Old Glory Studios - Interview

Old Glory Studios Interview

The reputation of Ghost Recon in the tactical shooter genre is so strong that its name has become synonymous with commitment, strategy, authenticity, and teamwork. So when a new game comes along and references Ghost Recon it already starts to turn heads. But when that game comes from a new studio founded by people who worked on Ghost Recon titles, it deserves more than a turn of the head. With that motivation, we interview Lewis Manalo and Matt Patak of Old Glory Studios and dig deep into their motivation and progress with their tactical shooter game, and also reminisce about what it was like working on a big studio game like Ghost Recon Wildlands.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN YOUR JOURNEY?

LEWIS MANALO : I was a combat engineer in the 82nd Airborne, and I took part in combat missions in Afghanistan in 2002 and 2003. Many of those missions were in support of Special Forces teams. After I left the military I found my way to writing and filmmaking. Sam Strachman, Narrative Director on WILDLANDS, whom I’d already know for years, came to a reading of a play I’d written about soldiers in Afghanistan. He also knew that I’d been working as a producer on documentary films shooting in South America. Looking for that authenticity that Ubisoft was known for, Sam brought me on to write for GHOST RECON: WILDLANDS.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO WORK ON GHOST RECON WILDLANDS, HIGHS & LOWS?

LEWIS MANALO : Most of the characters and the plot had already been worked out when I joined the team. I ended up writing a lot of the game text and most of the dialogue. “Shitballs” is me. “And baby makes three.” The team asked for realism, so I wrote it as realistically as possible. The fact is, people going through that kind of shit make lots of jokes. Everybody thinks they’re the “cool guy,” but they’re all jokers. Other veterans have told me how authentic the dialogue felt, and I appreciate that and the fan reactions more than anything any critic could say. For some of the non-Ghost characters, DJ Perico was already created when I started writing him, but I based a lot of what I wrote for him on an Army buddy of mine from El Paso. On a documentary shoot, I’d spent a week in the Colombian Amazon with a cocalero, so a few of the details I wrote came from him.

Working on the main game was a blast. It was my first game, so everything was new to me. I was really surprised when “shitballs” became a thing in the community, but I loved how fans embraced it. A few of the French devs felt like fans were making fun of them, and they kept cutting “shitballs” wherever I wrote it in BREAKPOINT. But you make fun of your friends, right? I’m glad the Paris studio finally listened to players and put the word in.

I became the Lead Writer for the games with WILDLANDS YEAR 2. I didn’t work on NARCO ROAD or THE PREDATOR, but I worked on all of the Tom Clancy crossover stuff. Writing Sam Fisher was a real privilege, and I’m really proud of OPERATION ORACLE with Jon Bernthal.

TELL US ABOUT THE MOTIVATION TO CREATE Victory’s Grave: Outflank

LEWIS MANALO : Making VICTORY’S GRAVE: OUTFLANK is really about making the kind of games we want to give players. Even before I worked on GHOST RECON, I knew how players loved the PvP in FUTURE SOLDIER. Despite being a writer, I get that many players prefer the PvP to playing narrative missions, and I get that even people who play the missions will sometimes skip the cutscenes. Why should we make players who don’t like cutscenes pay for them?

VICTORY’S GRAVE: OUTFLANK will just be PvP. Our second game, codenamed PROJECT LANDFALL will share a narrative context with OUTFLANK, and it will be single player and much more narrative focused. So if a player only wants PvP, they can have that. But if they want a deep narrative, too, they can get that separately. However, neither game will cost as much as a traditional AAA title.

We also want players to be able to actually own a game after they buy it. We plan to have studio servers of course, but if people want to play on their own servers, like the old CS:GO days, they can.

