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Exclusive Goblin Commader Interview Feature

Chris Leyton

23/10/2003

From the creators of Starcraft and Warcraft comes a new console strategy title...

Goblin Commander: Unleash The Horde (Goblin) is an innovative action-strategy game for the next-generation consoles set in an epic fantasy universe. In Goblin Commander: Unleash The Horde, playersâ battle their way through the war-torn land of Ogriss, a world ruled by goblins. Spawned by the mighty wizard Fraziel, the goblins have fallen under a corrupt influence that now threatens the balance of power. Advancing through dark subterranean caves, lush woodland cities and towering storm-swept castles; the player wages war with an army of specialized goblin warriors and fearsome monsters to prevent the ultimate destruction of Ogriss.

Goblin offers a neat balance of action and strategy that many believe is only possible on the PC. In another in-depth focus, we spoke with Ron Millar, Lead Designer, to find out how console innovative this game can be and, as you will see, he discussed his answers with a great deal of knowledge and understanding.

TVG: What do you see as the main differences in terms of functionality and gameplay in creating a RTS for the console and is it a completely different mindset to creating a PC game?

I joined this team in March of 2002. I did so in part for the challenge of creating an RTS on the console. In my opinion this had not yet been done well. I was soon to realize that this was a much bigger challenge than even I had first anticipated. It took a lot of talented people many months of hard work implementing ideas and testing prototypes, which lead to the successful scrapping of two totally different games before one very long and fruitful meeting between a core group of us yielded the system from which Goblin Commander was born.

A key focus of the design was to ensure that the control was extremely intuitive and very much in line with what a console gamer would expect. There have been many attempts to create a RTS on the console, many of which have failed. I think this is in part due to the control schemes and in part due to trying to port the accepted PC idea of an RTS over to the console. Goblin Commander could not just be another failed attempt to bring the RTS genre to the console platforms, it had to be really fun to play, simple to control yet still contain that magic and depth that the other games Iâve worked on had.

As well as a good control scheme I believe part of getting that magic into a game that makes it addictive and fun is to really step back and think to yourself, what is going to be fun to do? Whatâs new and different? What would be cooler than just controlling a bunch of armies? Why make this game on a console if it could be done so much better on a PC? In order to address this and other nagging questions we set out to create not just another typical RTS but something very different than what has been seen before. I firmly believe this game will open the door to the possibility than an RTS style of game is not only possible on the consoles but also very much fun to play. I also hope it will expose a large number of people that primarily play console games to the world of action strategy and get them excited about it.

TVG: So what made it work?

Well, a number of things really but primarily, the clan system, the control scheme, direct control of units, the harvesting method, capturing structures, titans and runestones.

The game begins with you in control of a ghost like commander spirit that can navigate around the world. This is much of what the typical RTS gamer would expect. The commander can also possess or enter into goblins/titans to control them or enter owned structures to purchase things like units, upgrades, titans, turrets and runestones.

The clan system allows the player to control three small armies of ten goblins each. Each clan has five unit types from which they can create their clan. That is, you can build any combination of goblins you like from the five but you can only have 10 maximum in a clan. This may seem restrictive at first but I think you will find when you play it is the perfect amount of guys. Each clan is assigned a console button. When in commander mode, you can order a clan to a location. You can also jump into a clan and then press the other clan buttons to drop down waypoints for them. You can even double tap to have that clan follow you. This is also the case for Titans. All of the commands are displayed in a nice little help system in the upper right of the screen so you never lose track of what button to press. In commander mode you can also assign waypoints for a clan by holding a modifier button and then dropping waypoints down on the map. Release to send them on their way. With this system you can set up paths for the other clans and, once they are on their way, jump into a clan and directly control the attack.

The purchasing of units happens at clanshrines. There is one clanshrine per clan. The player enters into the shrine by pressing the âenterâ button on the gamepad. Once inside itâs a simple matter of moving the stick in the direction of the unit you wish to purchase and pressing âxâ. This instantly creates that unit outside the shrine. We scrapped the whole build time concept. The game is much more fast and furious than your typical RTS.

Somewhere down the line the idea for the Titans came about. These were giant monsters, one per clan, that could be used to help in battle as well as to harvest the land for resources by smashing the crap out of buildings and objects. Another idea that popped up almost from the start was the ability to directly control your Goblins. These two ideas were key in developing the gameplay backbone.

Many of us here enjoy playing Battlefield 1942 and other games that feature capturing locations or objects. It is for this reason the whole concept of capturing a flag found its way into our game. You need to capture soul fountains and other structures in order to harvest them or be able to use them. To capture something you need to clear out any enemy forces in the area and post friendly forces there for a short period of time.

Runestones are found out on the map by breaking structures, or by buying them at the alchemist shop. These magical stones contain battle spells, which you can cast whenever you like. Moonstones are another magical item that powers up your clan. These can be found out on the map or purchased at the observatory. These things help add more strategy to the game.

There are many more ideas that help make this the fun game that it is but hopefully this gives you some insight to the direction the functionality and gameplay that was taken in Goblin Commander. No one seems to really understand what makes this game so special until they sit down to play it. After a short period of time they begin to understand that this is not just another boring RTS on the console but truly a great action strategy game. Where else can you control a giant ogre that eats sheep and goblins to gain health?

TVG: Tell the readers a little about the world of Ogriss, what unique qualities it offers and that of the races/clans.

