Optional side missions aren’t a new concept for strategy games. But Phantom Doctrine developer CreativeForge Games is putting an intriguing twist on one of the genre’s most common features. The studio has an effective strategy to make Phantom Doctrine’s optional content feel relevant without feeling like a requirement. And that’s pretty important in an era when many gamers don’t have time to play everything they want.
Last month, Player.One spoke with Phantom Doctrine Narrative Designer Pawel Kroenke and CreativeForge’s Head of Business & Marketing, Blazej Krakowiak. We learned a great deal from that discussion, including the studio’s goals for PD ’s reinforcement mechanic and the story behind CreativeForge Games’ pivot from the Old West to the Cold War. Krakowiak and Kroenke also confirmed Phantom Doctrine includes an abundance of agent personalization content, both serious and light-hearted. The duo also detailed the non-campaign activities available to your crew and the studio’s desire to make that content optional and intriguing.
Phantom Doctrine focuses on a global conspiracy, and field work in pursuit of that goal will inspire most stories shared between friends. Players will manage an agency of counter-conspirators, pulled from a variety of backgrounds, who respond to new missions and other events. But the main conspiracy isn’t the only plot you can unravel in Phantom Doctrine. Optional missions and side stories provide further clarity on the main narrative, and run the gamut from simple retrieval missions to high-risk kidnappings and assassinations. They don’t just give the player more to do. The extra scenarios also provide additional opportunities to acquire resources for your team.
“There is a lot of flexibility for how much you want to get into that, as is expected in this genre,” Krakowiak said. “If players want to really extend their campaign, stockpile parts, earn more money to arm themselves better, that’s definitely possible and we’re prepared for that.”
Phantom Doctrine’s side stories will give players a better understanding of the conspiracy, and a chance to collect additional supplies for their agency. Money and spare parts are only half the equation though. Like many tactical strategy games, Phantom Doctrine’s tech progression will also be tied to the in-game clock. Your agents might have access to some of mankind’s greatest surveillance technology. But even they will have to go back to the drawing board to find solutions to the problems they face.
“There is a research component. You need to obtain the relevant technology to unlock new facilities. But some of this technology doesn’t appear until you discover something in the story,” Kroenke told Player.One. “It’s spaced out fairly evenly throughout the campaign but you have some wiggle room. If you focus on certain technologies you can get them earlier. Or you can postpone them indefinitely.”
New toys aren’t the only rewards you’ll reap. The retrievable intel in some missions will also help complete the Investigation Board, an in-game visualization of everything players know (or hope to learn) about the conspiracy. But completing the investigation takes more than a level head out in the field. Players must also channel their inner Robert Mueller… or maybe just Charlie Kelly.
“[Missions are] just Stage One,” Krakowiak said. “Stage Two is making all the connections. That’s a separate process. That’s the actual Investigation Board interface. You go in and start connecting the dots in what ways you can.”
If the investigative process doesn’t appeal to you, the good news is that it’s optional. Players can tie up all the loose ends themselves, guiding agents through each mission and organizing any/all valuable intel retrieved. Or just ask an agent from your burgeoning intel outfit to take care of it. Agents assigned to side missions will be unavailable for other field work until their current task is finished. And there’s a chance they could be injured in the field, fail the mission or get captured by enemy forces. Agents working on the Investigation Board will be in considerably less peril; however, they will also be unavailable for other assignments.
Phantom Doctrine is in development for PC and scheduled to debut in 2018.
Be sure to check back with Player.One and follow Scott on Twitter for more Phantom Doctrine news in 2018 and however long CreativeForge supports Phantom Doctrine after launch.
