For the Glory is a game developed by players for players

It has been said that some developers seem to be out of touch with the communities they aspire to create games for, but what would happen if a game was created by fans of the community?

“From the first day in the game, a player can change everything according to the situation”

It has been said that some developers seem to be out of touch with the communities they aspire to create games for, but what would happen if a game was created by fans of the community? Paradox Interactive is about to find out with the upcoming release of For the Glory.

For the Glory (FtG) is a bit of a unique commodity in that it was developed by community members. Taking on the classic reins of a strategy game, FtG puts players in control of one of the more than 180 countries available in the game. There is the ability to participate in more than 10,000 historically accurate events in the 400-year span between 1419 and 1819. Players will have the opportunity to determine domestic policy as well as foreign policy while attempting to elevate their country to a position of prominence.

Philippe Paillar's, Project Lead on For the Glory at Crystal Empire Games, talks about the title.

Q: The game has a defined historical period. How much room does it give players to forge new destinies for the countries throughout the world? Will world events mirror historical facts?

Philippe: From the first day in the game, a player can change everything according to the situation. Of course, he can also role-play the country and will thus be rewarded with historical events if the situation is still accurate. World events not only mirror historical facts, they also help the AI act according to the choices the player makes; so world events drive the AI behavior. For example, an event might change domestic policies and the AI will get more colonists (example: England after 1600), or will get cores (example: Russia for expansion in Siberia), or will cause the AI to focus on different enemies. If the player doesn’t choose the Historical option for AI choices, variants are still possible for a more unpredictable game. For the Glory (FTG), especially through the included AGCEEP mod, also proposes several alternative yet plausible events according to choices the player makes or the situation they find themselves in, like England winning the Hundred Years War, China remaining open to the rest of the world and making more of an effort to explore, etc.

What has been the biggest challenge in putting together a game of such scope?

Philippe:  A game like this requires a lot of historical knowledge, because we want to make sure that each country is given specific attention. We couldn’t have done that without a very dedicated community. The biggest challenge of the dev team was on reworking game mechanics and the database engine in order to provide to the existing Europa Universalis II mod community all of our new features as soon as possible, while also devoting time to adding in-game features for direct use by the players.

What did you feel was missing in the civilization genre that For The Glory brings to life?

Philippe:  In FtG we really want to immerse players in history, especially through AGCEEP, one of the most famous mods for the Europa Universalis series. That mod is constantly being enhanced, and currently presents more than 10,000 historical events and a 1000-page book featuring all sorts of historical descriptions covering all the continents.

Rather than being a “god game” For the Glory is for players who want to really play the role of the head of government. They have to make important decisions about alliances and diplomatic relations, warfare, investments, exploration and colonization, and players also have to think about other monarchs and leaders, and how they would historically act. Of course history can be a lot of fun when you have the power to change it!

Tell us about the combat system in the game and what players will discover when they take their nation to war.

Philippe:  War isn’t necessarily the focus of the game – as I said, you have all sorts of diplomacy and economic options, as well. But, of course, war is something you will encounter as the leader of a country, and here the focus truly is on strategy. You’ll have historical units in battle, like infantry, cavalry and artillery on land, and warships, galleys and transports at sea. Gaining new land and naval technology is the key for optimal use of military units, and different bonus or penalties apply according to the terrain.

We’ve portrayed the units of many countries based on historical information, adding a deeper level of immersion. The AI can be smart, and alliances are very important if the country you’re playing as is not a superpower.

Does the game have any online or multiplayer elements?

Philippe:  FTG supports multiplayer on local network or through the Internet with up to 32 players.

Tell us a bit about the modding capabilities that players will have with this game?

Philippe:  Everything is moddable in FtG: database (countries, events, leaders, technologies, religions, trade goods, etc.), map, sprites and interface, and the scenarios, including timeframes. There is almost no limit… except modders’ imaginations. Many mods have already been announced, and we’ve tried to give modders access to the game before it’s even available.

What elements do you think will resonant with players?

Philippe:  One thing that a lot of players may not know is that the dev team behind FtG is made up entirely of fans. We formed the team in June 2008 from skilled and passionate people within the Paradox fan community. The dev team behind FtG was constituted in June 2008 with skilled and passionate people all around the world from inside the Paradox Interactive community, more a little community rather than a classic dev studio. We set out to enhance and improve a game we already really loved, and that’s a great opportunity. We are players and also modders. We know what players want!