about 2 months
ago -
Frost Giant Studios
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5s | [Music] |
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20s | stormgate is directly inspired by the |
23s | legacy of Blizzard RTS games in |
25s | particular we have been inspired by |
27s | Warcraft and Starcraft and wanting to |
29s | extend and continue that Legacy in |
31s | stormgate we're really looking at that |
33s | core RTS experience we're really trying |
36s | to build off of the great RTS is from |
38s | blizzard and uh things that made those |
41s | games great we want to protect and make |
42s | sure that our game delivers this project |
45s | in a lot of ways is a love letter to the |
48s | history of real-time strategy and one of |
51s | the motivations for us starting Frost |
54s | Giant and and building stormgate was the |
56s | attachment that we feel to the genre but |
58s | also the attachment that we feel to |
60s | players of realtime strategy games but |
63s | we're looking to not just carry the |
66s | torch for what's coming before but to |
67s | also help move forward we are really |
70s | excited about bringing a lot of new |
72s | ideas into the genre we're taking |
74s | factions like the celestials and we're |
76s | really trying to push boundaries where |
78s | we can really explore new ideas |
81s | creatively for how the gameplay plays |
83s | out and for how the player experience of |
85s | going through a match really |
88s | unfolds with each action that we develop |
91s | we start with a core identity in terms |
93s | of narrative and core gameplay and we |
95s | make sure that they have their own |
97s | unique design space we want you to have |
99s | this asymmetric experience where playing |
102s | one faction or another faction really |
104s | feels almost like a different game |
106s | entirely the Vanguard by nature of being |
109s | our first faction was consciously meant |
112s | to feel familiar the vangard we have |
114s | this Plucky human resistance they're |
116s | about adaptability and survivability and |
119s | hanging on for dear life with the |
121s | infernals we really explored the idea of |
123s | a unit focused faction that could have a |
125s | different way of summoning their troops |
127s | into the battlefield in almost a |
128s | Relentless fashion now with celestials |
131s | we have gone the furthest to field we've |
133s | done something that is pure original |
136s | thinking from this team that is not |
139s | something that we've seen before in a |
140s | real-time strategy game when we set out |
143s | with the celestials we really wanted to |
145s | design both their units and their |
146s | structures to have a lot of exciting |
148s | ideas so we thought how can we make a |
151s | building focused faction and also a |
153s | faction that introduces map wide |
156s | mobility and uh a lot more flexibility |
162s | strategically this dying race is reliant |
165s | on technology their whole civilization |
167s | is reliant on these massive ships which |
170s | are carrying them through space and so |
172s | they are anchored by this idea that |
174s | they're descending into the atmosphere |
176s | from this Fleet above right the |
178s | celestial Armada they're not tied to a |
181s | home World someplace they move and |
183s | they're constantly in different |
184s | locations and so as we develop the |
186s | celestials we really latched onto a set |
188s | of exciting mechanical ideas for them |
190s | where your actual HQ building can move |
194s | from the very first sections of a match |
196s | and can project its power anywhere on |
198s | the map that you want to and so as you |
201s | move across the map you will then be |
203s | able to warp in structures into |
205s | different locations you can call down as |
208s | many structures as you want without the |
210s | need for an actual Builder unit to walk |
212s | over start constructing things in place |
215s | and so we were able to really separate |
218s | the building mechanics from the |
220s | harvesting mechanics and do something |
221s | really Innovative here you can take this |
224s | Ark ship and you might use it to um |
227s | break out of the normal expansion |
228s | process maybe you actually are going to |
230s | go expand to one of your opponents uh in |
233s | normal expansion locations it really |
236s | brings the whole map into play early on |
239s | and it gets players moving and building |
242s | and expanding in a free form way they |
244s | can do so in a different order than |
247s | maybe a normal build order for a normal |
249s | RTS race might go you don't have to go |
251s | to your natural next we looked at it and |
253s | said what can we do on the design side |
255s | to really build something new to break |
257s | the mold to have flying structures or to |
