That said, I do want to incorperate specifics which parallel the generel flow and ebs of the war. Right now, I'm focusing on several specific campaigns from the beginning of the war -
- Fall Weiss ("Case White") - 1 September, 1939
- Fall Gelb ("Case Yellow") - 10 May, 1940
- Betrieb Barbarossa ("Operation Barbarossa") - 22 June, 1941
These three campaigns represent, to me, the establishment of the "Empire", being the literal translation of Reich, since I want to establish that my history is not historical. Another idea I'm playing with is flipping all of the maps upside down -
(Germany and Surrounding States)
The problem I'm encountering is, I suck at writing history. My strategy at this point is to approach it top-down, and realistically. The game will follow the story of several tank commanders in a division, probably three, two male, one attractive female as they're deployed. They're just three people (for the most part, eventually you'll be able to command a larger force) and don't represent a decisive power with respect to the war.
With this in mind, I first need to decide the actual path the war will take, and what will happen. One problem with this is idea of "player victory! yet loss" which inevitably will occur if the players remain loyal to the Empire and I to history. At the same time, I do want the Empire to lose (because they're NAZIS OMG).
This, I think, can be accomplished with several narrative tactics. I'm still working it all out, but its coming along. I think.
Additionally, focusing on the storyline of a small group of friends will allow me to address the "Emotion" theme within the RTS genre. Expect much discussion of the validity of the Empire's military actions (invasion of Poland? right. Underestimation of Soviet forces? ownt!) as the situations worsen on the Eastern front (especially, historically, after Operation Typhoon, a last ditch attempt to capture Moscow in the winter).
