[Interviewee - Julian Gollop]

Welcome to the first ever 4 color rebellion interview! The developer behind Rebel Star Tactical Command was cool enough to step away from his hectic game making schedule and answer a few questions. Follow the link for some great info on this awesome looking GBA strategy game being developed by Codo & published by Namco.

1. Could you briefly introduce yourself, company and position to our readers?

I am Julian Gollop, lead designer and managing director of Codo Technologies Ltd.

2. Can you tell us a bit about the game and explain it to someone who many have never played a strategy game like X-com before.

Rebelstar is a tactical roleplaying game in which the focus is very much on characters, their abilities and their equipment. There is a series of missions with a whole variety of objectives determined by an evolving story line. In each mission the player controls a small squad of characters, equipping them with a great variety of equipment and armour. The game system uses a sophisticated turn-based format where Action Points are used for all kinds of actions. Characters can move, shoot, throw, exchange equipment, pickup objects, open things, blow up walls, and so on. Once the player has used up the Action Points for his characters he ends his turn and the AI takes over and moves the enemy characters. A ‘line of sight’ system is used for spotting characters, so you can use walls and other terrain to hide from enemy view. The terrain is mostly destructible, with walls being reduced to rubble by explosives and other powerful weapons. Characters gain experience and can learn skills. These skills allow more weapons, equipment and techniques to be used.

The game uses an isometric style graphics engine, with an element of three-dimensionality. We can build quite elaborate maps for the missions. Characters can use low walls, and windows for partial cover during fire fights.

3. Can you give us a little background of the development team on the game?

We have been creating games for many years on many different formats, going back to the 8-bit home computer days. Our speciality has always been strategy games, and our most successful title was ‘X-Com :UFO Defense’, released on the PC many years ago. X-Com was really a big strategy game, but Rebelstar uses many of ideas and systems developed in X-Com, and even improves on some.

4. How many people are on the team and how is the team broken down (how many animators, programmers, etc.)

There are currently nine people working on the game full time. There are three core developers working on programming and design, four artists working on character sprites and animation, one artist working on the game environments, and one artist working on character concepts, portraits and backgrounds. We also have sound and music designers who have recently joined the project.

5. How is it working on the GBA? Do you feel more or less freedom than working on console games?

It’s a great console to work on, but it was not really designed for isometric graphics engines. We realised that we could just about do it within the machine’s hardware limitations, and it has worked out pretty well. Our engine is significantly different to the systems used in other strategy games. The constraints can be beneficial in some ways, because it forces us to concentrate on the game mechanics and features that really make a difference to the gaming experience.

6. With a new generation of handhelds out, do you think the GBA still has legs, or do you think most development teams will move to support the new systems?

I think the GBA will have some legs for a while, simply because there are so many of the machines out there. I am sure most developers would be eager to move on to the latest systems though. I hope the GBA isn’t abandoned so quickly, because there is still so much that could be achieved on the machine.

7. How long was the game in development?

Nine months core development, although some design work was done before full development was started.

8. Ok, down to some gritty details. How story driven is the game and how much of an influence will the player have in the overall story?

The game is certainly very story driven, although the player has a lot of flexibility in determining how to achieve the goals. The player has some influence on the story, but much more influence on character development.

9. How many characters can you have on a team? Similarly, how many weapons are in the game?

You can have up to twelve characters in a squad in any one mission, although there are quite a few more characters available throughout the game. There are around sixty different pieces of equipment in the game, but not all of those are weapons. The variety of equipment is quite impressive, with automatic weapons, sniper weapons, grenades, gas, smoke grenades, stun weapons, missile launchers, laser swords and many more.

10. Does the game allow you build your own bases or are you just defending ouposts that are already there?

There isn’t any base building in the game. The player advances on a strategic map across different locations, which are tied to different tactical environments.

11. In some of the screen shots I see a UFO/Turrent looking thing. Can the player use that?

Not in the single player campaign game, but they can be used in multiplayer games.

12. Multiplayer is great for games like this. How exactly will multiplayer be handled with this game?

The multiplayer aspect will work in ‘hotseat’ mode, with each player taking turns to perform actions with their characters. Players can choose a map, a race, the equipment and their characters before entering the battlefield. Progress in the campaign game will unlock characters, equipment and maps for use in multiplayer games.

13. Is the entire game set on earth or will there be more locales (ie Alien ships or homeworld)?

The game is almost entirely set on earth, but there are a few battles in alien space ships.

14. What do you do to keep from going insane during the long hours making the game?

It might be too late to do anything about that!

15. Any funny/interesting stories about crazy things happening while making the game? I remember staying up all night animating in college and we had some good times.

I made the foolish mistake of selling my house half way into the project without buying a new one. So technically I am homeless, until I finish the project and finally get some time to buy a new house. I won’t make that mistake again in a hurry.

16. Whats your favorite movie about aliens?

‘The Day the Earth Stood Still’ is still a favourite of mine, even though it is an old black and white movie. It had a shiny flying saucer and a really quite powerful robot with a stare that could kill.

17. Any ideas on your next project after wrapping up RebelStar?

Hmmm… buying a house. But after that, I don’t know.

Id like to thank Namco and of course to Julian for answering my questions. I cant wait to get my hands on this game in August. It sounds great and Im always up for a sweet strategy game. Especially one coming from such talented people.

Check out a few new screenshots too: