Phoenix Point – Julian Gollop Interview

Julian Gollop, the original creator of X-Com and the CEO of Snapshot Games, discusses his studio’s next major project, Phoenix Point, in this PC Gamer interview. During the interview, he talks about the game’s somewhat Lovecraftian setting, describes a few of its systems, mentions its robust faction mechanics and RPG elements, and more. Here’s an excerpt:

Gollop also wanted to bring back the feeling of dread and tension that permeated the X-COM series—of never knowing what horror lies around the next corner, or if your squad will make it out alive. “That was very much a part of the tension and excitement of the tactical battles,” he says. “In Phoenix Point, we have a mutation system that can generate hundreds of enemy variations, so you are never sure what you’re going to be facing.

“I also wanted to bring some of the RPG elements from the original X-COM to Phoenix Point,” Gollop continues. “That sense that you’re creating and nurturing a squad and carefully building them up to a force that’s going to save the world. We want the player to have to decide whether they’re going to risk their best soldier in a battle or save them for when things get tougher later.”

While the core of the game will be its tense, deep, strategic combat, story is also an important factor in Phoenix Point. But it’s more than just window dressing: it actively informs the flow of the game, and how you interact with the various parties in it: be they friend, foe or a bit of both.