Chris Groves
C
Reporting in, Commanders,
Welcome to the second installment of our Meet the Team series, where we are introducing the developers behind The Great War: Western Front, Petroglyph. Last time, we shared a little more about the studio itself, but in this week's installment, we will be introducing you to some of the senior leadership team, Joe Bostic and Chuck Kroegel.
Joe Bostic is Design Director at Petroglyph, having begun his 30+ year career at Westwood Studios as co-creator of leading RTS titles like Command & Conquer, Dune II, Red Alert, and Tiberian Sun. Joe is an avid fan of of tabletop wargames, and has collected almost all of them during their heyday. Joe also has a keen interest in military history, and it's this combination of skill and passion that he's bringing to the development of The Great War: Western Front.
Chuck Kroegel is CEO and General Manager at Petroglyph, and is an avid fan of strategy games in particular. He previously worked at Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI), known for making war games like the Five Star General series which included titles like Panzer General and Pacific General, so brings a great deal of knowledge to the team. As a board game fan, he's also been heavily involved with Petroglyph's production of these kinds of games, too, including Panzer General: Allied Assault and Guardians of Graxia.
Greetings both, it is great to have you with us today. Why don't we start by discussing more about both of your roles in the development of The Great War: Western Front?
Joe:
I serve as the game’s 'visionary'. This role is to keep the game focused on reality as much as possible, and to ensure that the game gives the players similar choices to those that the commanders of the war had to wrestle with. If during development, a question was raised as to the authenticity, or 'does this feel right for WWI?', then I was the person to answer it.
Chuck:
I run the studio in general, as well as managing how Petroglyph and Frontier Foundry work together. I am constantly tuned in, and give feedback to the game design, balance, development, and schedule. I also playtest the game and encourage the development towards making it a fun and engaging experience.
Which features of The Great War: Western Front are you most excited to share with fans?
Joe:
The battlefields of WWI pose a unique challenge that is unusual in traditional RTS games. A main difference is that the player can have extensive trench networks; stepping out of a trench is inviting certain death and the defenders have a lethal edge with machine guns and artillery. Achieving victory in the face of such a powerful defence is the challenge of the war and I think we’ve captured this sense of danger. A careless assault means defeat, but with skill and strategy, you can claim victory. One interesting aspect is that you can build up your trench lines and barbed wire such that your soldiers, machineguns, and mortars create zones to keep the enemy at bay or eliminate them if they dare to attack. The Great War was the war where artillery became dominant, and you can use artillery in many ways to support attack or defence strategies, some of which you will be able to learn about further on in development.
Chuck:
I enjoy that the game gives the player an opportunity to experience it so many ways. Play a campaign with both strategic and tactical gameplay. Play an individual historical battle with a specific tactical situation. Play a skirmish game dialling in the parameters you desire. Play a multiplayer game vs a friend or unknown opponent. I really appreciate how the game portrays trench warfare and how those trench grids evolve over the course of the game, particularly in how those gridline impact the strategy and tactics you employ in your tactical battles, as well as how it allows you to experience this unique war in history with the strategies and tactics that were used historically, but gives you the ability to research your own way to evolve those elements earlier, too.
Which role do you prefer in The Great War: Western Front, Theatre Commander or Field Commander? Why?
Joe:
Each role has an appeal to me. I enjoy the intensity of the real-time battlefield, especially when my forces reach the enemy trench line and coordinating troop movement and artillery targeting becomes critical. The challenge doesn’t let up after that as you now must push forward to the next trench line or try to fight down the enemy occupied trenches. Often times, your assault runs out of steam and you decide to call a 'ceasefire' to consolidate your advances. A partial victory is still a victory in a war where small gains were the measure of battle, so choosing to ceasefire can be wise in the ultimate war of attrition.
However, the theatre commander role is a nice break between battles. I can get a cup of coffee and take a break as I plan my next offensive move. The choices made at the theatre level can have profound impact on the field, especially in research and development choices. Success might take a game-changer decision such as investing into tank research or poison gas weaponry.
Chuck:
I can’t say that I prefer one role or the other because for me, as I play the game, both roles combine into one as both add to the experience of playing a captivating dance of planning and manoeuvring and researching and spying on the Theatre level and then see the benefit of such efforts as I dive into the tactical battles with artillery barrages, massive infantry charges, and tank manoeuvres at the Field level to weave my story in and out of the bigger and then zoomed in living experience of being both a Theatre and Field Commander.
What made you want to develop The Great War: Western Front?
Joe:
It is a dream project because it combines my love of military history and WWI. I like games that combine a grand-strategy element with a tactical combat element such as with the Total War series or Star Wars: Empire at War. I also have a special connection to WWI. My grandfather (b. 1898) enlisted into the army as soon as he was 18 which was just in time for America’s entry into the war. I have his Brodie metal helmet as physical reminder.
Chuck:
We wanted to make an historical game on a war that has not been greatly explored in our industry, in a way that would bring to light the unique elements of that war and allow players to experience and appreciate those men and women who gave their lives fighting it.
We hope you have found this insight into some of the team at Petroglyph interesting, and we offer our thanks to both Joe and Chuck for sharing more about their roles and experience and how those impact the development of The Great War: Western Front, coming to PC in 2023.