260s | have power grids that can change where |
262s | you're building things on a in a moment |
264s | to moment basis we have units that are |
266s | able to fly and to land and different |
268s | ways to mine resources and things like |
271s | that so players are having to learn how |
272s | to to change the way that they think |
274s | about playing RTS a little bit when they |
276s | use them we're really excited about |
278s | pursuing asymmetry to a greater degree |
280s | than other RTS games have in the past |
282s | the celestials don't have incremental |
285s | Supply the way that other factions do |
288s | you don't have to build a farm or a |
290s | Supply Depot or a habitat in order to |
292s | gain additional Supply to build more |
294s | troops they actually start with all of |
296s | the supply that they have in the fleet |
297s | overhead and they can just start |
299s | building as many troops as they want |
301s | where they are counterbalanced though is |
303s | that they have a special power mechanic |
306s | that they have to maintain in order to |
309s | have their bases and all these |
310s | structures that they're placing on the |
311s | map operate as powerful and as |
313s | efficiently as they possibly can and so |
316s | as you are fighting on the map yes I can |
319s | build almost anywhere but I also have to |
322s | pay attention to where is my Cascade |
324s | field what are my power levels and how |
326s | do I maintain these Dynamics and so |
328s | we've kind of shifted the focus on into |
330s | the buildings themselves pound-for-pound |
332s | the celestial units are not as cost |
335s | effective as the units for the other |
338s | factions but they become stronger when |
341s | they're augmented by their structures in |
343s | many ways it becomes this strategic |
345s | dance about where the conflict is |
347s | playing out on a map so there's going to |
349s | be a lot of emergent gameplay that |
351s | players will discover on their own that |
352s | we are not planning for and that's |
354s | actually what we want from the |
356s | celestials so we want to give players a |
358s | bunch of options a bunch of flexibility |
359s | and a bunch bunch of interesting toys to |
361s | play with and then see what comes out |
362s | the other side if you're the type of |
364s | player that really likes coming up with |
366s | your own strategy that really likes to |
369s | maybe come up with this Innovative way |
370s | to outsmart opponents or to head fake |
373s | them on the battlefield the celestial |
374s | faction is designed for |
377s | [Music] |
383s | you we really believe that even within a |
386s | blizzard style RTS there's a lot of room |
388s | to innovate and there's a lot of design |
390s | space to explore with this type of game |
392s | we're pushing boundaries on the |
393s | technology side in terms of snow play |
396s | and the the way that we're approaching |
398s | our net code to allow players around the |
400s | world to play this game with a maximum |
403s | level of responsiveness snowplay is what |
406s | we're calling the engine that we've |
408s | built for real-time strategy which sits |
410s | on top of the Unreal Engine so unreal is |
413s | doing all of the rendering playing all |
415s | the sounds taking the input but the game |
417s | play and the networking is being handled |
420s | by the snow play layer that we've built |
422s | our technology runs uh at a higher tick |
425s | rate than any realtime strategy game |
427s | that's ever come before and on top of |
428s | that we also support a system called |
430s | rollback which essentially allows us to |
432s | commit a player's action before it has |
435s | been received by other players in a |
436s | nutshell essentially what that means is |
438s | as a player the time between clicking |
440s | and seeing their actions take place is |
442s | faster than any other RTS game that's |
444s | really ever come out and that enables |
446s | players who are in higher latency |
449s | conditions in different part parts of |
450s | the world or even in rural parts of |
452s | America that don't necessarily have the |
455s | same high-speed connection they are |
457s | still able to have good games that don't |
460s | compromise the play experience for |
462s | themselves or for the remote player that |
464s | they're playing against and that in turn |
466s | has enabled us to support Global |
469s | matchmaking that we no longer have to |
471s | force players to match within a region |
474s | that is approximate to their location |
476s | with multiples of times more crisp and |
479s | faster to respond than a game like |
480s | Starcraft 2 which already felt great and |
482s | I think that's the difference that we've |
484s | been able to bring to the table with |
485s | more technology is to make that feel |
487s | even more precise as a player it just |
