GamesBeat: Why are you choosing to make a fantasy game over another genre? You have experience with fantasy, with science fiction, with modern settings. Why did you pick fantasy?
Girard: I guess it’s my setting of choice, the one I love. When I play pen-and-paper RPGs with my friends, we mostly do fantasy. I really love that environment. The trick is to create a new universe, which is original but not too exotic, I would say. A universe that appeals to the biggest audience. Science fiction, why not? Maybe in the future. But for now, we want to focus on fantasy. What we’ve discovered is that it’s a more mainstream environment than science fiction.
GamesBeat: Is this universe something that came out of your home role-playing games, or is it something you’re making just for this game?
Girard: We’re making it just for this game. We already have some writers at work building the universe. Its lore and its cosmology, the gods that populate it, the peoples and how they interact together — we’re starting by building a thousand years of history. On top of that, we’ll build the script of the first game.
GamesBeat: Have you hired any big-name RPG writers I might know of?
Girard: I’m not yet ready to announce that, but we have someone with a big experience in RPGs, in pen-and-paper RPGs. You could try me, and I see if I raise an eyebrow [laughs].
GamesBeat: When did you leave Amplitude? I didn’t catch that.
Girard: The time frame was at the end of January. I’m still on very good terms with Romain, though. Since then, I’ve been doing some consulting with them to help them through the transition. But Romain is doing a great job. He’s working with Sega, and it’s going great. They’re in good hands at Amplitude. Obviously, they’re cooking up some exciting stuff that I can’t talk about. But they’re doing fine.
GamesBeat: Is this the first studio founded by somebody who worked at Amplitude and has left? Or have some of your other former colleagues done that already?
Girard: Some of our staff members, some junior programmers, they have started small studios. But I don’t think anything major with a big success has come out. But I may be mistaken.
GamesBeat: How does it make you feel that, out of this great thing you and Roman built at Amplitude, that now there are studios that have come out of that and people making their own games, including you now?
Girard: It’s a bit strange. When you’re inside, you want everyone to stay inside. [Laughs] When you’re outside, it feels the natural way to do things. There haven’t been so many people leaving Amplitude, though, because it’s a great studio. People are usually happy at Amplitude, working on exciting projects. Some people want to do their own thing. I’ve been working there for seven years after founding it. There comes a time when you have to maybe see something else, do something else. To me, this was the right time. I wouldn’t say I’m happy that people have left, but I understand that if they had a passion project, there was no point in staying at Amplitude and being demoralized or anything like that.
GamesBeat: Why use the open game license? Is it just because you love those rules and the creativity that can come out of that?
Girard: I’m a big fan of fifth edition. To me, it’s the easiest way to do it, using the OGL. Actually, I can’t discuss much more information because I’m bound by [non-disclosure agreements]. I can’t endanger my fledgling company [laughs]. But let’s just say that I love fifth edition, and the lowest-hanging fruit was using the OGL, so that’s what we’re going for.
GamesBeat: Does last week’s acquisition of inXile and Obsidian by Microsoft give you hope that the market for really deep and really mechanics intensive RPGs is thriving?
Girard: There’s a big appeal to this type of game all over the world. It’s natural that such great studios, that they would get interest in acquisition from big publishers. It seems to me that there’s an appeal for that kind of studio. Also, there’s an opportunity for innovation. If there are lots of studios that want to do RPGs and they’re all doing more of the same, there’s a need to innovate, to bring something new and fresh.
GamesBeat: What’s the last RPG that you’ve played, on computer on console, where you thought it was really new and interesting, really innovative?
Girard: I’ve played all the latest RPGs and felt — it’s great. I feel at home. But something that is really different — I’ve seen a lot of differences in console games, which bring a more immersive first-person experience to RPGs. Even in a game like Horizon: Zero Dawn, for instance, you have character evolution and other RPG elements. The narrative is great. It really brings you into the game. But in terms of — this is where I’ve been the most impressed, with this type of game, but it’s more action-adventure than RPG. But I haven’t really played an innovative RPG in the past years. I had a great experience with games from the studios you mentioned, but they basically offer a recipe that’s well-loved with some peripheral improvements. The core of the recipe isn’t changed, really.
GamesBeat: Why did you name the company Tactical Adventures?
Girard: I could have come up with a shorter name to start with [laughs]. But I didn’t really think of something convincing enough. Tactical Adventures really expresses the mix of deep yet accessible tactical gameplay, with lots of depth in features and content, with a compelling narrative arc. It’s a good mix. Some games are all the way into narrative and some of them are just systemic and tactical. I wanted to find a good mix. Tactical Adventures explains exactly the type of game we want to make.
GamesBeat: Is there anything else you want to share?
Girard: It’s hard, at this stage, to give lots of information while I want to keep some things secret. About the team, I can say that it’s a team of veterans and young developers. They’re all very passionate about this type of game. Not all of them have played fifth edition. I’m planning on introducing them to it. But really, for some of them, the oldest ones or the youngest ones, that’s the only box to check on their resumes, the list of games they’ve developed. They’re really passionate about doing an RPG. There’s a lot of excitement on the team.