Behind the Scenes: The Making of Ranger Commando

Today we’re taking a closer look at Ranger Commando — a game that brings back the gritty, over-the-top energy of classic ’80s action heroes. We had the chance to sit down with its solo developer, who brings experience from major titles like Killzone to this personal, adrenaline-fueled project. From nostalgic inspirations to the challenges of indie development, here’s what he had to share about creating Ranger Commando.

Trailer:

Q: What sparked your interest in bringing the ’80s action hero vibe into Ranger Commando?

A: A big part is nostalgia. First of all, the game is greatly inspired by games from that period, like Airborne Ranger and Cannon Fodder. Personally, I like the simplicity of games from that period — more focused on a core gameplay loop than a lot of bells and whistles. The second part is that the theme fits well. Ranger Commando is meant to be a “brainless shooter.” The goal is that you can play after a long day of work for just 20 to 60 minutes to blow off steam and then put it aside again. This asks for a simple theme and not that many moral or political themes. ’80s action hero movies are a perfect fit for that. They have a very black-and-white world, with good guys and bad guys. That is perfect. The enemy in Ranger Commando (World Peace Industries) is such a stereotypical pure, unfiltered evil. It means you don’t have to feel any remorse when you blow them up in a thousand pieces with your “bazooka” (I love the word bazooka from that period — why don’t we use that anymore?) The last part is the lack of handheld long-range communication from that period. I love that idea. In Ranger Commando, you drop at the beginning of the mission with your parachute on enemy terrain. Then you have to go to the extraction point, with no external communication, throw your flare, and wait for the helicopter. The “being disconnected” adds to the feeling I want to go for.

Q: How did you tackle the challenge of keeping the missions in Ranger Commando fresh and exciting with random generation?

A: To be honest, this part is not finished yet. It’s going to be the biggest challenge. My approach to this is that I try to think of a specific mission, and then try to see how I can break that up into parts and rules so that it can be randomized. What if you would need to cross a big river? Then I check — okay, X percent of the levels I’m going to generate a river. What about a mission where you need to rescue POWs? Then Y percent of the levels I’m going to generate that. I want to do this with a sufficient amount of concepts, so the combination of these concepts keeps it interesting. If the situations are interesting enough on their own, they are going to be multiplied by being combined in levels. Suddenly you have to find a boat to transfer your POWs over the river.

Q: I’m curious about the arsenal in Ranger Commando. How did you decide on the mix of weapons available in the game?

A: The weapons are very important. The gameplay loop is meant to be short. The goal is a game that you can play after a long day of work for just 20 to 60 minutes to blow off steam and then put aside again. To keep that fresh, the weapons are very important as they give you diversity in the gameplay loop. As the game leans heavily into stereotypical movies like Rambo, I would like to get all the stereotypical weapons from the ’80s. Think minigun, assault rifle, silenced pistol, but also more extreme weapons like a flamethrower or a harpoon gun. I want to keep the weapons grounded though — so no space lasers. There are going to be four different weapon slots, and in every slot you can have two weapons. Melee: things like a knife, sword, or chainsaw. Firearms: bullet-shooting guns like a pistol, Uzi, sniper rifle, etc. Special weapons: flamethrower, bazooka, crossbow, etc. Utility: airstrike, C4, and things like health packs. And then as a last category, you have throwables under the right-click / right-shoulder button (Steam Deck): things like explosive grenades, flashbangs, or fire grenades.

Q: Going solo in game development must have its ups and downs. What’s been the toughest part of developing Ranger Commando by yourself?

A: The toughest part is that you really have to figure out everything on your own. At Guerrilla Games, there was always a person you could walk to who knows more than you. Of course, you can still ask things in forums, but if you ever are going to get an answer, and in what kind of timespan, can be very random. At Guerrilla Games, I was used to just walking to someone’s desk and asking directly. I learned so much in such a short time.

Q: Are there any future expansions or new projects on your radar after Ranger Commando?