489s | feels really really good to |
495s | play one of the biggest design |
498s | challenges that we faced with stormgate |
500s | is creating a game that maintains the |
504s | high skill gameplay that has been the |
507s | heart of RTS for so long but still |
510s | provides an on-ramp for new players |
512s | coming in that doesn't scare them away |
514s | it's okay to be a high skill game it's |
516s | actually a good and appealing thing we |
518s | never want to water down that aspect of |
521s | RTS but we talk a lot about lowering the |
524s | skill floor which means making it more |
527s | approachable for new players coming in |
529s | without taking away the high skill |
531s | elements of the game that make RTS so |
534s | exciting our buddy butt feature lets the |
537s | player not have to think about some of |
540s | the macro aspects of the game it |
542s | automates it it's not as effective as an |
546s | experienced player can be but it gives |
549s | them an entry point that's going to feel |
551s | more familiar what if you had instead of |
553s | having to find that friend who was |
554s | already an expert in the game there was |
556s | something built in that you turned on |
558s | and it did the small things for you it |
560s | does reduce the amount of things you |
561s | have to be keeping an eye on and so it |
563s | becomes a perfectly reasonable play way |
565s | to play now is to focus Less on your |
567s | base and more on the action of your |
568s | units out on the field the buddy bot is |
570s | highly customizable so you can get as |
572s | much out of it or as little out of it as |
574s | you want what it's supposed to help with |
576s | is all of the things are like getting |
577s | APM tax that a player is supposed to do |
580s | such as maintain your worker saturation |
582s | building workers expanding making |
584s | production structures and then making |
585s | Army units out of those production |
587s | structures when we have a new race in |
589s | the game playing with buddy bot helps me |
591s | understand the basics of the race |
593s | because some of the complexity is being |
595s | handled by the AI and I'm able to kind |
597s | of dig into the other pieces of it we |
598s | give it goals and action to use while |
601s | participating with the player kind of |
603s | just like somebody who's got your |
607s | back if I had to distill our initial |
611s | vision for stormgate it's that there's |
613s | no one right way to play RTS we think |
616s | the future of RTS could bring in more |
618s | folks you know it's had this decades |
620s | long reputation of being Elite but I'm a |
623s | campaign player I've had a great time |
625s | really just playing you know the stories |
627s | not having to feel the sweaty palm of |
629s | competing against someone else our hope |
631s | is to draw a bigger audience of of |
633s | players that have maybe bounced off the |
635s | RTS genre in the past we're not trying |
637s | to do anything crazy to change up that 1 |
639s | V one experience for players but what we |
641s | are trying to do is add different modes |
643s | for players to come in and enjoy the RTS |
645s | experience that isn't just a competitive |
647s | smash your head against the wall until |
649s | you get better experience there are |
650s | changes that you can make that do make |
654s | the game more appealing to an audience |
655s | that hasn't tried it before um and some |
658s | of that's tutorial isation but some of |
659s | that's also supporting social gameplay |
662s | where more experienced players can help |
664s | onboard their less experienced friends |
666s | and that's been a big part of what's |
668s | behind our thinking with trying to |
670s | increase the level of social play for |
673s | stormgate um and that means that the |
676s | campaign mode will support up to three |
679s | players and we're going to have a three |
683s | player versus AI mode because it is |
686s | still multiplayer but multiplayer |
688s | working together the design behind it is |
690s | to let them win if they want to win they |
692s | can win they can come in and just have |
693s | fun and explore new strategies and have |
695s | a great time no matter what but then we |
697s | do have difficulties to the point where |
699s | some of the modes that we're trying to |
700s | build or some of the difficulties that |
701s | we're trying to build are things that we |
703s | can't even beat in house and so we're |
705s | giving it to the player base to say hey |
707s | good luck and then we're going to add a |
711s | three-player versus three player |
712s | competitive mode this is where we get |
714s | into the PVP side of the actual team |
717s | play but we're also looking at |
718s | potentially using |
720s | some Mobile Mechanics there as well so |
722s | we already have some Heroes we have some |
