Realm of Rivals

Realm of Rivals is a game made by Tobi DeRuiter, Adam Rutledge, Ian McEwen, Grace Keeton, and Benson Tsai for our Computer Science senior design project at Purdue University.

Among turn based strategy games, the vast majority choose to focus either on large scale strategic warfare or small scale tactical battles. Realm of Rivals combines these by allowing players to move groups of units, called squads, across a large scale map, and then take control of these squads in the battles that occur when two or more opposing forces meet. Our game challenges players to think broadly about long term strategy, while also having the skill to bring their plans to fruition in close combat.

We want Realm of Rivals to redefine the gaming landscape by blending strategy and tactics into a single gaming experience. With the party-esque and board-game-like structure, we ensure the active participation of all players, a feature often overlooked by the solitary nature of tactics games. Inspired by Fire Emblem and Rimworld’s small-scale turn-based tactical battles and Sid Mier’s Civilizations’s large-scale strategic depth, we strike a balance by combining the best of both worlds. Unlike Fire Emblem’s restrictive tile based and turn based system, our game provides a more dynamic battlefield with real time tactics. Moreover, we address Sid Mier’s Civilizations’s limitations by introducing small scale tactical systems and eliminating pure probability-based fights. On top of this, an unexpected benefit to the real time tactical system is that it gives the game more of a party game feeling, giving the game a completely unique experience.