Fog of War: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

{{quote|''You glance through the mist obscuring the battlefield (there always seems to be mist on a battlefield -- some say it's to obscure the [[Leaning on the Fourth Wall|parts that haven't finished loading yet]], but you don't know what that means).''|''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]''}}

 

A feature of many [[Strategy Game|strategy games]] that keeps the player from seeing everything that happens on the game map by limiting his knowledge of "enemy" units and movements to those areas where he has (or has recently had) units of his own. Some games enhance the effect by having a "partial" fog over areas that the player's explored at least once, but without any units in range at the time to observe.

This exists in [[Real Life]], in the sense that you need to have someone or some sensor observing the enemy in order to actually know their whereabouts. However, generally when someone talks about the '''Fog of War''' they mean the sense of confusion created in one's mind when subjected to the chaos of combat. Usually they're talking about commanders making or trying to make decisions while sorting through the morass of time—late, conflicting, and rushed reports with limited time in which to act. The stress of getting shot at doesn't help.

 

{{examples}}

* A [[Real Life]] example and possible [[Trope Namer]]: [[wikipedia:Carl von Clausewitz|Carl von Clausewitz]], wrote in ''On War'' "The great uncertainty of all data in war is a peculiar difficulty, because all action must, to a certain extent, be planned in a mere twilight, which in addition not infrequently ? like the effect of a fog or moonshine -- gives to things exaggerated dimensions and unnatural appearance."

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Weather and Environment]]

[[Category:Strategy Game Tropes]]