The Real Time Strategy Game (RTS) Soldier: Full of Cliches

Touted as highly trained individuals of destruction, we gamers reduce the role of the common real time strategy game (RTS) soldier to mere cannon fodder. Mass produced, plentiful, with a lifespan of minutes and cheaply available, the RTS soldier is often the backbone of any RTS army and this article takes a look at the characteristics of this beloved unit.

From a fantasy warfare environment to a modern warfare one, the RTS soldier is literally the cheapest and most expendable unit in the game. Nobody thinks twice about sending these little, loyal soldiers to their doom. RTS soldiers are the first to be sent on reconnaissance missions, where their existence is forgotten until you hear their screams of pain and anguish as they are being shot, stabbed, burned, mauled, or trampled after they encounter the enemy.

They are also the first units you leave behind to cover a retreat, stalling the enemy with their lives while you're faster and more valuable units retreat to the safety of your base. If they are in trouble you often ignore them as the enemy picks them off at their leisure while they futilely scream and plea for help. After all, it is not cost effective to send reinforcements to rescue the common RTS soldier, or several of them for that matter.

Ah...but one must admire their immense loyalty. These little RTS soldiers are the most loyal soldiers ever as they never complain nor question your orders. If you tell a single soldier to charge a fortress guarded by cannons, land mines, and snipers, there is no hesitation in his voice. Simply a "Yes sir!" and off he goes...to his inevitable doom.

Likewise if you tell RTS soldiers to guard a valley they will never retreat, even if bombs, artillery, or the devil himself are all bearing down upon them. If you tell a RTS soldier to stand in front of a tank, he will blindly stand there, unwavering and never questioning your authority even as the tank treads grind his body to a bloody pulp. These soldiers live to follow your orders and their little hearts must swell with pride when you select them for a task. And they'll do their best to follow your orders no matter what the consequences are!