Welcome to the second installment of our Meet the Team series, where we are introducing the developers behind The Great War: Western Front, Petroglyph. Last time, we shared a little more about the studio itself, but in this week's installment, we will be introducing you to some of the senior leadership team, Joe Bostic and Chuck Kroegel.
Joe Bostic is Design Director at Petroglyph, having begun his 30+ year career at Westwood Studios as co-creator of leading RTS titles like Command & Conquer, Dune II, Red Alert, and Tiberian Sun. Joe is an avid fan of of tabletop wargames, and has collected almost all of them during their heyday. Joe also has a keen interest in military history, and it's this combination of skill and passion that he's bringing to the development of The Great War: Western Front.
Chuck Kroegel is CEO and General Manager at Petroglyph, and is an avid fan of strategy games in particular. He previously worked at Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI), known for making war games like the Five Star General series which included titles like Panzer General and Pacific General, so brings a great deal of knowledge to the team. As a board game fan, he's also been heavily involved with Petroglyph's production of these kinds of games, too, including Panzer General: Allied Assault and Guardians of Graxia.
Greetings both, it is great to have you with us today. Why don't we start by discussing more about both of your roles in the development of The Great War: Western Front?
Joe:
I serve as the game’s 'visionary'. This role is to keep the game focused on reality as much as possible, and to ensure that the game gives the players similar choices to those that the commanders of the war had to wrestle with. If during development, a question was raised as to the authenticity, or 'does this feel right for WWI?', then I was the person to answer it.
Chuck:
I run the studio in general, as well as managing how Petroglyph and Frontier Foundry work together. I am constantly tuned in, and give feedback to the game design, balance, development, and schedule. I also playtest the game and encourage the development towards making it a fun and engaging experience.
Which features of The Great War: Western Front are you most excited to share with fans?
Joe:
The battlefields of WWI pose a unique challenge that is unusual in traditional RTS games. A main difference is that the player can have extensive trench networks; stepping out of a trench is inviting certain death and the defenders have a lethal edge with machine guns and artillery. Achieving victory in the face of such a powerful defence is the challenge of the war and I think we’ve captured this sense of danger. A careless assault means defeat, but with skill and strategy, you can claim victory. One interesting aspect is that you can build up your trench lines and barbed wire such that your soldiers, machineguns, and mortars create zones to keep the enemy at bay or eliminate them if they dare to attack. The Great War was the war where artillery became dominant, and you can use artillery in many ways to support attack or defence strategies, some of which you will be able to learn about further on in development.
Chuck:
I enjoy that the game gives the player an opportunity to experience it so many ways. Play a campaign with both strategic and tactical gameplay. Play an individual historical battle with a specific tactical situation. Play a skirmish game dialling in the parameters you desire. Play a multiplayer game vs a friend or unknown opponent. I really appreciate how the game portrays trench warfare and how those trench grids evolve over the course of the game, particularly in how those gridline impact the strategy and tactics you employ in your tactical battles, as well as how it allows you to experience this unique war in history with the strategies and tactics that were used historically, but gives you the ability to research your own way to evolve those elements earlier, too.
Which role do you prefer in The Great War: Western Front, Theatre Commander or Field Commander? Why?
Joe:
Each role has an appeal to me. I enjoy the intensity of the real-time battlefield, especially when my forces reach the enemy trench line and coordinating troop movement and artillery targeting becomes critical. The challenge doesn’t let up after that as you now must push forward to the next trench line or try to fight down the enemy occupied trenches. Often times, your assault runs out of steam and you decide to call a 'ceasefire' to consolidate your advances. A partial victory is still a victory in a war where small gains were the measure of battle, so choosing to ceasefire can be wise in the ultimate war of attrition.
However, the theatre commander role is a nice break between battles. I can get a cup of coffee and take a break as I plan my next offensive move. The choices made at the theatre level can have profound impact on the field, especially in research and development choices. Success might take a game-changer decision such as investing into tank research or poison gas weaponry.
Chuck:
I can’t say that I prefer one role or the other because for me, as I play the game, both roles combine into one as both add to the experience of playing a captivating dance of planning and manoeuvring and researching and spying on the Theatre level and then see the benefit of such efforts as I dive into the tactical battles with artillery barrages, massive infantry charges, and tank manoeuvres at the Field level to weave my story in and out of the bigger and then zoomed in living experience of being both a Theatre and Field Commander.
What made you want to develop The Great War: Western Front?
Joe:
It is a dream project because it combines my love of military history and WWI. I like games that combine a grand-strategy element with a tactical combat element such as with the Total War series or Star Wars: Empire at War. I also have a special connection to WWI. My grandfather (b. 1898) enlisted into the army as soon as he was 18 which was just in time for America’s entry into the war. I have his Brodie metal helmet as physical reminder.
Chuck:
We wanted to make an historical game on a war that has not been greatly explored in our industry, in a way that would bring to light the unique elements of that war and allow players to experience and appreciate those men and women who gave their lives fighting it.
We hope you have found this insight into some of the team at Petroglyph interesting, and we offer our thanks to both Joe and Chuck for sharing more about their roles and experience and how those impact the development of The Great War: Western Front, coming to PC in 2023.
