defcon. I think both titles suffer in the same way. Most of the fun is in the online play and this relies very heavily on the disposition of your opponents. I'm sure many people feel this way about all online games, but these are so fast there is little time to enjoy the preparation or the hard fought, drawn out war. The action kicks off in seconds (minutes with Defcon) and then after a blur of mouse clicks it's all over. I personally hardly ever won a match while playing Warcraft, Total Annihilation or Command & Conquer, but I did enjoy loosing a fair few ;).

One of the ways an online game community grows is through down time. This means time when you aren't actually doing anything in the game that can be spent chatting. Galcon is so fast paced that there just isn't a moment to take your eye off the ball and talk to someone. This is why I think the game works best for groups of friends playing over lunch. They already know each other. It's very difficult to form bonds with players and connect with them if you never speak to them.

The developer tries to help build recognition into the game using an online leader board ranking system. So even if you don't know your opponent you can gauge how good a player they are. He also organises regular tournaments. These are the main reasons to buy the game, as you only get a ranking if you pay. Normally I wouldn't comment on the standard $20 price, but this game is so fast and simple and the benefits of registering so slim, it seems like a $5 price just might have helped build a larger online player base.


Graphics
Functional, but nothing special, the only stand out moments are in the endgame where people are throwing around thousands of little arrowhead ship icons.

Sound
With the game being so functional in design there isn't really a lot of scope for sound effects, what's there is acceptable. I was inspired to turn the music off after 30secs.

Game play
It's very clever. It distils space ship battles into the simplest most abstract game possible while still retaining strategy and tactics (just).

Value
The single player game is really just a tutorial before you get online and I think there is a very narrow band of people who will manage to enjoy the experience. Either people with pre-existing friends to play with or those who are very lucky or persistent and manage to get into some good online matches. The tournaments help a lot though.

Concept
It's a very simple game that is well executed. I just kept wishing there was more to it, yet I'm not sure what else you could add without completely transforming the game into something else.

Fun
With the right people it's lots of fun. Shouldn't that mean it gets a plus? Maybe I don't have enough friends :).

Overall
If you're at work or school looking for something to fill a 10minute break then this could be ideal. There isn't enough depth to it for my tastes; although I can appreciate it's very well done. If you have friends to play with or are lucky enough to bump into the right people online then you'll have a lot of fun. I wonder if a $5 price tag would build a bigger more sustainable online player base?