Patton Versus Rommel
Encyclopedia
Patton vs. Rommel is a computer war game
designed and programmed by Chris Crawford
, and published by Electronic Arts
in 1987 for the Macintosh and PC systems. The PC version was adapted by Sculptured Software
, and a Commodore 64
version was also created.
EA wanted to work with him, but could not acquire the rights to sequel the game. Instead, they suggested he build on the tradition of his seminal Atari
title Eastern Front
.
Rather than create a derivative game on the Western Front, Crawford elected to focus the game's design on fog of war
and the personalities of American general George Patton and the German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
. In real life the two were never involved together in a major confrontation, as Rommel was wounded in 1944 and later forced to commit suicide (due to his association with the anti-Hitler conspirators of the July 20 plot
), before Patton had command in large-scale land operations. The game's AI
, however, worked to be true to the strategies of each of the two generals.
Patton vs. Rommel is set in and around the Normandy
beachhead
shortly after the D-Day
invasion of June, 1944. American
, Canadian and British
forces are placed in the correct positions as the Allied advance started to bog down. The German
forces of Rommel are likewise in place defending Caen
and other cities.
To win the game, the Allied player must advance farther and faster than the real-life Allied forces. For the Rommel-side player to win, he or she must defend more territory longer than the actual German defenders. If the German side can effectively counter and stall the Allied attacks and prevent a breakthrough, the Rommel player will usually win.
This creates a dynamic where the Patton player must look for a way to create a hole in the German lines wide enough to push one or more armored divisions through into the German rear area. Since almost all of the German forces are concentrated at the front, the principle of fog of war means that units that are not within sight of enemy units "disappear" from the game map – and from the thinking of the enemy. When they suddenly reappear in a surprise attack from the rear they have an overwhelming advantage over the units they are attacking. In this way an Allied player can roll up a major element of the German line and achieve a victory.
In real history the Allies eventually broke through and surrounded several German panzer
and infantry
divisions, which were decimated as they attempted to escape through the Falaise Gap. In the game this decisive victory requires practice and skill by the Allied player.
The game was very well-received by war game enthusiasts but never became popular in a wider marketplace. Computer Gaming World
described the game as "very playable", admiring its in-game advisors and simple movement scheme, even allowing units to queue actions that are remembered turn-to-turn.
One irony of the computer game industry is that the game was produced for EA by Don Daglow
. Only three years earlier Crawford had been a prominent game designer for Atari
during the early 1980s video game wars, while Daglow was Director of Game Development for its arch-rival Intellivision
. The pairing worked, and Daglow later underwrote a portion of the costs for the 1987 launch of Crawford's Journal of Computer Game Design, which was followed by Crawford founding the now-preeminent Game Developers Conference
.
Wargaming
A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...
designed and programmed by Chris Crawford
Chris Crawford (game designer)
Christopher Crawford is a computer game designer and writer noted for creating a number of important games in the 1980s, founding The Journal of Computer Game Design, and organizing the Computer Game Developers' Conference.- Biography :...
, and published by Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
in 1987 for the Macintosh and PC systems. The PC version was adapted by Sculptured Software
Sculptured Software
Sculptured Software Inc. was a late twentieth century video game developer in the Salt Lake City, Utah metropolitan area. They specialized in porting games to different platforms, especially from arcade games to home console games.-History:...
, and a Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
version was also created.
History
After the success of Crawford's game Balance of PowerBalance of Power (computer game)
Balance of Power is a computer strategy game of geopolitics during the Cold War, written by Chris Crawford and published in 1985. The game is notable for engaging the player in nail-biting brinkmanship without using any graphics more complicated than an outline map of the world.-Gameplay:The goal...
EA wanted to work with him, but could not acquire the rights to sequel the game. Instead, they suggested he build on the tradition of his seminal Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
title Eastern Front
Eastern Front (computer game)
Eastern Front is a computer game for the Atari 8-bit series created by Chris Crawford in 1981. Recreating the German invasion of Russia during World War II, Eastern Front covers the historical area of operations during the 1941–1942 period...
.
Rather than create a derivative game on the Western Front, Crawford elected to focus the game's design on fog of war
Fog of war
The fog of war is a term used to describe the uncertainty in situation awareness experienced by participants in military operations. The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding own capability, adversary capability, and adversary intent during an engagement, operation, or campaign...
and the personalities of American general George Patton and the German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
. In real life the two were never involved together in a major confrontation, as Rommel was wounded in 1944 and later forced to commit suicide (due to his association with the anti-Hitler conspirators of the July 20 plot
July 20 Plot
On 20 July 1944, an attempt was made to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of the Third Reich, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of several groups in the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi-led German government...
), before Patton had command in large-scale land operations. The game's AI
Ai
AI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:- Computers :* Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science* Ad impression, in online advertising* .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code for Anguilla...
, however, worked to be true to the strategies of each of the two generals.
Patton vs. Rommel is set in and around the Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
beachhead
Beachhead
Beachhead is a military term used to describe the line created when a unit reaches a beach, and begins to defend that area of beach, while other reinforcements help out, until a unit large enough to begin advancing has arrived. It is sometimes used interchangeably with Bridgehead and Lodgement...
shortly after the D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
invasion of June, 1944. American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canadian and British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
forces are placed in the correct positions as the Allied advance started to bog down. The German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
forces of Rommel are likewise in place defending Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
and other cities.
To win the game, the Allied player must advance farther and faster than the real-life Allied forces. For the Rommel-side player to win, he or she must defend more territory longer than the actual German defenders. If the German side can effectively counter and stall the Allied attacks and prevent a breakthrough, the Rommel player will usually win.
This creates a dynamic where the Patton player must look for a way to create a hole in the German lines wide enough to push one or more armored divisions through into the German rear area. Since almost all of the German forces are concentrated at the front, the principle of fog of war means that units that are not within sight of enemy units "disappear" from the game map – and from the thinking of the enemy. When they suddenly reappear in a surprise attack from the rear they have an overwhelming advantage over the units they are attacking. In this way an Allied player can roll up a major element of the German line and achieve a victory.
In real history the Allies eventually broke through and surrounded several German panzer
Panzer
A Panzer is a German language word that, when used as a noun, means "tank". When it is used as an adjective, it means either tank or "armoured" .- Etymology :...
and infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
divisions, which were decimated as they attempted to escape through the Falaise Gap. In the game this decisive victory requires practice and skill by the Allied player.
The game was very well-received by war game enthusiasts but never became popular in a wider marketplace. Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
described the game as "very playable", admiring its in-game advisors and simple movement scheme, even allowing units to queue actions that are remembered turn-to-turn.
One irony of the computer game industry is that the game was produced for EA by Don Daglow
Don Daglow
Don Daglow is an American computer game and video game designer, programmer and producer. He is best known for designing a series of pioneering simulation games and role-playing games, as well as the first computer baseball game and the first graphical MMORPG, all between 1971 and 1995...
. Only three years earlier Crawford had been a prominent game designer for Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
during the early 1980s video game wars, while Daglow was Director of Game Development for its arch-rival Intellivision
Intellivision
The Intellivision is a video game console released by Mattel in 1979. Development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the introduction of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. The word intellivision is a portmanteau of "intelligent television"...
. The pairing worked, and Daglow later underwrote a portion of the costs for the 1987 launch of Crawford's Journal of Computer Game Design, which was followed by Crawford founding the now-preeminent Game Developers Conference
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference is the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers, focusing on learning, inspiration, and networking...
.