MATT PATAK : For me it started while deployed to central Iraq in 2003. Boredom breeds creativity. In the back of a Bradley, with a notepad and pen I just started sketching out the original idea for VG: Outflank. I played a ton of America’s Army 2.0, Operation Flashpoint, and Call of Duty (1): United Offensive. With the information I learned in my military training and from the games I played, I was able to piece together a grand vision of what Outflank could be in the deserts of Iraq. After I finished my 4 years in the military I went to college and got my degree in Game Design. I landed my first game industry job at Crytek as a Level Designer and have spent the last 15 years working and learning as much as I can about the industry. During those 15 years, I focused down the grand vision of Outflank into a very deliverable and market ready idea. This project, for me, has been 21 years and 9 months in the making and only recently has the project exploded and finally become a reality!

WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT?

MATT PATAK : I’m most excited to see teams engage in intense open field combat. Long sight lines in the environment means there will be clear frontlines and players will actively be coordinating their assault and defense with their teammates in real-time. Combining all the features and effects together will really make this a sight to behold!

LEWIS MANALO : The team is adding features to the combat all the time, and I’m really excited to see what kind of strategies players come up with.

roadmap

ROCKY : Victory’s Grave: Outflank already has a Steam Coming Soon page, what is the roadmap to release, and beyond?

LEWIS MANALO : We want to release the game in Early Access in less than two years. Hopefully, much less. To help us get there, we’re running an equity crowdfunding campaign. Post release we’re planning on three-month seasons with regular updates. We’re already working with authenticity experts to get accurate weapons packs prepared and with artists who can make sure that we have period-accurate and great-looking character outfits. Over the long term, we’re also planning more maps in addition to the Baltic Zone you see in the game trailers.

what do you hope to achieve with Outflank, what are the USPs?

MATT PATAK : As Creative Director I hope to immerse and excite the player each and every match with thrilling features and wicked effects! As well as making this one of the most enjoyable tactical/strategical PvP experiences on the market. Adding RTS elements into the round-based gameplay adds another dimension to the strategy that will encourage teams to get creative. The rural setting is also something that you don’t often see in team-based PvP, and this level design is going give players a new kind of experience.

have you taken inspiration from other studios?

ROCKY : It is exactly 10 years since we last interviewed John Sonedecker of Blackfoot Studios and 3 years after that he released Ground Branch on Steam. Do you draw any parallels with John’s journey?

LEWIS MANALO : We have a ton of respect for Blackfoot Studios and all of the milsim developers who are out there working with small teams. I do think we’re in a slightly different space than many milsim shooters. We definitely want our games to feel authentic, but we’re not going for the high details of realism that many of these other devs aim for. We want a game that anyone can easily pick up and enjoy.

MATT PATAK : For me, I’m inspired by studios that have a small but extremely talented team. The one studio that I always admired was studio behind the game Hawken, Adhesive Games. While not the most successful title or studio, they were able to create a beautiful, soul-filled game, with just a handful of devs and funding. They proved to me that fun, beautiful games could be created without the full backing of a large publisher and a studio full of talent.

recruiting?

ROCKY : A number of Ghost Recon fans and modders have succeeded in securing high profile positions in the gaming industry. Are you currently recruiting artists, modellers etc?

LEWIS MANALO : We currently have agreements with some codev teams and freelance creators, but everyone’s welcome to meet us in our Discord. https://discord.gg/ynEhVg3hy9

And wishlisting VICTORY’S GRAVE: OUTFLANK is a huge help in itself.

crowdfunding

ROCKY : You are currently crowdfunding, what would you say to potential investors?

LEWIS MANALO : Not enough combat veterans have been representing the military in video games, and you can be a part of bringing some of that authenticity back to players. If you want to help us out, investments start at just $500. You’ll not only be joining a couple veterans on this mission to create innovative combat games, there are a range of perks that investors will get with the game. Check out our landing page for more.

Thanks & good luck!

ROCKY : Matt & Lewis, thank you for your time and sharing your motivations. I certainly look forward to the tactical squad based type of gameplay you are describing and can’t wait to try it out!

IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR THE DEVS – POST THEM IN OUR FORUMS RIGHT HERE!