Simple Article: Getting into 4X Games

By Ho Qingxiang

Are 4X Games only for Hardcore players?

When players think of 4X strategy games, most would think of game franchises like Civilisation, Stellaris, Age of Wonders and Distant Worlds. These games are defined by big world maps with layers upon layers of UI, text and numbers. Players usually play from a god’s eye view and make calculated decisions to build a long-lasting empire through upgrades. Players have to constantly react to random scenarios and improvise their path of progression, otherwise they would face embarrassing failure or defeat.

In addition, players need a big upfront time commitment to learn these games. Every action taken by players leads to a vast number of calculations that happen behind the scenes, making every decision a tense mental exercise similar to playing chess. This can be overwhelming for players who only want easy-going entertainment. As a result, 4X games are often viewed to be played solely by intellectual masters.

Due to this perception, 4X games have remained a niche genre, similar to fighting games. Committed players to the genre, who mostly belong to an older generation, often only play a single franchise and are harsh critics of unconventional designs that break away from the standardised mould.

In response, developers opted to stick to a specific formula of mechanics in order to guarantee a return on investment for their games. This has caused 4X games to have little relevance over the last several years. New 4X games are very similar to old ones with the exception of a few gimmicks that generate little excitement for younger players.

Are weird ideas for 4X games a bad thing? What can developers do in terms of design to attract a new generation of players without alienating the existing player base?

Most 4X games look very overwhelming with their complex UI. They also play very similar to one another.

What is the essence of 4X Games?

The sequence of events that gives the 4X genre its namesake refers to 4 core components of gameplay: Explore, Expand, Exploit and Exterminate. In these games, you explore the world or environment, expand your territory of influence, exploit the resources found and build power to conquer adversaries. These actions are often performed on the macro level, with players fiddling around with activities that affect technological, economical, governing and offensive progression.

In the beginning, a mystery pulls you in, and as you discover new things to interact with and learn, you form points of information that you want to connect in order to make impactful decisions that influence your story of conquest. The developer creates a sandbox of scenarios, the players decide on how to navigate through these scenarios, and a series of outcomes in the form of new challenges are laid out for the players to make new decisions. This player driven narrative is what contributes to the “one more turn” meme of 4X games.

Regarding the type of players who enjoy 4X games, they tend to be people who are open to new experiences while being slightly conscientious and disagreeable. They want to feel in control and dislike being overly lost or hopeless. They desire experimentation and efficiency. They rely on their instincts and do not like to blindly follow instructions. They deeply enjoy the rush of beating the odds when challenges are stacked up against them, and are strongly gratified when they solve a puzzle in a variety of ways. They only want to know enough so that they can make cool decisions and affect the world in order to enjoy the game. They do not like unused or pointless upgrades. They look forward to surprises, but hate unpredictable randomness caused by unclear feedback. They also detest bugs that ruin the immersion of the game.

To fans of 4X games, the gameplay loop can be very addictive. (Comic: By Mart Virkus from Arcade Rage).

Games bordering the 4X Genre

Based on the player profile of 4X games and the characteristics of 4X games, there are a few types of games that share similar qualities. These are games that make players operate on the macro level. They tend to be like puzzle games where player actions revolve around planning rather than quick reflexes. However, unlike conventional puzzle games where the focus is in discovering the solutions, these games focus on inventing a solution instead.

Construction simulation games like Infinifactory and Factorio embodies the 4X components in a different way. For these games, exploration is more about discovering the functions of the construction tools, expansion is more about putting together and upgrading tools, exploitation is more about finding different combinations of tools, and extermination is more about trying new ways to make processes more efficient to beat earlier calculations.

City simulation games like Sim City and Surviving Mars are like taking one planet or one city in a 4X game and making it deeper with logistics and citizens, but less complex by minimising politics and war scenarios. For these games, exploration is simplified by usually having the whole map revealed to players, expansion of the city is highly emphasised , exploitation is needed to upgrade the city, and extermination is reserved to tackling natural disasters rather than enemy troops.

Real-time strategy games like Starcraft and Age of Empires are less macro than 4X games because you control individual units, but they use many of the same components. For these games, exploration is needed to discover new resources and enemy positions on the map, expansion is needed to build a strong base of operations, exploitation is needed to upgrade skills of units and buildings, and extermination is placed on a tense timer where small mistakes can lead to defeat by opponents.

4X games fit within the bigger group of strategy games. Many strategy games share similar mechanics.

The Criteria of 4X Games

While the application of 4X is open to interpretation, players of 4X games have certain expectations that cannot be absent.

