Stronghold Anniversary Interview

A decade is a long time for any franchise, especially in the games industry. Did you expect Stronghold to have that kind of longevity and, looking back, what are your fondest memories?

It’s funny because there are people today picking up Stronghold for cheap, either on its own or as part of the collection – They’re discovering it for the first time. Then you have the Stronghold vets who despite the fact that it’s 2011 are still making maps for the game, uploading them to fan sites. I think it’s safe to say that the appeal of that game has been fairly long lasting?

As for favourite memories we always have a great time coming up with a script and heading down to the studio in West London for a recording session. Hearing the lines read back to you really shouldn’t be as much fun as it is. Some of the best moments also come at the eleventh hour. Whether it’s finally getting a feature to work, however small, or squashing a certain bug at the last minute – Small victories sure, but important ones.

Overcoming the various technical challenges over the years has also been good fun. Finding fixes for path finding issues for example – This is a huge issue for a game that mixes RTS and sim gameplay, even more so for one that encourages the player to build that perfect, inevitably complex (and sealed off) castle.

How did the idea of Stronghold, an RTS/sim hybrid castle-builder, originally come about? Were there any particular titles that inspired it?

In the 90s Eric and I worked at Impressions together on Caesar I-III and Lords of the Realm I and II – I was a programmer/designer while Eric produced. The Caesar games, in particular Caesar III, gave us a bit of city builder heritage and, having worked on Lords of the Realm, we were pretty well versed in real time strategy. At the time no one was really making castle games – Interplay had done Castles and Castles II, but there hadn’t been much since the early-mid 90s. It’s a rare thing in the games industry to see a gap in the market like that and Stronghold was a perfect fit. It also let us experiment, merging the city builder and RTS genres into something completely new.

When the game first came out a lot of people were comparing it to another franchise from a certain, now defunct, first-party Microsoft studio, but we never really saw it that way. In my mind if any games could be said to have inspired Stronghold it would be Caesar and Lords of the Realm – That and the countless castle tours I’ve been on!

Many medieval-themed games opt to go the fantasy route. With the exception of Stronghold Legends, Firefly has remained faithful to a realistic depiction of medieval life. What are the benefits of staying rooted in reality and history?

I think it’s worth noting that, although Legends featured mythical beasts, it also stayed true to how those myths were depicted in the middle ages. We only put in creatures that people at the time really believed in, the ones they’d seen evidence of. Take the undead or even vampires – Many came to believe in vampires because they were burying people in shallow graves before they were dead! These people would wake up, dig themselves out of the ground and wonder back to the village in a distraught, zombie-like state. There’s a difference between faithfully recreating myth and just making stuff up.

Taking that road – The one that leads to dragons, wizards and the undead – It works great for people. There are too many acclaimed fantasy books, games and films to say otherwise! Although we’ve experimented with it in the past I think a core Stronghold title, be it the original or indeed Stronghold 3, needs to be rooted in reality. For a studio full of history buffs it really is satisfying to make and our fans obviously get a kick out of it too!

The Stronghold games seem to have found an avid fan base in Germany. Do you have any theories about how this came about? Did it surprise you?

Germany is and always has been a huge market for PC games and without the continued support we get from our fans out there Firefly wouldn’t be where it is today. We really do benefit from having an extremely active and long-lasting player community – Our German Strongholders are a huge part of that. It’s these people who keep the interest alive at the grassroots level.

Germany is to Stronghold what Korea is to Starcraft – A wonderfully unexpected surprise that has grown to become one of our biggest markets, if not our biggest! The fact that it outsold GTA has been so widely publicised that it’s become part of the Stronghold identity.

Firefly has made a habit of supplementing each core Stronghold title with at least one expansion/spin-off. Why is this and do you see yourself continuing the trend?

Code and asset creation are time-consuming processes, making your own engine is something else entirely. Then there’s bug-fixing – It all takes time. Sometimes it’s easier to be creative when you have a baseline of content to work with. I mean starting from scratch is great – You have a blank canvas – But there are also times when you’re prototyping ideas and wish you had a better handle on what’s feasible. As a designer, that’s exactly what having a game’s worth of content to work from does for you. You’re more or less fully aware of the limits and time is on your side for a change. It gives you a head start on trying to max out those limits and make a really solid sister title, something that feels really fresh. We enjoy both – I think it’s healthy for a studio to have a balance between the two.

I definitely see us continuing the trend. So much work goes into our core titles – The idea of throwing it all out the window every time we start on a new game seems a bit mad to me. The fans like it too. Crusader is many people’s favourite Stronghold (myself included!). We’ve got every reason to keep doing sister titles.

The Wolf is probably the most recognisable (and fearsome!) member of the original Stronghold cast. Were there any particular inspirations for his design? Also, his character is noticeably more animalistic and psychotic in Stronghold 3. Why the change?

It’s interesting because in the original Stronghold The Wolf was more of an enigmatic character who still wanted to rule – Brutal but lordly – Whereas in Stronghold 3 he’s driven by revenge. 10 years ago he believed he’d make a good king but now he only wants to see the country, and The Boy, burn!

Aesthetically speaking, I’ve noticed that Stronghold Kingdoms is very similar to the original Stronghold. Was this intentional?

Although in terms of appearance Kingdoms is reminiscent of the Stronghold I assure you it’s all new code! Playing Kingdoms after having feasted on the original definitely comes with a helping of nostalgia, but that’s more bi-product than design choice. The gameplay in Kingdoms is centred on community and long-term strategic planning, whereas the original was about short, isolated skirmishes – In terms of gameplay it’s quite different.

And finally, is there anything you’d like to say to the fans on this auspicious date?

Thank you! Stronghold has one of the best fan bases in all of gaming – They cheer us on when we need it and aren’t afraid to tell us off when we’re doing something wrong. Some franchises change considerably with age, ending up with a completely different audience from when they started off. We are fortunate enough to have fans who’ve been playing Stronghold games for ten years! With the amount of choice and variety people have these days, especially in terms of where they get their entertainment, it’s a rare thing to have such dedicated fans – It’s humbling for us.

ren’t afraid to tell us off when we’re doing something wrong. Some franchises change considerably with age, ending up with a completely different audience from when they started off. We are fortunate enough to have fans who’ve been playing Stronghold games for ten years! With the amount of choice and variety people have these days, especially in terms of where they get their entertainment, it’s a rare thing to have such dedicated fans – It’s humbling for us.