724s | units but we're looking at potentially |
726s | bringing in a main Fortress or a main |
728s | base this is your focus to kill where |
731s | all players will be able to play and all |
732s | players will be able to like actually |
734s | compete until the end of the game um and |
737s | that again will give players a chance to |
739s | come into the game get supported and |
742s | perhaps carried by their friends who are |
744s | much more experienced but have a chance |
746s | to learn in an actual gameplay |
750s | environment and it it sounds like um a |
753s | Nuance but but it's actually a really |
756s | significant thing when you think about |
757s | how traditional RTS has been focused on |
761s | one versus one competitive and solo |
763s | campaign like that opportunity to bring |
766s | your friends in through those modes just |
768s | didn't really exist before as developers |
772s | we really set out with stormgate to make |
774s | sure that no one aspect of the |
777s | experience would Trump the other aspects |
780s | of the experience with stormgate we want |
783s | all players of all skill level to be |
785s | able to enjoy what we love about this |
787s | RTS |
791s | [Music] |
796s | genre this is a team that is super super |
799s | passionate about realtime strategy |
801s | that's why we're all here for us our |
804s | whole family life history has been |
807s | realtime strategy game I have watched |
809s | most of the the leadership in the RTS |
812s | Community grow with this game have |
814s | careers around this game 20year careers |
816s | I was super fortunate at blizzard to |
819s | work with a lot of them on Starcraft 2 I |
821s | look back U wonderful years about 12 |
824s | years at blizzard I just loveed the the |
826s | people and I got to know Tim Morton |
827s | there and I really liked his leadership |
829s | and also you know the Starcraft two |
831s | teams dedication to the community and so |
834s | once I knew that Tim was starting his |
835s | own thing he reached out to see what I |
838s | was up to and I already knew like how he |
840s | was as a leader how he shows up for um |
842s | for players and for the community and I |
844s | was like I want to help him Starcraft 2 |
846s | had such a tremendous Community around |
850s | it Esports is a big part of that but |
852s | even the community that loves lore the |
854s | community that loves campaign cosplay |
857s | Community the mapmaking community |
858s | there's just a very robust group of |
861s | people around real-time strategy that |
863s | are passionate and it is that passion |
866s | that resonates with us as developers and |
869s | with us as players and so we wanted to |
872s | build something to service those players |
875s | in a way that hopefully they feel our |
878s | passion this is a game that is a passion |
880s | project for everyone that's working here |
882s | again we have a lot of experienced uh |
884s | developers that are working on the game |
885s | but it's it's the community that's |
887s | helped Drive the vision of it and |
889s | helping us make it better and we've been |
891s | that way from the very beginning we've |
892s | been listening to their forums we have a |
894s | Discord that we're constantly bringing |
896s | feedback into our slack channels and And |
898s | discussing and we believe we we agree |
899s | with you on this like how do we make |
901s | that change and how do we make the the |
902s | game better due to the feedback that's |
904s | coming in and I think um coming from my |
907s | past experiences where games are hush |
909s | hush and more of an ivory Tower of like |
911s | we know what is good and we'll give it |
912s | to you when it's ready uh compared to |
914s | the way that we're working at Frost |
915s | giant which is we as a collective and |
918s | that means the developers and the |
919s | community know what feels good at the |
921s | big companies is where you're one of |
923s | 5,000 or one of 10,000 you're just one |
926s | spoke in a very big wheel but here you |
929s | feel very engaged because you can add |
932s | input or bring research to the table or |
934s | or bring a feeling that could sway a |
936s | whole meeting and you know some of the |
938s | bigger companies there's just more |
940s | bureaucracy there's more people that |
942s | have to be involved with decisions we're |
944s | here you are empowered to make the |
946s | decisions you can do things in a more |
947s | Nimble way you can respond quickly and |
949s | be very in touch with your community I |
952s | firmly believe that game development and |
953s | Community Development are the same thing |
955s | they happen together and we're not going |
957s | to have all the right answers all the |
958s | time and so we look to them and we look |
960s | to everyone else to not only give us |
