Columns PC Gamer by Julian Gollop
Did you know that Julian Gollop has written four columns for us, including topics like the genesis of the deckbuilder genre? Find them all here (opens in new tab).
X-COM: UFO Defense, known here in the UK as UFO: Enemy Unknown, is an integral part of PC gaming history. It was part of the MicroProse glory days of the mid-’90s, when groundbreaking strategy games were spat out at incredible speed. It spawned sequels, dubious spin-offs, and multiple sequels, spiritually and otherwise. It’s an impressive legacy, and for creator Julian Gollop, the X-COM itch “never goes away.”
While the X-COM/XCOM series is now 10 games deep, Gollop was solely responsible for the original and Apocalypse, the third game. Of course, none of them would have existed without him, his brother Nick and the small team of artists who built the game that started it all. And now you can’t launch a store like Steam or Epic without seeing a myriad of turn-based strategy and tactics, many of which are capitalizing on the success of Firaxis’ XCOM.
“XCOM was basically a triple-A turn-based tactics game that was immensely popular, and I think that kind of broke the perception of turn-based games as something old-fashioned and unappealing,” Gollop says. “So I owe a lot to Firaxis for that.”
Gollop also points out all the interesting turn-based tactical RPGs that keep appearing, especially ones that draw on table games, such as Wildermyth and Gloomhaven. With this greater overlap between tabletop and digital, and so many more people getting into board games, there’s an incredible amount of diversity, both in terms of the audience and the games themselves.
A quarter of a century after X-COM, Gollop and Snapshot Games released a spiritual successor: Phoenix Point. Like UFO Defense, the battle between humans and aliens can be a grueling conflict, but one with story, factions and wider strategic conflict influenced by Gollop’s love of tabletop gaming. And now Snapshot calls it complete, with the Phoenix Point: Full Edition available now, accompanied by DLC and Steam Workshop support. But does this final version match his vision for an X-COM succession?
The original vision was to not only recreate an X-COM style game, but also to bring something new to the table.
Julian Gollop
“Yes, it is,” says Gollop. “But it expanded a bit further as we explored some interesting options with the DLCs. It’s the most in-depth and detailed tactical squad-based game out there. And it could stay that way for a long time to come. immensely proud of what we’ve accomplished with it. And it was incredibly ambitious. I mean, the original vision was not just to recreate an X-COM style game, but to bring something new to the table in the sense of how the world is displayed, the faction interactions, the story elements and so on.”
However, part of that ambitious vision initially caused problems, such as the evolving alien threat that responded to player actions. “It worked more or less according to plan,” Gollop says, “but the players didn’t really see it clearly, or it felt a bit too random. One of our first complaints was spikes in trouble, as the aliens had evolved into a appendix, which was quite dangerous for the player, and they started using it because it was effective. So in a way you could say it was a bit too good. So we had to try to tone it down so that the alien progression is a bit more gradual.”
There were also groups of players with very different expectations. Much of the presentation and systems were reminiscent of Firaxis’ XCOM, which is by no means a walk in the park, but it’s considerably more accessible and less brutal than its predecessor. So players coming out of that game weren’t prepared for the ass kick they were going to get.
“It’s very hard to get it right the first time,” Gollop says. And I must confess, we probably didn’t in this regard, in terms of the difficulty of the game. Since Phoenix Point is less structured in its progression than, say, modern XCOM, it makes it even more difficult. On the one hand, we want the player to discover and experiment with things, and different things happen when they do different things. But on the other hand, we don’t want to overwhelm the player and make him feel cheated. The game has unfair advantages, it just doesn’t feel fair. So yes, it’s a tough balancing act. And we’ve made so many changes along the way to try to address that. And I think the game is in a much better place.”
It’s very hard to get it right the first time.
Julian Gollop
One thing that became clear from the feedback is that, in addition to the hardcore players who are hungry for a challenge, “there is probably a larger group of players who are more looking for an experience, experience the story or experience character development” . RPGs and strategy games have long had a close relationship, but it’s now even more apparent, and certain RPG pillars are increasingly expected to appear in squad-based tactics games as well.
With the future of Phoenix Point in the mud, Snapshot Games moves on, but what Gollop doesn’t say. While the X-COM itch never goes away, that’s no guarantee we’ll see yet another piece of alien-hunting squadron-based tactics. “We’re going to do different things,” he says.
One thing that is clear is that he is still passionate about table games and the digital games they inspire. He’s written about deck builders before, actually for PC Gamer (opens in new tab), and remains a fan. “It’s pretty fashionable right now,” he says. “And I think that’s great, because I really like Slay the Spire and I like Dominion – I like that style of play. I also find it really interesting that mechanics developed in board games carry over into video games and become popular again.” Because still, the board game space is definitely the most innovative space in terms of really pure game design. And the fact that now, to some degree, there are a lot of video games that follow the innovations of the board game space is pretty cool .”
While he’s hesitant to act like an oracle and make big predictions about video game trends, he expects deckbuilders to be around for a long time to come. “They will be a permanent part of the gamescape.” And while this doesn’t mean we should expect Snapshot to develop a deck builder, the symmetry of both Firaxis—with Midnight Suns (opens in new tab)– and Gollop working on deck builders is very attractive.
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