Game Producer Mark Brown talks about bringing Shogun Empires to the DS
By Michael Lafferty and Louis Bedigian

“I certainly hope to see more of these types of games on the DS”

One brother takes the path of diplomacy. The other believes in resolving issues with his sword and adheres to the path of warmonger. With their father, the reigning shogun of Japan, on the verge of relinquishing his power, the two brothers lock horns in a conflict to replace him

This is the world of Real Time Conflict: Shogun Empires, a Namco title that uses real-time combat in strategic settings across the island of Japan. Oh, and the game is only available on the Nintendo DS.

What? An RTS with depth and on a handheld? During a conference call on Thursday, Shogun Empires producer Mark Brown discussed the game and the evolution of genre onto the handheld system.

“When the DS came out we thought it would be a great thing to try some new things with the hardware,” he said. “We designed the game around the touchscreen action. … It was quite a challenging thing to squeeze all that into handheld hardware.”

Challenging? In what way? Well, let’s see – 30 characters per player onscreen (15 AI and 15 controllable), four character classes, wireless head-to-head play, a mini map overview on one screen and a real-time battlefield using the DS touchscreen capabilities on another – and the ability to swap map and battleground easily.

As for the game’s basic structure, it begins with an overview of Japan, divided into provinces. In the campaign mode, players have to control all the provinces simultaneously to win the game. But how you progress through the game depends on the character you choose to play.

“The sons have polar-opposite ideas,” Brown said. “The player has ability to choose between two campaigns” which are rather different ways to progress through the game.”

“On the broad view, you have a map of Japan which shows provinces,” Brown said. “Once you get into a province and encounter an enemy, you have choices which route to take. You can go into combat, and the mini games may be capture the flag or total annihilation.”

The mini games are more action oriented, like a castle siege, or hunting down an enemy general as part of the mission.

Brown was asked what multiplayer modes are available. (And yes, wireless is supported.)

“There is two-player versus mode that allows two players to control up to 30 characters on screen simultaneously. You have one playing each brother in the conquest mode, trying to take over the entire island.”

When it came to the dual screens “we tried to make it as easy as possible to manage,” Brown said. “On the bottom you have the game in 3D and the top has the mini map, but you can switch positions.”

Much like a PC’s drag-and-drop technology, in Shogun Empires, players have the option to “touch and drag; you can touch an area that is unoccupied and soldiers will march to that area and await orders. Or touch enemy troops and your troops will march over and attack the other guys.”

There are four types of units in the game – spearmen, swordsmen, archers and warlords. “Warlords are the type of character that can get you out of a bind at times. But if your warlord gets killed, the entire game is lost,” Brown said.

The units themselves play off the rock-paper-scissors model, each with strengths and weaknesses that will make players consider which units to send against opposing forces.

“That, along with the obstacles in the terrain, provide a lot of different opportunity for tactics,” Brown said.

While most of the game is controlled with the touchscreen, the buttons can be used for very simple functions and the controls have also been configured so that they can be set up for either a left-handed or right-handed player.

Resource management has been simplified and relies more on the spoils of war element than any other. There is no hidden content, per se, but there are unexpected elements that are dropped into the game.  

“I wouldn’t consider anything hidden, but there are things that show up unexpectedly, like the ninja assassination,” Brown said. Players can hire a ninja to assassinate a certain individual within a province and the ninja will meld into the shadows and strike at the time when it feels it is ready, which can be somewhat unexpected. Ship battles may also have unexpected events.

The game uses more 3D-graphical elements than many other DS games, both in the mini map and on the main battlefield map. Players will also be afforded the opportunity to speed through combat and simulate the outcome.

Can toggle troops quickly. Mini map on top gives overview and keeps you informed what is happening with your various troops.

Brown was asked if he had any tips to offer gamers.

“Using archers in position and efficiently is an important thing to do,” he said. “Setting up ambushes is something that is possible; create a bottleneck for the enemy to set them up; effectively using the three types of troops against each other is important.”

While the average campaign should take 6-8 hours in a normal game, the maps are randomized, so players will not have the same experience two times in a row.

Shogun Empires is somewhat of a new experience for DS users, but Brown seems to think that this title will open the door for more RTS titles.

”I certainly hope to see more of these types of games on the DS,” he said. “I think the platform lends itself to that type of gameplay.”

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