Interview With Petroglyph On Upcoming Game Victory

A few days ago, indie developer Petroglyph announced Victory, a game currently making the rounds on Kickstarter. We were fortunate enough to get in touch with the creative team behind the game and ask them a few questions about Victory, its inspiration, and their plans moving forward.

Where did the inspiration to create this particular game come from?

We had several inspirations with Victory. First, we were inspired by old school tactical tabletop miniatures games, WWII games such as Flames of War and other war games. We wanted to encapsulate that collectible aspect and tactical gameplay in Victory. Secondly, we were inspired by the rapidly emerging genre of “Arena Games” such as League of Legends, World of Tanks, DOTA 2 and many others. We wanted to bring to that genre the kind of tactical gameplay and strategy that you would find in RTS games without making a traditional RTS.

Why did you decide on a WWII setting over any other?

WWII fits perfectly with the kind of gameplay that we wanted to create. It was a time of incredible innovation and epic conflicts, with huge numbers of troops, vehicles and weapons clashing over the entire globe - perfect for a team based war game with a wide variety of collectible units.

Victory is somewhat unique in that it isn't an RTS but rather an "action-strategy", nevertheless, do you think there's anything about this game that will appeal to RTS fans, or do you have a different audience in mind?

If you enjoy the tactical aspect of RTS games – the army control, positioning and battles – Victory will appeal to you. While it lacks traditional base building, the tactical gameplay has many similarities. We think anyone who likes RTS games will enjoy Victory.

Your game is described as what would happen if Starcraft, League of Legends and World of Tanks had a baby. What out of each of these games would you say is most recognisable within your own game?

We share several different aspects with each game. With World of Tanks, we share our philosophy of matchmaking and arena gameplay - fast matches with easy drop in and drop out play. From that and League of Legends we also share the collection aspect of the game - collecting a large number of cool and unique characters. Victory also has a similar team-based gameplay focus to LoL. Finally, our tactical combat draws a lot of inspiration from the micro of units in strategy games such as Starcraft II, Dawn of War and Company of Heroes.

Likewise, is there anything innovative your game has that no game before it has?

There are a few innovations in Victory. Firstly, no one has brought the kind of tactical, real time, squad based gameplay we feature to the realm of arena combat yet. If you like controlling a diverse, customized squad of units in a team based setting there isn’t really anything else out there. Another uniqueness to our game is the lack of respawn. While it may not sound like a feature, it greatly changes the dynamic compared to most games and makes tactical choices much more interesting. Players have to be cautious to avoid losing their forces, and it emphasizes the importance of picking good engagements. It also removes the ability to “outspend” your opponent – the better tactician wins, not the better manager.
Another innovative feature we have is actually our experience and leveling system. Unlike most games, we actually give players experience based on their participation in the match. Players will also receive experience for teamwork, such as responding to pings. A wide variety of different actions give different bonus experience to players, with the value depending on how useful they are to the team. Victory seeks to reward people who help their team win, even if not in a flashy way or obvious way such as killing enemy units.

Also, all three of the above-mentioned games have a strong, growing competitive scene spectated by fans all across the world. Do you think your game has the potential to be compelling for spectators to get into? And if so, do you have any plans to foster this aspect of the game in-house?

We believe Victory does have the potential to be a great spectator sport. The game has been designed from the beginning to support the possibility of eSports team play. We have plans to run tournaments and events to support the formation of a competitive community. We will also be dedicated to supporting players who wish to create their own competitive content.

It's said that your units get stronger after each match, as well as players earning in-game currency to buy new items. Are there any balance measures in place to keep this from being daunting to new players?

We have actually issued a correction on that line, as it originally lacked the necessary details to communicate the full feature. Units do not gain power after each match – as players play, they will earn new units and improve their companies. Companies will reach a max level and stop increasing, and units will not improve individually. Any given player’s units will be on equal footing. More experienced players do have the ability to bring more units, but matchmaking is designed to face players against opponents of their level so this should not affect new players.

If you don't get the pledge amount you need from kickstarter, do you have any other plans to get Victory out into the world?

With Victory we wanted to put a focus on the community, so Kickstarter is our preferred means of getting the funds we need. Since the campaign started, we have been contacted by publishers interested in the game and IP, so it’s possible that Victory will go forward if the Kickstarter campaign is not successful.

It's said that Victory is not a Free-to-Play game, any word on what sort of price range it'll be in when it's released?

We haven’t yet decided the price of the full retail version of the game. However, the prices on the kickstarter do represent a discount from the final price.

Assuming everything goes well, when can we expect to see Victory on shelves?

The beta version will be available later this year (likely the summer or fall), with the full game shortly after. Of course this is based on current planning, and things will change depending on the success of the campaign.