Needless to say, it’s been a busy few weeks out here. In between the customary anxiety/worry/fear over Burden of Command‘s release and my normal workload, I’ve had little time to do much else.
Speaking of which, today’s the last day to get Burden of Command at its discounted launch sale price. Based on the reviews, it’s pretty clear that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but we’ve gotten some really rave reviews from some specialisedwargaming sites, so it’s clear that it is absolutely someone’s cup of tea – perhaps even yours.
After a decade in development, the genre-defying WW2 tactical RPG/leadership simulator/war game/historical interactive fiction game Burden of Command has finally been released.
I spent a lot of time and effort writing for this game, contributing maybe 40% of its 500 000 words of descriptive text, dialogue, and narrative choices over the course of seven years of work. It includes some of my best writing.
It has been a fantastic experience working with the team at Green Tree Games, including with fellow writers, artists, veterans, and one of the best dev leads I’ve ever worked with (unfortunately this is a very narrow category – I usually run my own show). It has also been a genuine honour to contribute to a game which not only tries to break new ground in the simulation of combat psychology and small unit combat, but also endeavours mightily to present the most authentic historical experience possible.
If you’re at all interested in how you’d fare leading a rifle company through the Second World War, then Burden of Command is probably going to be the closest you’re going to be able to get to the real thing without either a time machine, or a couple hundred re-enactors firing live ammunition.
Get it for 20% off on Steam here. Tell your friends, tell your family. Tell random people you meet on the bus.
Some fantastic news coming down the pipeline: Burden of Command – a genre-defying WW2 tactical RPG/leadership simulator/wargame which I spent much of the past decade as a writer on – is coming out on April 8th. It launches with a meticulously researched (I would know, I did quite a bit of it) release campaign following a (fictional) rifle company of the (very real) US 7th Infantry Regiment from the landings in North Africa through Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany, to the very end of the war.
I did a lot of writing for this game. There’s roughly 500k words of interactive fiction in that first campaign, and I’ve written probably anywhere from a third to half of those words. There’s a lot of work that I’m really proud of in there, and a lot of characters which I (and senior writer Allen Gies) tried to make as interesting, nuanced, and worth your time as possible. We worked with veterans, historians, combat psychologists and some really experienced scenario designers to try to create the closest thing we could to the experience of leading an infantry company on and off the battlefield with our limited budget and resources.
If you’re interested World War Two history or tactical RPGs or any of my writing, definitely consider picking this up on Steam, where it’ll be about $30 CAD (or whatever the equivalent to $20 USD will be) when it launches next month.
In anticipation of its full release in a few months, Burden of Command now has a demo out for Steam NextFest. The demo includes the tutorial, as well as two standalone scenarios (including one I did most of the writing work on), which should give you some idea of the innovative combat model the entire game is built around.
It’s quite a bit different from what most people are used to, and more importantly, it represents the actual combat of the Second World War a lot more authentically. Once you’ve gotten a hang of that, the two standalone scenarios will put your new skills to the test – and maybe give you a taste of some of the narrative elements, giving you the chance to make some hard decisions at the head of an American rifle company as it helps liberate Western Europe from the Nazis.
Check out the demo from the Steam store page here.
As some of you may know, I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the past as a writer for Burden of Command – an upcoming WW2 tactical RPG which follows the (real) battles of a (fictional) infantry company of the (very real) 3rd Battalion, 7th US Infantry Regiment through North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany from November 1942 to the very end of the war in Europe.
Some of you may also know that it’s been taking a very long time in development. I was hired to work on it in the middle of 2016 when it was already in early production – and I wrapped up my writing work on it last summer. During that entire time, I’ve seen it go through production, expansion, re-iteration, polish, and eventual playtesting, with me involved mostly in writing and scenario design, but with bits of UX and gameplay design here and there as well.
Over the years, quite a few people (my dad among them) have speculated about when it’ll actually be coming out, which is a fair question given that the game was first announced sometime in 2017. Well, now they have an answer. After years of development and months of intensive playtesting, Burden of Command will be out sometime in between this December and next February.
I know this isn’t a release date as much as a release window, but that window being relatively soon means that the game is more or less in a state of completion. Luke (the lead developer) has been pretty adamant about not pushing the game out before it’s ready, so we can be fairly confident that it’s just about ready now, with the rest of the time remaining just to make sure.
I will not lie, this game has a lot of my best writing in it – including some stuff which I’ve been really excited about showing off. A serious, historical narrative means I was able to tackle a lot of serious historical themes and subjects without having to veil them behind a fictional setting. I put a lot into the main campaign, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what everyone thinks of it.
Just a quick update to inform everyone that Burden of Command now has a page on Steam, in preparation for release sometime in the next year or so.
For those of you unfamiliar, Burden of Command is a tactical RPG set in the Second World War, which puts you in the boots of a US Army rifle company commander as his unit fights through North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany. It features writing by both me, and Allen Gies (of Tin Star and Marine Raider fame). For more information, check out my previous posts about it, or the Burden of Command website.
It’s been another busy month so far. I’ve been putting a lot of time into Burden of Command, although I suspect that the bulk of my work as a writer is almost finished. HMS Foraker‘s still moving along as well. I’ve just finished the third and last chapter, which means I’ve only got the epilogues and a few other bells and whistles to wrap up before it’s “done”. I’m considering avenues of distribution now. Assuming I find one, you might be seeing it released sometime this summer.
It’s been a busy month so far. Not only have I been working on the last chapter of HMS Foraker, but I’ve always been spending a lot of time and effort putting together on a particular segment of Burden of Command which took me to a lot of places I’ve never been before from a technical standpoint. Needless to say, I’m not going to spoil what exactly it is, but I can say that it’ll certainly start some conversations when players see it on release.
So, I’ve got a few more minor housekeeping updates this month, just to keep everyone appraised.
First of all, we’re very nearly finished the primary writing work for Burden of Command, and the main campaign is only a few steps away from being completed. While this still means we’ll have a few months of scripting, polishing, proofreading, and other supplementary writing to do, it does mean we’re in the home stretch. In addition, I’ve been working on a little side project (I’ll announce that in a week or two), both to unwind a bit from finishing up Hallowford, and to help transition in writing from Burden of Command‘s earthier, more direct style to something fit for a project with a more circumspect and courtly tone.
Long story short, I’m getting ready to start on the primary writing phase of Lords of Infinity.
It’s the second week of the month, which means it’s once again time for another installment of A Soldier’s Guide to the Infinite Sea. This month’s article continues covering the governance of the Unified Kingdom of Tierra, this time regarding the various ducal governments.
Remember that thanks to my supporters on Patreon, next month’s issue of A Soldier’s Guide to the Infinite Sea will be joined by the first installment in a new column based on my second fantasy series: An Adventurer’s Guide to the Fledgling Realms. Those who pledge $1 a month will get access to both articles a week early, while those who pledge $2 a month get to vote on next month’s topics.
Speaking of the Fledgling Realms, The Cryptkeepers of Hallowford, the sequel to 2015’s The Hero of Kendrickstone, will release later this month. I’ll have a page up for it soon.
Last, but not least, I’ve written a development blog post on Burden of Command, regarding the importance of creating empathetic characters in narrative-based games, and how we are working to make sure that the members of the player’s company in Burden of Command will feel like complex and dynamic officers and men worth mentoring, leading, and protecting.
Paul Wang 