Ogriss is a fantasy world filled with amazing environments, ancient lore, fantastic creatures, magic and, of course, Goblins. I am a fan of building worlds around games. Weâve spent a good deal of time crafting Ogriss to be a place where many adventures can take place and the mysteries of its past are scattered around the landscape. The Goblins in this game are not indigenous to the land; a wizard created them to be his slaves, whose primary purpose is to ravage the land for its various resources in order to build a great machine. As the player begins the game, the Goblins are all still working to build this great machine but something goes wrong and Fraziel is killed. The Stonekrusher clan is blamed for this disaster since they work in and around the machine. As they roam the world trying to find out what happened they meet a lot of resistance from the other clans. Ultimately, the player ends up conquering the other clans and bringing them in under their wing.

TVG: What has been the main aspiration for this title and why Goblins?

Goblins are fun and mischievous creatures that seem to fit perfectly with the themes of war, magic and chaos. Much of the game was envisioned from the beginning with hordes of Goblins in mind. The thought of these small devilish beings moving around in packs, riding atop giant beasts or using war machines is something that drives our imagination and is a hotbed of ideas for creativity. I am also a big fan of fantasy and the fantastic and this game gets away from the typical, âThe good humans fighting against the evil monsters,â for example. There is also something to be said for playing the bad guy or the monsters. This is why I like games like Dungeon Keeper so much.

TVG: How is the game structured and what are the main and sub goal/s?

Since it is a war game the main goal most of the time is to wipe out the enemy or at least beat them into submission. To do this you must harvest resources and make choices about what to spend those resources on. This includes what types of Goblins to build your clans with, as well as what upgrades you want. Above and beyond that there are many tactical choices for defence and assault in any given battle. Many missions also feature the capturing of structures before assaulting the enemy base. To capture a structure the player must hold them for a period of time in order to move on in the mission. As well as simple deathmatch, the campaign features a number of special objectives for each mission such as to capture a number of points, locate an object or make it through a gauntlet. Many of these missions are wrapped into the story and give reason to the game.

TVG: What resources are on offer and how does the resource management work?

The resources are souls and gold. Each can be gained in a few different ways but the primary methods are killing Goblins and capturing soul fountains for souls and smashing objects for gold. Souls are used mainly to purchase Goblins and gold for upgrades and items. Sometimes gold and souls are used to unlock units, buy turrets or titans. Gold can also be used to repair or rebuild a damaged structure.

Something we all agreed on was that it was really kind of boring to send worker-like units to harvest gold mines, trees and the like. This was fun in the twenty other games weâve already played but we wanted something new and fun to do. Since this was to be an action-oriented console game and, in order to make harvesting more fun, we decided that the way to get gold was to smash up the environment. The first time someone gets a Stone Ogre and wanders around the map swinging his giant mace and sees the buildings break into pieces and fly apart or a batch of Stonekrusher miners smashing down building after building they will never want to send a peon to harvest ever again.

TVG: Can you elaborate a little on the gameâs units and has this been an area of focus for the team?

There are five clans in the game. Each one specializes in something. Stonekrusher â“ Melee, Hellfire â“ Ranged, Stormbringer â“ Weather Magic, and the other two youâll have to find out about from www.goblincommander.com as we announce them. There is also a five-way rock/scissors/paper system where one clan is good against another. Each clan comprises five goblins, one turret and one titan. Each clan has one basic melee unit and one ranged. After that they have two special units. Finally each clan has one support unit of which they can only build one. For example, the Hellfire clan specialises in ranged units. Their units are a Lumberjack - carries a big chainsaw and is good at melee, an Archer - basic ranged unit, a Hunter - a Goblin armed with a primitive gun good against troops at range, A Bomardier - a heavy ranged unit good against structures and a Scout - who increases the sight range out quite a bit. The Hellfire units are complemented by a Titan called a Warpigpult. This monster is a giant boar with a catapult strapped to its back. The catapult can be independently pointed from the direction the pig is facing and the player can flick the joystick to get different ranged shots. The Warpig also features a rock and a napalm shot. Finally each clan has a turret. The Hellfire clan features a nasty magnifying cannon that toasts the enemy goblins. Picture a magnifying glass and some ants on a hot dayâ¦

TVG: How important is advancing technology, âkick assâ as we have heard you say, and will there be any differences in formats?

There is definitely a desire to advance the technology and push the limits of the systems. Goblin Commander is definitely pushing the console systems to their limits in terms of graphics and gameplay. A PC version will not be made! I think once you play Goblin Commander, especially in multiplayer mode, you will see that we have created something innovative and you can bet that after just completing this game we are full of ideas for another. We are planning to expand to the online abilities of the console next year, though.

TVG: Finally, how important is the story to the game, and does it evolve throughout the game?

For this answer I refer you to our writer Chris 'Zirp' Zirpoliâ¦

The story is the vehicle that invites the player into the game's own unique universe. It has to be convincing, it has to be concise, it has to provide an environment that helps to intellectually heighten the gameplay experience, and vice versa. So, to me, every story is extremely important when creating a believable game. The story also helps to heighten drama, to create a sense of consequence to make time spent in the game world that much more rewarding and meaningful. Consequently, the story has to keep moving, it must evolve along with the player, complementing their own progression as they learn more and more about the game itself.

In GC, the player takes on the role of Grommel, the Commander of the Stonekrusher clan. Through the subsequent murder of their Master and Creator, we are thrust into a world of betrayal and deceit... of misunderstanding and full-scale war. As the experiences of Grommel and his clan unfold, the player is invited to witness the evolution of the Goblin race itself; to join in their metamorphosis from blissfully sheltered labourers to deadly hardened warriors that will stop at nothing to see that the justice owed to their people is served.