Firstly, other than having macro level control of a large-scale map, a core interest of players is in leading a distinct and sovereign faction with unique characteristics against other factions. Secondly, the map should be procedurally generated and hidden from view until the players uncover parts of the map one step at a time. Thirdly, players start from controlling a small space on the map and proceed to grow their territory by establishing new bases of operations or assimilating others. Fourthly, players manage resources and invest in upgrades to become stronger and more efficient. Fifthly, players engage in strategic warfare or trade with other factions. Lastly, players compete with other factions to reach a point of dominion using turns rather than real time.

Without having most of these features, it would be difficult for a game to be recognised by players as being in the 4X family.

Supporters of 4X games can be very particular about what needs to be included as features in order to qualify as 4X.

Can 4X Games be made Fresh again?

Generally, it is advisable to design games for a specific audience rather than dilute the game design to fit more players. Meaning, since players of 4X games are observed to be more hardcore, 4X games must be designed according to a specific template of complex mechanics. However, this has put 4X games in the same dilemma as fighting games and open-world games. Newer 4X games function and play the same as older 4X games, and they fail to attract newer players due to their complexity and lack of variety. In the same way that Super Smash Bros and Elden Ring revitalised the fighting game format and open-world format accordingly, something new needs to be done to help 4X games make an impact.

One of the best places to start is with the story and theme. We as humans love a good narrative and can be easily attracted to stories that resonate with our modern experiences. The problem with story in 4X games is its uniformity. Due to the criteria of building an empire, 4X games usually are slight variations of sci-fi soap dramas, fictional takes on real-world history and magical high fantasies. Furthermore, it is almost impossible to make a linear epic storyline for 4X games because of its open-ended nature. The best approach to innovate on story for 4X games is to focus on lore or world-building rather than a multi-branching narrative with protagonists. This world-building can be influenced by themes that are less serious and not related to sci-fi or high fantasy such as music, food, fairytales or insects.

The other area to look at is developing mysteries as objectives. Similar to games like No Man’s Sky and Dark Souls, part of the joy in exploring and expanding in 4X games can be linked to the investigation of deep unknowns of the world. These mysteries can be found in untameable areas of the map and can hold significant value to fight over for, sort of akin to the holy city of Jerusalem on Earth. Random world-changing scenarios can pop out of these mystery areas even in late game, making these places an eternal point of attention for players. Furthermore, these mysteries can be packaged as hands-on tutorials to help teach the players new ideas in bite-sized increments to avoid dumping too much information at once. When paired with loads of small lore elements to discover, these mysteries would form fertile ground for lore theorists to create greater stories and for community engagement to be retained in the process.

Another potential means of innovation can be in adding various game modes into the core gameplay without diluting the main criteria. This can attract fans of those game modes to give the 4X game a try. For example, to attract RPG players, the game can have a character building system that allows players to nurture and customise a lineage of leaders or heroes for their empire. To attract puzzle enthusiasts, the game can add puzzle elements for productivity and efficiency in its resource gathering and technological progression. To attract tactics lovers, the game can include procedurally-created battle maps for more micro-level strategy combat. Such hybrid game modes can help to keep the gameplay as diverse as possible and to offer players additional activities in addition to the traditional 4X gameplay.

Mobile games claiming to be 4X with hybrid designs have been gaining popularity amongst less hardcore players.

Looking towards Indies for Change

Due to their predisposed nature, 4X players can be hard to please. They can obsess over the details and rage over a fairly well-made 4X game just because the game does not have a certain feature that another game has. Tempering player expectations is the most difficult challenge that developers of these games will face. This causes developers to meekly follow the format of previously successful games without changing the formula to avoid the hassle. When big budgets are thrown into the mix for big developers, they are incentivised to play safe and not invest in any innovation.

For smaller indie developers, there is more leeway for them to experiment with new ideas, but it can be tough for them to reach out to a larger audience. Additionally, 4X games are incredibly difficult to make. From balancing mechanics to creating reciprocal AI, there is a lot of development that goes into these games that can be overwhelming. Yet, the indie space remains the best chance for developers to do interesting hybrids instead of rehashing old designs, and 4X players who want their genre to flourish must reconcile with this fact.

Mixing elements from different genres can make 4X games more attractive for new player demographics and player persona types. This can also involve integrating the tutorial formats of other genres to make these complex games easier to teach and learn. That said, different markets have different tastes, so developers must have thorough understanding of their hybrid concept’s target market potential in order to ensure an optimal success.