Presskit

Interview

This is a set of public interview questions with our project lead, Andy. These can be used in press coverage as desired. Content may be trimmed or otherwise adjusted for editorial or presentation requirements as long as the spirit of the content remains unchanged.

If you would like to conduct your own interview then please reach out at press@lavabird.games

There have been a number of high profile tactics games announced recently. Where does Warside fit in?

The genre is undergoing a bit of a revival of late, and that's great for fans. Whilst there have been a lot of announcements, we're all releasing relatively far apart and so I don't see us treading on each others' audiences too much.

I think Warside has a strong offering. We're cross platform and can reach a wide audience. We've got fresh content with a brand new campaign. We've also gone for a retro pixel art style that we know fans of the genre love.

Tactics fans are going to be spoiled for choice and I'm sure many will try them all.

What changes have you made to the turn-based-tactics formula?

The design philosophy has been to make an "action TBT". A tactics game with a deliberate bias towards action. Towards fluid frontlines and away from turtling. Turn-based but fast-paced.

If you've played TBT games in the past the interface should feel comfortable, but with some mechanical changes so that the game pace should feel much quicker.

We've introduced ways of penetrating defensive frontlines and chokepoints. All factions have an "anti stalemate" unit able to disrupt a formation in various ways. You might have noticed the Rhino (combat bulldozer) ramming a tank out of the way in the trailer. Other units include the Rocket Bike, which can weave through enemy units with unobstructed pathing.

Air units have free pathing and are not blocked by enemy units - though they are balanced by new air defence mechanics.

Production has been tweaked to allow higher value units to get more play. It's no longer necessary to spend all your funds every turn for optimal play, and building the correct counter-units is much more important than it was before.

We've also placed a much higher emphasis on infantry units. There's a wide variety, from Medics, and Snipers, to Mortar Teams and Saboteurs. Infantry also have their own dedicated production facility - the Barracks.

Players are already used to having to use different play styles with different Commanders, but we've doubled down on this and introduced faction specific units. These units are designed to complement the Commanders of their respective factions and help throw that little more variety into the mix.

Why a Kickstarter?

We've done a lot of the ground work already to get the game in a decent state, but with further funding we could deliver more.

Kickstarter is great in that it allows to build a community alongside the game. We don't just want backers, but players invested in our journey that can help shape the game as we finish it. We'll be running a Beta group with constant community contact and feedback as we make changes and test new features. It's going to be awesome.

How did this project come about?

Well that's an eventful story! So during the Covid period, as if life wasn't already complicated enough then, I left my house to go to the pharmacy and promptly got hit by a car. It was not my best day.

I had multiple surgeries. I then spent about a year with very limited movement. Not quite bed-bound, but certainly room-bound. Looking at the same 4 walls everyday, whether those are hospital walls or the walls of your room is tough. I started making this game to help keep me mentally insulated and to help distract from the physical pain during recovery.

It's grown quite a bit since then of course. I'm no longer the only person working on it. I like to think of it as a recovery hobby that's got a little bit out of hand!