Diplomacy Interview

We met with the development team from Paradox Interactive – masterminds of such strategy classics as Europa Universalis, Crusader Kings and Heart of Iron – for a little chat about their upcoming computer game version of the board game Diplomacy.

Tell me a little bit about yourself and your part in developing the game

My name is Jonas Bjering and I’m lead designer and lead programmer in the development of the strategy game Diplomacy. But basically we are very much a team here at Paradox. Even though we have different job titles and tasks, we are a united team working towards a common goal.

What type of game is Diplomacy?

Diplomacy is based on an old board game that has existed for nearly 50 years. It was originally developed by a former CIA agent in the late 1950’s

Diplomacy is what you would call an abstract strategy game. It takes place in the early 1900’s but in many ways it is timeless

Diplomacy is a fitting title for the game, since you have to negotiate to achieve results. The basic concept is that you will not be going anywhere without cooperating with the other players.

You’ll play as one of seven superpowers. The players in turn issue orders to their troops during the negotiating phase of the game, lasting about 15 minutes. After this, your own moves as well as those of your opponents are revealed and the following events then take place simultaneously. The results may be what you hoped for, but there’s also a good chance of the events resulting in something entirely different than you expected.

Even though a lot of the game is centered around negotiating, you also have to see through the other players in order to say one thing and do another – just like the real-world diplomatic game.

We’ve built an entirely new graphics engine from scratch for this game and put a lot of effort into creating a competitive AI. We chose to make the game 3D to give the player a better feeling for the game and to make the units more realistic. Every part about making moves in the game are done by simply clicking and dragging icons in different territories.

How did you come upon the idea of making a PC game out of Diplomacy?

When I found out that everything about the license for the game had clicked in place I was very excited to get started with developing it. Since we are a company with roots in both the board game and the roleplaying industry, we have quite a few employees that already knew and had played Diplomacy. It’s an amazing board game – easy to learn but hard to master, which obviously is the reason the game is so popular all over the world.

We got the license for the brand Diplomacy and felt that there are many aspects about Diplomacy that make the game well suited for the PC, but until now the right tools haven’t existed to do that.

What are the major differences between the board game and your version?

Those who have played the board game will feel right at home playing the PC version. Early on in the process we sat down and had a brainstorm as to how we could achieve the same element of fun and social atmosphere that comes from being in a group playing a board game at the dinner table. This atmosphere is especially evident in the online component of the game. It’s very easy to find opponents on the internet and as far as I know there’s nothing in the board game that we haven’t managed to incorporate into our digital version.

What kind of challenges will the player face and how is the game structured?

The game is based on negotiations and strategy and this is also where the challenges are. Diplomacy focuses on rational thinking and whenever the AI comes up with a strategy it will determine whether or not your own suggestions fit in.

Even though it is an abstract strategy game there will also be something here for fans of more concrete strategy games. In Diplomacy it will feel like you’re playing real opponents and the challenge mainly consists of learning to handle the tools in the game, being good at negotiations, communication and being smart in one’s diplomatic game.

There will be online servers for Diplomacy with ranking, tournaments and matchmaking. What have you done specifically to give players a good experience online?

We’ll create a meta server to provide the most fun for players. Here, players from the community can find each other and participate in games. We have also plans for tournaments although we haven’t laid out the exact details yet.

Ranking is an important part of this as it makes sure players of the same skill level can find each other. It’s far more fun playing people of the same skill as yourself – and fun is paramount of course.

How far are you in the development and what are your current challenges in developing the game?

The game is basically up and running, though of course we have some tweaking of the AI to do. The whole game is pretty much done and we are now fine tuning a lot of different areas.

You’ve just commenced a beta test. What kind of feedback is most important to you – locating bugs or just receiving fresh points of view regarding the game experience?

Almost since the beginning of the process we’ve worked together with a small group of players we call the “Volunteer Advisory Board”. They have been testing various aspects of the game and given us input for the development. This is important in order to get a bigger perspective on what you’re working with.

Now we’ve entered the beta phase which will last until about early August. This phase is crucial to find and correct all sorts of minor bugs and it also enables us to test the game on a bunch of different hardware configurations. The beta test will ensure stability and a gaming experience that will live up to the high expectations.

Diplomacy will be sent to distribution after the beta test has ended in august and is set for a fall release.

It’s important for strategy games to have lasting value. What have you done to ensure the longevity of the game?

We’ve created a unique game design to bring out the strategy and negotiation elements from the board game. Diplomacy is – just like Chess – a game you can pull out and play again and again for as long as you want, without losing the excitement. There are always new challenges to overcome and new players to beat.

The board game is a modern classic and is still produced even after 40 years. This underscores the longevity of the game and all indications are that the PC version will become just as popular.

Source: Boomtown SE
English version by: Julian Henlov (Progrock)