A: As Ranger Commando will be relatively light on story, I would like my next game to be a bit more lore- and story-heavy. It’s going to be violent, but “lighthearted” — meant for adults with a dark sense of humor, but who don’t want to immerse themselves in a grim world. Very similar to Ranger Commando, but this time in a more science fiction context. For the rest, I can’t spoil anything yet. It’s going to be a completely different game though. First, my full focus is on shipping Ranger Commando!

Q: With your rich history in developing major titles like Killzone, how has that experience shaped your approach with Ranger Commando?

A: I learned a lot from my Killzone period. Not only technical skills, but also how to set up a game engine and how important it is to invest in your own tools. Despite Unity already being an engine, there are so many things where you can optimize. Flow is very important for me. So I created my own Maya exporters, impact material system, and AI state machine builder. I even made my own file browser. I’m very focused on “mental load.” Whenever I feel mental friction during creation, I invest heavily in tackling this. That means that I often spend a few hours on something that causes me only a few minutes of annoyance or a few extra clicks — repeatedly though. On the short term, the cost doesn’t weigh up, but on the long term, this has exponential benefits, especially for my energy levels. While you feel you are in flow, it doesn’t drain energy. I practically can work every minute that I’m not eating, sleeping, or socializing.

Q: When can eager gamers get their hands on Ranger Commando? Are there any demos or beta versions coming up?

A: At the moment, I am incorporating online co-op after it has been requested a lot in comments on several social media posts. As you can imagine, trying to fit online co-op while you are already quite far in development is quite time-consuming. My initial plan was to make it to Summer Steam Next Fest, but I think it might get too tight. I would recommend wishlisting Ranger Commando on Steam and you’ll get the news as soon as the demo is live!

Q: Moving from a team environment at a big studio to flying solo must be quite a shift. Could you share some of the biggest adjustments or surprises you’ve encountered?

A: The biggest adjustment for me is the social part. I’ve always enjoyed the part where you are with a team working together toward a common goal. Flying solo means that you are missing out on that. I still work together with friends in a co-working space, so I do have a feedback loop where I can ask my friends how they think about A or B. It’s quite different though, because in the end, you are the only one responsible. Ranger Commando I develop during my weekends and evening hours. I do have two other small companies: poules.com and BUNNI. The latter I co-founded together with a friend, and it’s such a relief to have a peer where you both have the same level of responsibility. I missed that for a long time.

Q: With all the changes and layoffs in the gaming industry, how do you see the landscape evolving for both indie developers and big studios?

A: Personally, I think the +200 million budgets are going to have a challenging time in the future. It’s difficult to take risks if so much money is on the line, and I think that is also what we have seen with some games last year. I love the Horizon games from my friends at Guerrilla. But there are many other games that I think are too safe, very risk-averse, and I think that gamers feel that. (Indie) engines and tools are becoming really, really good though. I work myself in Unity, and I have so much fun doing it. It opens up a lot of opportunities for smaller companies. It is still very technical when the scope of your game gets bigger, but just not having to write your own particle system from scratch saves so much. Fun fact: I started my first version of Ranger Commando more than 12 years ago in XNA. There I needed to start working on a complete particle system and editor from scratch. “Surprisingly,” I didn’t come very far with that version. Also, AI helps. I’m definitely on the skeptical end about the moral parts of AI, but the great thing is that it makes it easier than ever to learn new things. I do see a lot of opportunity in the AA and indie game space.

Q: Your workspace must be quite the hub for creativity. Could you describe where you do most of your game development?

A: I spend about 5 months in Mexico and the other part of the year in Amsterdam. In Mexico, I spent a few months in Xochimilco — a part in the south of Mexico City. My family-in-law has a beautiful home there, where I work from the rooftop among the laundry and the pet chickens. In Amsterdam, I work in a co-working space for tech nerds right in the center of the city. It’s a beautiful building, the location is great (especially in the summer!), and I share a room there with friends in tech. For all the technical parts of game development and programming in general, it is great to be able to bounce off ideas!