History Main / ColorCodedArmies

* ''VideoGame/{{Z}}'' and it's sequel ''Steel Soldiers'' sees red robots fighting blue robots. Everything you own is coloured red and anything neutral is grey.

->'''Sarge''': They must be trying to coax the bomb into rearming!\\
'''Grif''': Wait, why would they do that?\\
'''Sarge''': Because they're blue!

* ''VideoGame/DroneTactics'' takes this one UpToEleven. The player is red and their computer-controlled alies blue, enemies are grey if they belong to the EvilArmy and green if they're on a different team. And then there's the [[LevelGrinding Badlands]], where you can find the whole spectrum. Even [[RealMenWearPink pink]].

*** [[ExpansionPack Yuri's Revenge]] has the purple-colored "Yuri" faction - who uses a combination of both [[AllYourPowersCombined Allied and Soviet inspired designs]], [[MindControl as well as controlled their units, if against said unit's will]]. His structures were decidedly ambitious about incorporating gold, however.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Warzone 2100}}'', all units and structures are color-coded by player. In multiplayer, 8 colours are available (10 in the open-source project), while, in the campaign, the player's faction (the Project) is green by default, the [[StarterVillain New Paradigm]] gets yellow, the [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul Collective]] gets gray, and [[BigBad NEXUS]] gets [[DarkIsEvil black]]. The menu also allows the player to set the Project's colour to red, blue, cyan, or [[RealMenWearPink pink]].

* ''VideoGame/TotalWar'', especially ''[[VideoGame/RomeTotalWar Rome]]'', tend to do this quite heavily for a game based on reality. The Roman families especially get this, with the Julii being bright red, the Brutii being green, and the Scipii being blue, and the Senate being purple. However, it isn't just regulated to the Romans, as all factions have representative colors to easily identify them.

** ''2'' makes it [[RedBlackAndEvilAllOver red/black]] for the Terrans, yellow/blue for the NC, purple/teal for the Vanu and black/green for [[EliteArmy Black Ops]]. Taking a vehicle from another faction will cause the vehicle to change colour to reflect the new owners; a necessity in a game with FriendlyFire, and possibly justified with Vanu nanotechnology.
* The various ''{{Franchise/Dune}} video games have Atreides in blue, Harkonnen in red and Ordos in green. This is example would be less jarring if the novels didn't clearly state that Atreides' colours are red, green and black, and Harkonnen's white and blue, but since [[GoodColorsEvilColors good guys wear blue and bad guys red]] the devs felt they couldn't confuse players that way.

* ''VideoGame/OgreBattle64'' is like the ''Tactics'' examples above, with blue bits on the characters on the player's side being red on the enemies.

* [[VideoGame/CounterStrike Counter Strike: Global Offensive]] makes [[OrangeBlueContrast the counter-terrorists blue and the terrorists orange on overlays]].

** ''Beyond Earth'' keeps the fifth game's method, being built on the same engine. Perhaps confusingly, each Affinity a color can pursue ''genuinely'' color-codes its specialized and unique units (type I) -- Supremacy units, for instance, share orange-and-black color schemes, whereas Harmony has a blue-and-green that it shares with the alien life, and Purity is more red and gray. (The confusion comes into play when two factions with the same Affinity, or ''no'' Affinity, duke it out; their units are identical.)

* ''JeanneDArc'', with HP bars. Ally units' bars are blue, enemy unit bars are yellow.

* Starting with the sixth ''Fire Emblem'' game, there was some of this and some Color Coded Mooks. In battle animations, player-controlled characters had different individual colors, but enemies and [=NPC=]s were always red and green, respectively. After the sixth game, unique enemies (such as bosses) could also have individual colors. Up through the latest ''Fire Emblem'' game on the 3DS, however, all overview map sprites have been color coded except in ''Path of Radiance'' and ''Radiant Dawn''.

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/StarCraft http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_tauren_thumb1.png]]]]

In single-player games, the side controlled by the player [[GoodColorsEvilColors will be a "good" or "heroic" color, while the enemy side will be an "evil" color]]. Most commonly, these colors will be blue and red, respectively. (Green and red is usually avoided as it's the most common form of color blindness.) Although if there are more than two factions, green and yellow are usually the next colors to show up. This tradition goes back to the early 19th century when members of the newly founded Prussian Military Academy developed ''Kriegsspiel'', the first [[WarGaming tabletop wargame]] and predecessor of all modern [=RTS=] and turn based strategy video games. And since the Prussian Army had just adopted the new uniforms in ''Prussian Blue'', blue became the default color for allied troops and red the color of enemy troops, which may even have established the modern GoodColorsEvilColors.

In single-player games, the side controlled by the player [[GoodColorsEvilColors will be a "good" or "heroic" color, while the enemy side will be an "evil" color]]. Most commonly, these colors will be blue and red, respectively. (Green and red is usually avoided as it's the most common form of color blindness.) Although if there are more than two factions, green and yellow are usually the next colors to show up. This tradition goes back to the early 19th century when members of the newly founded Prussian Military Academy developed ''Kriegsspiel'', the first tabletop wargame and predecessor of all modern [=RTS=] and turn based strategy video games. And since the Prussian Army had just adopted the new uniforms in ''Prussian Blue'', blue became the default color for allied troops and red the color of enemy troops, which may even have established the modern GoodColorsEvilColors.

