LG Andreas you are the author of the just released "Andreas Osswald Championship Soccer", a soccer and management game for the PC. Can you tell us more about the game ?

AO AOCS is a soccer-simulation with a lot of depth. The goal was to write a simulation with a dynamic soccer world that can be influenced by everything you do in it. It offers the possibility to play in different roles, as player, player-manager or manager. AOCS has a very comprehensive career mode which is maybe the best feature of the game.

The match is a classic-style match. This means, not like the modern soccer simulations where you have an auto-button for everything. It’s a game that gives you the feeling that YOU are actually playing and not the computer.

LG Do you always play as the whole team or is it possible to control only one player, like in the famous "Player Manager" ?

AO You can either control the entire team or play as a single player. For example you can play a player career starting at a local team as a 16 years old youth player. If you play well, you are going to stay in the first team, maybe get offers from better clubs. After some successful seasons you might be able to play international tournaments if you get nominated for the national team and win continental cups with your top team.

But if you prefer the role of a player-manager you will also be able to found your own team. You’ll start in the lowest league with a few poor and maybe some talented youth players. After gaining some reputation you’ll be able to buy better and better players during the years.

There are many ways to play the game.

LG Can you tell us more about the AI of the players and the managers ?

AO When you progress one day the computer teams start to think. They’ll scout for new players, try to bid for players who are on their shortlist, consider if it’s necessary to change the lineup or the tactics of their team.

The player scouting is the most interesting part of it. They’ll analyze their own squad and try to find out what players could strengthen their squad. If they need a striker, they’ll scout for a striker. If you play a player career they are going to analyze you as well as the other players. And if they think that you are better than the other players and currently cheap enough and affordable they try to make your team an offer.

Further on the tactics are not pre-defined as well and the teams try to create a useful tactic. The advantage is that all teams will be different because they all try their own special tactic.

The same is true for the players. They have hidden characteristics. Some strikers try to make assists, some others try to score on their own, all players behave differently with the ball. It was written for long-time motivation.

LG Are national teams also present in the game ?

AO Yes. If you play a player or player-manager career you can be nominated for the national team. Of course you can also play the national team and nominate the players yourself.

LG Many people compare AOCS to the old classics Sensible Soccer and its brother Sensible World of Soccer. What are the main differences between your game and these products ?

AO Sensible Soccer was an arcade-game while AOCS is more like a simulation. It's compared to SWOS because of its graphics style which was influenced by Sensible Soccer. But the game-play is very different from Sensible Soccer I think. All players on the pitch have different characteristics. So you are not able to play successfully against every team with the same strategy.

LG Are they any new moves that couldn't be done in Sensible Soccer ?

AO There are no predefined moves in the game. The computer tries to make the best move in his current situation. Apart from that there are bicycle kicks and computer players can score with headers.

LG What games have influenced you when you have started designing AOCS ?

AO Many. Apart from SWOS the Championship Manager, Dino Dini's Player Manager 1, Gary Lineker's Superstar Soccer, Emlyn Hughes Soccer and Footballer Of The Year.

LG How many people have worked on the AOCS project ?

AO Only me. Goran Gluhak improved the player graphics that I've made in a kind of fan project because he liked the game but thought that the graphics could be better. And a couple of beta-testers helped me finding bugs and testing the game.

LG How long have you worked on this project ?

AO 1 1/2 years, 1000-2000 hours, 90.000 lines from scratch.

LG Which part of the game are you the most proud of ?

AO The depth of the simulation. The players improve their skills in a very realistic way depending on their potential, there are no static tactics of computer teams, computer teams scout for players etc.

LG Are there any parts of the game you are not totally satisfied with ?

AO Yes, many. When I started the project I never planned to sell it one day and it was never written for the mass-market. In a commercial product I would use a different kind of game-play. Also the menus became very complicated and it takes some time to get used to them.

LG Are you planing to make a small documentation to help the beginners ?

AO I currently haven’t the time that I need. I’m working on a faq and if questions occure I try to answer them and add them into the faq if I think it’s important. So there is only a small documentation at the moment.

LG What were the biggest problems you had to face during the development phase ?

AO Only the time. Because I spent all my free time in that project during the last 1 1/2 years.

LG Is the game available as a freeware ?

AO It's shareware.

LG How much does it cost ?

AO 29.90 EUR.

LG Does this price include access to possible future releases or add-ons ?

AO Minor updates and bug fixes. Don't know about future releases and I don't plan any add-ons at the moment.

LG Where may we order AOCS ?

AO At its homepage at www.championshipsoccer.net

LG Are you satisfied with the number of people who registered so far ?

AO Unfortunately not. I've expected more and I think the problem is that the game is much better than its first impression. I wish there would be more (and different) feedback.

LG What are your plans for the future ? Is an AOCS2 already underway ?

AO A further version is very unlikely at the moment.

LG Why ?

AO I only would spend so much time if I knew that it will be a commercial project. And I’d need to find a publisher for it.

LG If however you would decide to write a sequel, what would be the main features you would like to add ?

AO I would rewrite the match from scratch with a different gameplay and renew the management part with an easier-structured menu.

LG Marc Vaughan, lead designer at SI Games the makers of the Championship Manager series, left a message on your forum to tell how much he liked your game. What's your reaction to his compliments ?

AO He wrote that the game could have a promising future. I think that’s the point. My game still has a lot of things that could be solved better since it started as a hobby-project and wasn’t planned to be sold. But all in all it’s still a one-man project and I’m doing it in my free time. That’s why I need all the support that I can get. All other projects have many programmers and graphics artists.

But I’m very proud that Marc Vaughan visited the forum. It’s a big honour because I think the Championship Manager is the best manager simulation at the moment.

LG Is a form of collaboration with SI Games or another games software company something possible ?

AO I haven’t made any thoughts on that.

LG Do you intend to work in the games industry after your study ?

AO I don’t know yet.

LG Do you play soccer in real life ?

AO Just for fun with friends.

LG Well thanks a lot Andreas for this chat and I take the occasion to wish you the best for your future.

AO Thank you, Lucas.

Interview realised by LucasGills in August 2003, copyright 2003