Ground of Aces
A Base Builder about World War 2 Airbases
Short Description
Ground of Aces puts you in the shoes of a commander on a remote British airbase during World War 2. You need to build infrastructure, care for your crew and make sure everyone is prepared for when they man their planes and head out on deadly missions.
Full Name: Ground of Aces
Made By: Blindflug Studios Ltd
Made For: Blindflug Studios Ltd
Platforms: PC, Mac
Roles in Project: Game Director, Project Manager, Lead Designer
Accolades
Background:
Ground of Aces started its life as “Squadron Leader”, the brainchild of Moritz Zumbühl. As a huge fan of base building games he realised that there hasnt yet been any base building game set in World War 2. Out of this the idea of a airplane base builder emerged. An intimate, zoomed in view onto a worldwide conflict. A game where you take care of people, but your objective is not to change or win the war, but to make it through with everyone.
Gameplay:
In Ground of Aces, you play a free-form-base-builder. This means you will lay down every wall and every bae built will be unique. Such games have been spearheaded by huge hits such as Prison Architect, Rimworld or Going Medievil. Your initial goal is to build up airbase capilibilities by building barracks, runways and parking spots for your planes. from there you have to manage your base with complex chains of logistics such as building materials, food, fuel or ammunition. You have to keep your morale high and your equipment in great shape, only then can your pilots fly sucessful missions and you will be able to fend of devastating base attacks.
Design:
The challenge in Ground of Aces was its unusual setting of an airbase. A lot of research went into how an RAF base was used: How did people live? Where did resources come from? How was morale managed? Were there any specific tools? All of these questions helped differentiate Ground of Aces into a games that really made it feel different from peers. Suddenly, building spacious was a benefit, since it minimised collateral damage during air attacks.