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Meet the two Counter-Strike world champions making Diabotical Rogue's competitive 5v5 mode
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Mike Stubbs
You can change characters between rounds, selecting your basic ability and a series of other upgrades purchased with currency you earn as the match progresses, with the game assigning your weapons. It’s an ever-evolving battle that keeps players guessing and adapting during every fight.
With just a single competitive game mode outside of the warm-up queue, Diabotical Rogue has room to grow. That’s where two former Counter-Strike world champions come in. Both Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund and Adam “friberg” Friberg were a part of the legendary Ninjas in Pyjamas squad that dominated the early days of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and became world champions at the ESL One Cologne 2014 Major. With their playing careers now behind them, James “2GD” Harding, the CEO at developer The GD Studio, saw an opportunity to bring them on board to create a new game mode.
“I was like, 'You know what I would really love? …Something along the lines of a round-based game that focused on being fun,'” said Harding. “[Me and] Chris, we've been speaking about this for about three years [and] always had a nice vision. Adam, as soon as he told me how many emails he sent to Valve about what he wants in the next patch, I was like, 'Okay, that is a great person to have next to Chris and they can both co-lead the design.' Honestly, I just think they can offer something unique.”
The pair are now game designers on Diabotical Rogue, tasked with coming up with a new five-versus-five game mode that will draw on their experience in the competitive realm. With the duo joining the studio around two months ago, they are still figuring out exactly what direction they want to go in, but expectations are high and they feel confident they can live up to the hype.
“I've been working with a lot of different games studios and giving a lot of feedback about what I think could be the right approach for what they're trying to aim for,” said Alesund. “When I give them feedback, most of the time [it] was from the professional aspect rather than the normal audience, but it never felt like [my] feedback itself came through. It makes sense, because it's not just me, it's probably millions of other users that are playing their games, you have to find a middle ground somewhere. But here I'll actually get the opportunity to actually do what I believe could be a good change and put in my own mark into the gaming space.”
With their history in Counter-Strike and the mission to create a 5v5 round-based mode, the obvious choice would be to just implement CS-style round and economy systems, build some new maps, and call it a day. However, everyone involved knows that they need to bring a unique twist on the formula to Diabotical Rogue.
“We're not trying to become the next Counter-Strike,” said Friberg. “We're not trying to beat Counter-Strike. …I think it would be stupid to go up against Valve and try to compete for that market. What we want to do is create a fun game to start off with. We do know Counter-Strike the most, so obviously we will bring in what we think [is] fun about Counter-Strike.”
The pair didn’t want to give too much away about what they plan to add to Diabotical Rogue. The idea of having reliable spray patterns you need to learn was teased, and an expansion of the weapons is likely in order. Obviously, the core of Diabotical Rogue will remain in terms of movement and shooting, but even the roguelike upgrade system is not something they necessarily have to keep if it doesn’t work with their vision.
“They're allowed to mess with things,” said Harding. “The biggest restraint I have was like: if you want 20 guns, I can budget that, but if you want 120 guns, you're gonna kill me. They're really in charge, and then I have an eye on it. We did talk a little bit beforehand about the direction; I just asked them for something fresh to that kind of gameplay loop and that game mode.”
Diabotical Rogue is still very early on in its life and the future looks bright. Not only are these two Counter-Strike legends creating their own take on the bomb-defusal style of play, but Harding and the rest of the team at The GD Studio also have plans to make a game mode that is more akin to a MOBA. Both are in the very early stages of development, but with the talent working behind the scenes and the solid base that they're working from, the potential for it to grow into something truly special is certainly there.
Hop into Diabotical Rogue on the Epic Games Store today!