[[quoteright:260:[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a_med_1_628.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:260:Tip: If you ever find yourself sucked into a turn-based strategy game, ''[[RedShirt don't]] [[ColourCodedForYourConvenience wear red.]]'' ]]

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' is one of the tabletop games where players 'do' paint their pieces that uses this trope. While players can technically paint their army whatever colors they want, near universally armies will be painted, if not totally uniform, then at least in the VideoGame/TeamFortress2 example below. In fact, all Space Marine armies (largely considered to be the "default" or "starter" army for the game and the one almost everyone has played) explicitly rely on this trope, with all members having their armor entirely painted in their chapter specific color scheme to differentiate them from other space marines.

* ''Franchise/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' is one of the tabletop games where players 'do' paint their pieces that uses this trope. While players can technically paint their army whatever colors they want, near universally armies will be painted, if not totally uniform, then at least in the VideoGame/TeamFortress2 example below. In fact, all Space Marine armies (largely considered to be the "default" or "starter" army for the game and the one almost everyone has played) explicitly rely on this trope, with all members having their armor entirely painted in their chapter specific color scheme to differentiate them from other space marines.

-->--''Machinima/RedVsBlue''

* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III'' has several colours to pick from, but in the campaigns and official art, the Alliance and Night Elves are both blue (the official website for the game depicts the Night Elves as cyan, however), the Horde is red, and the Scourge is purple. While, to this day, blue is associated with the Alliance and red with the Horde, it lacks this connotation in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''.

* ''WorldOfTanks'' uses small icons above tanks as well as outlines when targeted. Red for enemies, green for allies. This is important because tanks of different nationalities (usually color coded as a Type I: grey for Germany, olive drab for USA, red-brown for Russia, blue for France) can be on the same team.

* In the early ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' games, allies are always blue, enemies red, and [=NPC=]s green. Some games have yellow in cases it needed another (usually initially neutral) NPC army. In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', [[spoiler:The Invaders/Vallite Army]] are colored purple.

* In ''BattleForWesnoth'', colored "carpets" under sprites are of player's color, while health and XP bars and movement orb are color-coded with their own meanings.

* Before the advent of rapid fire rifles and smokeless powder, it was more important for each side in a war to know what side every one else was on than staying hidden. Therefore every one wore brightly colored uniforms all the way up till UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne. Colors were specific to each country, e.g. in UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars, British and [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfHanover Hanoverian]] soldiers wore red (conveniently as they were allies and ruled by the same king), French and Prussians wore dark blue, Italians and Neapolitans wore white, Portuguese wore brown, Russians wore dark green, and the Spanish wore white and later dark blue. This is only true for line infantry, however, and there were countless variations for different arms of service and special units. For instance, as seen in ''Series/{{Sharpe}}'', British sharpshooters wore dark green.

* In the early ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' games, allies are always blue, enemies red, and [=NPC=]s green. Some games have yellow in cases it needed another (usually initially neutral) NPC army. In ''VideoGame/Fire EmblemFates'', [[spoiler:The Invaders/Vallite Army]] are colored purple.

* In the early ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' games, allies are always blue, enemies red, and [=NPC=]s green. Some games have yellow in cases it needed another (usually initially neutral) NPC army.

* The armies of the ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' games are each associated with a particular color. Wei is blue, Shu is green, Wu is red, Jin is cyan, Yellow Turbans are [[CaptainObvious yellow]], the Han is purple, the Nanman are orange, Yuan Shao is gold, and Lu Bu's forces are silver or black depending on installment. This overlaps with ColorCodedCharacters as the playable officers of each faction dress in the corresponding colors, bar extra costumes and a few betrayers.

* ''VideoGame/RedVsBlue'' has this. Non-main characters are, as the name might suggest, colored red and blue depending on their loyalties. The main characters are still color-coded, although not actually as simply as red and blue. The red team usually uses warm colors and the blue team usually uses cold colors, with the exception of [[spoiler: Grif's sister.]] Most of the freelancers have armor colors that are neither.

* In ''VideoGame/MAG'', SVER are orange/red, Raven are blue, and Valor are green.

* ''VideoGame/BattleIsle'' the first three instalments had all units painted in bright colours of their side, the fourth instalment Battle Isle: The Andosia War averts it tough, going with a mostly metallic grey appearance.

* ''Franchise/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' is one of the tabletop games where players 'do' paint their pieces that uses this trope. While players can technically paint their army whatever colors they want, near universally armies will be painted, if not totally uniform, then at least in the TeamFortress2 example below. In fact, all Space Marine armies (largely considered to be the "default" or "starter" army for the game and the one almost everyone has played) explicitly rely on this trope, with all members having their armor entirely painted in their chapter specific color scheme to differentiate them from other space marines.

* ''SamuraiWarriors''[=/=]''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' uses the blue-ally/red-enemy/yellow-other scheme for the HP bar and mini-map, and the clans themselves were further color coded. (For example, in ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'': Wei = Blue, Shu = Green, Wu = Red, Yellow Turbans = Yellow.)

** Averted during the American Civil War, especially early on, when persistent supply problems led to some battalions wearing whatever colors they could get their hands on. It wasn't unheard of for a unit of Union troops, say, who had picked up gray-colored coats somewhere, to be mistaken as an enemy and fired on by another Union force. While Union forces did eventually settle on dark blue for most of its soldiers, it remained a problem for the Confederates throughout the war as they lacked the industrial capacity to produce enough uniforms.