962s | ideas but to reinforce our current ideas |
964s | as well and I will tell you when we |
966s | decided to found this studio and see if |
968s | we could further the future of RTS one |
971s | of the first things we did was reach out |
973s | to that community of collaborators and |
976s | say guys you know we're going to all |
978s | leave safe jobs we're going to take a |
980s | big gamble we're going to found this |
982s | studio we need your help we need your |
984s | help designing the game um raising |
986s | funding because we're not going to be |
988s | with a big company anymore for and our |
990s | community and our content creators step |
993s | forward helped send a message to the |
995s | marketplace that realtime strategy was |
997s | not dead that it was their passion too |
999s | that was very much alive and that they |
1001s | had a vote of confidence in us and they |
1003s | really managed to secure the funding for |
1005s | the game for us the investors sat up and |
1008s | said wow you really do have passionate |
1010s | Community traction out there and they |
1012s | had continued to support us we when we |
1014s | um kind of whiteboard the game in the |
1017s | early days we brought in dozens and |
1020s | dozens of people I would say probably 40 |
1021s | or 50 people actively helped us make |
1024s | design decisions around the game and |
1027s | continue to support us today continue to |
1029s | reach out to us talk to us we actually |
1033s | have formal Summits every 6 months for |
1035s | several hundred people who are friends |
1037s | of the studio mostly content creators in |
1039s | which we say here's where we are here's |
1042s | where we are financially here's our road |
1043s | map we listen to them very very |
1045s | carefully and they've responded by being |
1048s | incredibly supp it's been wonderful to |
1051s | involve so many other people who have |
1053s | played a role in the history of realtime |
1055s | strategy from our friends at dream Haven |
1059s | who have advised us on the projects and |
1061s | many of them were involved in building |
1063s | Blizzard's first realtime strategy games |
1066s | and then there's a whole group of folks |
1068s | who are just passionate about real-time |
1070s | strategy games uh including simu that we |
1074s | had no idea and it was wonderful to |
1077s | discover that he shares our love of the |
1079s | genre |
1080s | simu of course uh was when he came in |
1082s | and visited was amazing it a we had so |
1085s | many pictures being taken and it just |
1087s | meeting a an actual Superstar is pretty |
1089s | cool uh he's very humble it was an |
1091s | amazing experience and we had fun but |
1093s | also being a scrappy Indie Studio like |
1096s | when we went to Gamescom last year it |
1097s | was someone from our community that |
1099s | helped us man the booths tno I mean he |
1102s | was there with us actually helping with |
1104s | press and uh being in our booth and we |
1107s | had someone from the community also |
1109s | wanted to help us with videos in his own |
1111s | time after his full-time job at work and |
1114s | you know we're a small marketing team if |
1116s | you can even call us that uh and we |
1118s | loved what he was doing and could see |
1119s | how much depth of knowledge he had about |
1121s | stormgate we hired that guy now he's |
1123s | actually part of the frost giant team |
1124s | that makes it feel much more like a |
1128s | community um taking a village we talk |
1131s | about rather than just a pursuit of of |
1134s | one group and one company uh and that we |
1137s | together really are able to craft |
1140s | something that feels collaborative and |
1142s | we hope that that same Spirit of |
1145s | collaboration will continue past the |
1147s | launch of stormgate um not just with |
1150s | those folks but everyone who is |
1152s | passionate about real-time strategy as a |
1154s | genre Early Access is much more about |
1157s | bringing the community along with us and |
1160s | benefiting from that feedback that the |
1162s | community provides us to really make the |
1164s | game what they tell us they want we're |
1168s | sharing in it at a much earlier stage |
1171s | than any game that we've worked on in |
1173s | the past but it is a better way to make |
1175s | games I believe that stormgate as it |
1178s | evolves will turn into something that is |
1181s | literally the best game that we've ever |
1182s | worked on as a |
1187s | result we hope you've enjoyed this |
1190s | exclusive first look at our Celestial |
1193s | faction stormgate free to play it's |
1196s | available to everyone and we'll be |
1197s | launching fully into Early Access access |
1199s | on August 13th but you can join us |
1202s | before then on July 30th by going to |
1204s | steam and picking up one of our bundles |
1206s | that's available today |