EndWar Developer Interview

24 Sep 2008 at 11:37:44 by

Some people may like a good RTS, and there are others who'd prefer a bit of time playing a strategic board game, such as RISK, or Stratego.

But how does one transfer these epic board games to the digital age and give wannabe commanders a platform to work from, and a live battle front to swell their chests at.

We know EndWar will do that, and so we decided to speak to the developers behind the game to see where they've drawn their influences and how the game will work.

1. Where did you get the idea to create a massive, destructible, interactive gaming world that players across the globe could join?

Ubisoft wanted to expand the Tom Clancy franchise and bring strategy gaming to consoles. At that time they looked to who did massive battles best, and the person they found was Michael de Plater, one of the key developers behind the outstanding Total War series. At the same time, dev team members were brought in from various Clancy franchises, such as the Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter series. The collaboration between all the team members combined with the goals defined by Ubisoft led to what EndWar is today.


2. It must be one of the biggest and most ambitious projects you’ve undertaken. How long has it taken, from conception to completion?

EndWar has taken about four years to develop.


3. How important is the storyline? Does the storyline drive the game, or is it secondary to the gameplay? That is, do you really need to know what’s happening within the story to play the game?

EndWar's story experience has two phases. First up is a nine-mission single-player "Prelude to War," where you switch sides mission to mission, get to know what equipment and tactics each faction has to offer, and directly participate in the events that cause World War 3 to erupt. Then, for the second phase, you choose which faction you want to play, and from that point the story emerges from your actions, as you write the unique war story of your military career in World War 3. Expect grudge matches with enemy commanders, and the grief of seeing your favorite unit obliterated making a heroic last stand. It's up to you to lead your battalion to glory (or at least survival) and carry your faction to victory on the battlefields of 2020.


4. We know that the game is broken into factions, we also know that there will be a frontline that updates every 24 hours. How complicated is something like that to implement? How will players be able to see where and how they’ve effected the position of the frontline?

It wasn’t easy putting all this together, there were a number of technological and design hurdles, but Ubisoft understood that this would be a very ambitious title. As a result, the team was given an unprecedented level of support. Players will be able to see the battle lines of WWIII shift according to their actions both online and in the game.


5. What do you think makes a game like this successful? Is it the fact that the world is completely destructible, is it the ease of game play, or is it something that can’t be described?

Things like a destructible world and ease of game play can help influence people to try your game, but at the end of the day it’s good old-fashioned fun that will dictate whether or not it’s a success. We believe that EndWar is a blast and is accessible to both veteran and rookie strategy gamers. Hopefully, this combination of fun and accessibility will ensure a good future for EndWar.

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