<s>
Gratuitous	B-Application
Space	I-Application
Battles	I-Application
is	O
a	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
the	O
UK-based	O
company	O
Positech	O
Games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
sometimes	O
assumed	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
real-time	O
strategy	B-Application
(	O
RTS	O
)	O
game	O
based	O
on	O
screenshots	O
,	O
actual	O
gameplay	O
focuses	O
on	O
the	O
setup	O
prior	O
to	O
the	O
battle	O
,	O
making	O
it	O
play	O
more	O
like	O
a	O
tower	B-Application
defense	I-Application
game	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gratuitous	B-Application
Space	I-Application
Battles	I-Application
generally	O
received	O
favourable	O
reviews	O
upon	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gratuitous	B-Application
Space	I-Application
Battles	I-Application
challenges	O
players	O
with	O
defeating	O
opposing	O
space	O
fleets	O
through	O
careful	O
pre-battle	O
planning	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gratuitous	B-Application
Space	I-Application
Battles	I-Application
encourages	O
players	O
to	O
win	O
battles	O
using	O
as	O
few	O
resources	O
as	O
possible	O
by	O
awarding	O
honor	O
for	O
any	O
unspent	O
funds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
Gratuitous	B-Application
Space	I-Application
Battles	I-Application
consists	O
solely	O
of	O
combat	O
in	O
space	O
(	O
foregoing	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
other	O
elements	O
of	O
a	O
traditional	O
4X	B-Application
game	I-Application
)	O
,	O
it	O
gives	O
players	O
a	O
great	O
deal	O
of	O
flexibility	O
in	O
how	O
ships	O
are	O
designed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gratuitous	B-Application
Space	I-Application
Battles	I-Application
began	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
dictator	O
simulation	O
"	O
in	O
late	O
2008	O
when	O
Cliff	O
"	O
Cliffski	O
"	O
Harris	O
was	O
starting	O
on	O
his	O
next	O
game	O
after	O
Kudos	O
2	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
only	O
several	O
weeks	O
of	O
work	O
on	O
the	O
initial	O
concept	O
of	O
a	O
"	O
Virtual	O
Saddam	O
"	O
game	O
,	O
the	O
title	O
went	O
in	O
an	O
entirely	O
different	O
direction	O
and	O
instead	O
became	O
a	O
space	O
strategy	B-Application
game	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
was	O
constructed	O
by	O
Chris	O
Hildenbrand	O
,	O
a	O
UI	O
expert	O
,	O
leaving	O
Harris	O
to	O
do	O
his	O
own	O
special	O
effect	O
and	O
user	O
module	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
maximize	O
performance	O
and	O
minimize	O
texture	O
swapping	O
,	O
the	O
graphics	O
engine	O
was	O
an	O
entirely	O
new	O
DirectX	B-Application
9	I-Application
engine	O
that	O
was	O
custom-developed	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
