It goes without saying that first-person shooter (FPS) games have a strong presence in video games industry. FPS-centric video games like Call of Duty and Battlefield franchises are still immensely popular until today although both of these titles have been synonymous with players for the past 10 years.

However, one studio hailing from Malaysia decided to make a unique change in FPS games – by combining with RTS (real-time strategy) elements. With a small team of 13 people, Ammobox Studio developed their inaugural game, Eximius: Seize The Frontline that has recently exited their closed beta for the Steam Early Access last September.

To gain a better insight, we asked Ammobox Studio’s CEO Jeremy Choo who is also the game director of Eximius: Seize The Frontline about the challenges in developing FPS/RTS gameplay, serving their target audience and preparing the game for esports tournament.

Ammobox Studio’s CEO and game director of Eximius: Seize The Frontline, Jeremy Choo

MyGameOn (MGO): What is Eximius: Seize The Frontline?

Choo: Eximius: Seize The Frontline is a multiplayer FPS/RTS hybrid that emphasizes more in a team-based combat. In a team of five members, players have an option to take on two different roles, which are the RTS commander to oversee base building, infantry training, troop assignments using the top-down perspective while the FPS officers will lead the AI units to assist players on the ground to gather resources, deliver firepower and fight towards victory.

MGO: For Eximius, what is the reason behind the mix between FPS and RTS genre?

Choo: The reason why we’re putting on a new twist in our new game is that FPS is a very familiar genre. Sure, there’s a big player base but it’s a tiring genre. People have been making the same game with the same genre over the years and a lot of people are waiting for the next innovation in the FPS games.

There hasn’t really any FPS to play that features base building. We have the base behind you and the commander to support you with extra troops. I think it’s an interesting twist to a familiar genre, which is what our company is all about: creating innovation in a familiar genre and making games that are social enough that bring people together as Eximius is a teamwork-oriented game.

MGO: What kind of challenges do you face during the development process?

Choo: Having both FPS and RTS in a game is very complex because of two differing genres. The main challenge is to find the middle ground that can make the gameplay work well for both FPS and RTS lovers. FPS players, in the first-person perspective, the units have to be dynamic where they have to move in a sense that doesn’t make sense in RTS. RTS players like to take control of everything and the camera is a fixed. So, a lot of the challenges is actually to make the game acceptable to players of both genres.

MGO: How long does it take to develop Eximius?

Choo: Full-time development takes around two years. We currently have 13 people on board to develop the game. Previously, we only have 5 people with us. For my part, I’m the game director but also doing the lead tech programmer for game design and a little bit of technical art on the side.

MGO: Which demographics do you aim for this game?

Choo: We aim towards a typical FPS game demographic especially for FPS players who are looking for a fresh gameplay. I think almost all FPS player would want to try something different. We are targeting the hardcore FPS players as the main market and also the hardcore tactical shooter players that play FPS with a lot of planning strategies.

MGO: I just saw a soldier going inside of some sort of suit in the game. Tell me what makes the game special.

Choo: BattleSuit is how you give the player ability as a hero in the field. They are the frontline officers that have enhanced capabilities in the frontline to change the tide of the battle. BattleSuit will strongly enhance your units. As the Early Access progresses, we will add more battle suits. Currently, there’s one battlesuit in each faction, Axeron and Global Security Force (GSF).

MGO: Early Access has just started at the end of September. How’s the reception from the players?

Choo: The reception is good so far. We have a strong community in the game. We have an active Discord community of over 600 people. The community consists of very passionate players and some of them play the game better than me. They’re constantly trying to improve themselves and engaged with the gameplay. I’m glad that we have a competitive crowd of players, which is what the game is meant for.

MGO: Is there a plan to prepare the game for esports?

Choo: We definitely want to push Eximius for the competitive scene. It’s a very competitive game because the skill ceiling is high. In fact, I think we haven’t come close to knowing the best strategy of the game yet because the teamwork dynamics between the players could change the outcome of the match. You can do an interesting match when you have the commander and the ground officers coordinating.

MGO: How about a single-player campaign?

Choo: At the moment, we are not likely to include a single-player campaign due to budget constraints. Developing a single-player campaign requires high budget production where there’s a lot of narrative and writing. However, at this point, we don’t rule out a single-player campaign yet but it would likely to be more narrative-driven in co-op mode rather than having a full-fledged single-player campaign. There is also co-op game mode for the less competitive crowd to play special scenario missions. This would help to introduce the new players into the game without getting stressed by more experienced players.

MGO: FPS is still a popular genre among players compared to RTS genre. How do you grab the attention of the old school RTS players and to hook other players who are new to RTS?

Choo: I think they are still a lot of players who are hungry for RTS games. They aren’t many titles to look at. Lots of traditional companies like Blizzard and Microsoft are doing a lot of remasterings because they want to bring back the fun for the old RTS players. The heart of our community is we want to bring back the old RTS. Since the remastering is so popular, it shows that the players want the old school RTS features like base building to return.

Our RTS is very classic. The game has base building, left-click to select, right-click to move so we are staying true to the original style of RTS. People who have played RTS can immediately familiarise with the game. For this game, there’s another twist because there will be actual players running and fighting in-and-out of the battlefield like sending an army to support the players. They can still do the things they want so that’s how we want them to get engaged.

Eximius: Seize The Frontline is currently under Steam Early Access and planning for a full release next year. The game is now available on Steam, Humble Bundle, and Green Man Gaming for PC. To find out more about the game, head on to their official Facebook page!