Joystiq

The original X-COM was briefly canceled, boosted by X-Files

Richard Mitchell — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:30:00 EST

X-COM is a household name among many gamers now, but the 1994 original almost never came to be. During an X-COM postmortem at GDC, creator Julian Gollop revealed that the original X-COM: UFO Defense was actually canceled for a brief period during 1993. At the time, the game's UK publisher, Microprose, had been purchased by Spectrum Holobyte. Looking over Microprose's portolio, Spectrum Holobyte was unimpressed with the in-development X-COM and decided to pull the plug. "They took one look at X-COM and said, 'Nah, we don't like this. Cancel this project,'" said Gollop. "The project was actually officially canceled."

Unbeknownst to Spectrum Holobyte, Microprose allowed development to continue. "What happened was, that in Christmas 1993 Spectrum Holobyte wanted a product from Microprose UK for the end of their financial quarter, which was in March 1994," said Gollop. "And [Microprose publisher] Pete Moreland said, 'Well, you know this project you told us to cancel? Well, we still got it." The final three months of development were grueling, with Julian and his brother Nick working 7 days a week and putting in 12 hour days.

Another interesting tidbit: X-COM was helped by the TV show The X-Files, which began airing in the US in 1993 (It's on Netflix, kids!). "When The X-Files was aired for the first time in September 1993, there was a real benefit for the game because it drew on a lot of the same source material," said Gollop. "So the whole theme of the game had a real hook, and it was just luck, really, that we had the X-Files on TV shortly before the game was launched."

X-COM was a hit, selling 470,000 units worldwide as of 2000, earning Julian and his brother $1.57 million in royalties (and significantly more for Microprose). The game cost $180,000 to develop. After the game achieved such great success, Spectrum Holobyte demanded a sequel within six months.

The original X-COM was briefly canceled, boosted by X-Files originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Julian Gollop's Chaos sequel campaign, multiplayer detailed

David Hinkle — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 03:00:00 EST

If you're currently enjoying XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the Firaxis reboot of the PC classic, then you owe part of that enjoyment to Julian Gollop, the man who designed the original and other subsequent installments in the series. Last week, Gollop revealed he was working on a sequel to his classic turn-based strategy game from 1985, Chaos: The Battle of Wizards.

Gollop started up a development blog over the weekend for what he's calling Chaos Reborn, revealing the single-player side is broken down by regions, tasking players (as a newbie Wizard) with setting out on the most noble quest of killing the Wizard King as quickly as possible - with each turn, the Wizard King's forces grow stronger. It's just one of the perks of being a Wizard King. The downside is other Wizards are always trying to kill you.

Multiplayer will consist of arena battles for up to eight opponents, in both asynchronous and direct connection formats. Chaos Reborn will showcase deathmatch and team-based mode, and let players go up against AI-controlled opponents. Pass-and-play on mobile devices is also mentioned.

Chaos Reborn is little more than specs on a page right now, so get in on the ground floor of Gollop's RSS feed now for future updates through the source link below.

Julian Gollop's Chaos sequel campaign, multiplayer detailed originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Julian Gollop reviving 1985's 'Chaos: The Battle Wizards'

Xav de Matos — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 20:00:00 EST

Father of all things X-COM, Julian Gollop, has revealed that his next project will revive the 1985 ZX-Spectrum game, Chaos: The Battle Wizards.

Gollop revealed the game's revival on Twitter, saying, "OK it's official! I am working on a sequel/remake to my classic ZX Spectrum game 'Chaos' - for iOS, PC, Mac - maybe more." Despite one fan pleading for a PS3 release, Gollop said extending the revival to that platform (and presumably other consoles) would only be possible if the current planned platforms see a profit.

Gollop noted the game "will be 3D for sure," revealing it will be powered by the Unity3D engine. Work has only just begun, so we aren't likely to see a finished product for "about a year or so."

The original turn-based game was written by Gollop and published by Games Workshop, garnering enough of a following that a sequel, Lords of Chaos, was developed by Gollop's Mythos Games, which went on to make 1997's X-COM: Apocalypse.

Julian Gollop reviving 1985's 'Chaos: The Battle Wizards' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 02 Nov 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars walkthrough is very X-Commy

Griffin McElroy — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 02:00:00 EST

The parallels between Julian Gollop's turn-based strategy hit series X-COM and his new 3DS project Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars have been drawn many times before -- but never as clearly as this. Check out the video below to see Gollop give a nine-minute demo of the latter game's familiar mechanics.

Continue reading Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars walkthrough is very X-Commy

Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars walkthrough is very X-Commy originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars for 3DS detailed by creative lead

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 19:30:00 EST

As TinyCartridge pointed out in a pair of recent posts about Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars, the seemingly high profile 3DS title has been barely discussed by publisher Ubisoft. Beyond gathering together all of the game's assets thus far (seen here), TinyCartridge fleshes out GRSW's tactical, turn-based gameplay. Better yet: The game's creative lead, Julian Gollop -- lauded developer of X-Com: UFO Defense and Laser Squad Nemesis, among others -- gets all up in the comments section, speaking on the game in far more detail. He confirmed that GRSW will not feature multiplayer outside of "hotseat" play, nor will it support any StreetPass features (i.e., a data exchange between two "sleeping" 3DS units).

"The tactical system, and the way the weapons work, have a bit more of an Advance Wars feel," Gollop described. "You have six characters you control, each with unique abilities and equipment. You can level them up, gaining abilities and more equipment options."

"The battlefield is very detailed," he continued, "with cover effects, and elevation having significant tactical effects. You need to capture 'command flags' to collect 'command points' which are spent on various powers, including calling in a massive airstrike. Each character gains power points to launch special power attacks -- super shot, rapid strike, wide impact -- depending on the weapon types used." Sounds interesting!

Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars will reportedly launch in Europe on March 25 alongside the 3DS itself, though no North American release date has been given.

Gallery: Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars (3DS)

Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars for 3DS detailed by creative lead originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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X-Com: UFO Defense developer working on 3DS launch game

Griffin McElroy — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

The internet is so cool, you guys. Check this out: Gamasutra recently did a feature on the XCOM first-person shooter reboot that's currently in development at 2K Marin. Julian Gollop, creator of the original X-Com: UFO Defense just happened to pop into the comments of said article to give his opinion on the current sorry state of the turn-based strategy genre, and revealing he's "now working on a turn-based tactical RPG which will be a 3DS launch title." Thanks, the internet! You're just full of surprises.

According to some investigation from TinyCartridge, Gollop's LinkedIn profile states he's been at Ubisoft Bulgaria/Sofia the past three years -- and Ubisoft has a turn-based strategy game titled Ghost Recon: Lead The Ghosts in the works for Nintendo's three-dimensional handheld. We've contacted Ubisoft to see if this cyclically-titled Clancy jam is indeed Gollop's next opus.

X-Com: UFO Defense developer working on 3DS launch game originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 15 Aug 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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