Chris Crawford on Game Design

Planning Moves

The actual planning of moves turned out to be easier than I had anticipated. Each tank planned its moves on a simple system based on an incremental approach. It merely asked, “Would I be better off in one of the six adjacent hexes than in the one I'm in right now?” If so, it moved to that adjacent hex; otherwise, it remained in place. This required a calculation of the “tactical value” of each hex, which in turn depended on a number of factors. Each factor gave the hex a point value:

• If the hex blocked the line of sight into itself, it earned 8 points.

• If the hex was easy to enter, it earned 2 points.

• If the hex was closer to the enemy, it earned 6 points.

• If the hex was further away from the enemy, it earned –6 points.

These simple ...