The Wargamer

Introduction

For reasons passing all understanding, ancient naval combat has been totally neglected by computer wargames. Hyperborea Studios and Shrapnel Games will correct this omission with Galley Battles. Designer Xavi Rubio gives Jim Cobb the scoop on this upcoming game.

The Interview

The Wargamer (WG): First of all, tell us about yourselves. Where are you from? What is your gaming background?

Xavi Rubio (XR): My name is Xavi Rubio and I'm a Spanish computer engineer living at Barcelona, in Catalonia. I always have been a wargamer (I'm 24, so at 14 or 15 years old, I already was playing boardgames like Thunder at Cassino and Midway).  At this age, my family bought me my first computer, so I started playing videogames. Some of my favourites are now classic, like Monkey Island, Panzer General or Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe. Now, I play mostly wargames and sims (when I have enough time!).

Galley Battles is my first experience as a wargame computer developer, although I've created some big scenarios for titles like The Operational Art of War centered on the Spanish Civil War.

My partner, Ruben Zubillaga, is a fan of strategy games, particularly naval engagements, and his ideas about graphics are truly innovative from my point of view. Although we don't live in the same city (he is from Pamplona, in Navarra), our collaboration is really intense and friendly, mainly (I suppose) because we are the same age and we are trying to create the game we want to play.

WG: What is your gaming philosophy?

XR: Some months ago, I decided to start the development of a computer wargame based on a concept not touched until now by other games: the struggle of ancient naval powers to control the Mediterranean Sea. So I could say that one of my basic principles is that the games I'll try to design will cover interesting wargames not simulated now in a computer.

I think that computer wargames are different from boardgames in the sense that we should note the difference between both formats, trying to get the best of each one. In the case of computer wargames, we should try to avoid giving players loads of micromanagement and hundreds of complex rules. This doesn't mean less historic games, anyway. The player should be able to concentrate on tactics, units, formations, etc. and leave the calculations to the computer. On the other side, the computer lets you create units with a huge number of parameters and capabilities, developing more complex simulations. In the case of Galley Battles, we've developed a movement engine with inertia, accelerations, angles, etc. These kind of rules are impossible on a boardgame without tons of rules and complexity for the user. 

WG: I’ve played the old board game Trireme and always thought that would have been a cinch for a computer game. Why do you think it took so long for a galley computer game to be made?

XR: One possibility could be that the topic is not really well known by wargamers, although the tactical possibilities and the flavor of these battles can be used to create a wonderful wargame. Another problem in my opinion is the lack of information about the era that makes the creation of scenarios a nightmare. We have decided to give a “free deployment” option in each scenario (in addition to a complete editor), because, in some battles, we find different interpretations of the same texts, resulting in different “historic” deployments.

Anyway, I think that the main problem is the huge number of ships involved. Fleets were not organized as land armies, so any split in “regiments” or static formations should be wrong by nature. Players should have to give orders or move each ship, and it would be really boring with hundreds of ships. Fortunately, in last few years new advances in wargaming design, with games like Combat Mission or Highway to the Reich, have made a big step forward in gameplay. Following this philosophy, Galley Battles will try to let the player manage an entire galley fleet without focusing on micromanaging neither moving each ship.