Jagged Alliance 3 - Interview @ GOG

GOG interviewed Haemimont Games about Jagged Alliance 3:

HOW TO MAKE A GREAT ADDITION TO THE ICONIC SERIES AFTER OVER 20 YEARS? FIND OUT FROM THE DEVELOPERS OF JAGGED ALLIANCE 3!

Jagged Alliance is an iconic series of turn-based tactics spawning all the way back to 1994. Because of its tactical gameplay, varied environments, great management mechanics and amazing replayability (just to name a few of its characteristics), it has conquered the hearts of players all over the world throughout those years.
Just a few days ago, 24 years after Jagged Alliance 2 was released, the latest entry in the series, published by THQ Nordic and developed by Haemimont Games has joined our catalog and the players seem to agree – the wait was worth it.
We had the pleasure of talking to the developers of Jagged Alliance 3, and asked them how does working on an entry in the iconic series differ from creating a new IP, what can we expect from the game and more!
Hope you’ll enjoy the read.

How does developing a new entry in an iconic series like Jagged Alliance differ from creating a title in an entirely new IP? Is it more challenging or perhaps the already established “base” of such a series is something more helpful?

Both approaches have their own challenges. Creating something entirely new offers a lot less restrictions but you can easily get lost in trying to discover the core of what makes your game fun. With Jagged Alliance we knew what made the first two games fun – the big and quirky cast of characters, the deep tactical combat and the open nature of the strategic layer.
With that being said, following in the footsteps of such cult classics can be daunting. Capturing what made these games feel unique can be difficult. We’ve had times we tried multiple approaches until we found the right path. Case and point is the chance to hit the indicator. Initially we decided to follow the current modern trend and have a visible chance to hit but we ended with something that didn’t feel like Jagged Alliance so we doubled back and changed that.

More than twenty years have passed since the release of Jagged Alliance 2 and that actually adds to the challenges. Back then visuals were limited and certain things worked because of these limitations. All the mercs were represented by the same small pixelated model in the world with a few different colors for shirts. This wouldn’t work today. We spent a huge amount of time discovering who these characters are and how they should look in Jagged Alliance 3. Not just their portrait but their outfits, mannerisms and even posture. It also set a more drastic limit to the cast as creating a new merc now requires a lot more work from character artists, animators, writers and voice actors.

What can players expect when it comes to the story of Jagged Alliance 3? Is it an essential element of the game or rather a background for the gameplay experience?

I feel that both the overarching main story and the small stories scattered throughout the world of Jagged Alliance 3 are an essential part of the experience. Yes, you can run guns blazing and just take over sector after sector and don’t care about the consequences but I think you will miss out on a lot.
It is the small stories of the people of Grand Chien, the fictional country where the story takes place, that add spice to enjoy the full flavor of the game. What are their problems, how are they surviving in this war-torn county, how can you help? Also what are the consequences of your actions?

This comes out clearly in the epilogue scenes where you will see the results of your actions (or inactions). You might have finished the job you were paid for but how did things turn out for the little guy? What about parts of the country you did not visit or didn’t care to explore? Seeing how things turned out can be a big push to make a new attempt and see how things will end this time around.

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Thanks Redglyph!