Phoenix Point – Julian Gollop Interview

In his interview with GamingBolt, Snapshot Games’ Julian Gollop talks about how Phoenix Point will offer an ever-evolving challenge by having its aliens adapt to the player’s tactics on the fly. He also mentions the game’s story, player classes, and boss fights. Check it out:

The idea of enemies evolving their own tactics against the player’s tactics sounds very cool, but also terrifying. Would this mechanic make the game a bit too difficult for some players?

No, because there is a fair amount of randomness involved in the alien adaptation – at least in the early stages of the game. The player has other advantages, specifically technological advances and domination of the skies.

There seems to be great emphasis on a story shrouded in mystery. What can you tell us about the narrative in the game?

I can’t say too much without revealing the story, but suffice it to say that it has a strong Lovecraftian theme. There is a lot of backstory about the Phoenix Project having researching a similar outbreak in earth’s prehistory, and how this might be used against the current threat.

What inspired the idea of procedurally generated enemies? Is there also a level of scripting involved to ensure that each encounter remains unique and distinctive?

Procedurally generated enemies gives each play through and each player style a different challenge. There isn’t any scripting to ensure each encounter is unique and distinctive, we just make it highly likely that they will be and the games systems take care of it.

Can you tell us a bit about the different classes we can expect to see in the game?

Each human faction has some unique technology and soldier class in the game. For New Jericho they have a powerful heavy infantry with strong armour and multiple weapons systems. They also have a technician class with neurally connected robotic arms that can fulfill a number of support functions. Disciples of Anu have a beast handler than controls specially bred mutant creatures called mutogs. Synedrion have the most advanced tech, but they use it mostly for defence or infiltration, and their infiltrator class is both stealthy and deadly.

Important to note that by the looks of it, the interview was conducted a while ago, as it has recently been revealed that Phoenix Point will get an Xbox One release as well.