Hogs of War
Hogs of War is a turn-based tactics video game developed by Infogrames Sheffield House and published by Infogrames, released in 2000 for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows platforms.[1][2] The game is set in a humorous, anthropomorphic World War I-inspired conflict among six pig nations vying for control of the swill-rich archipelago of Saustralasia in the South Pigsific Ocean.[3][4] Players command squads of customizable hogs across 25 single-player campaign levels or in multiplayer battles supporting up to four participants, utilizing over 40 weapons such as bazookas, sniper rifles, and jetpacks, along with vehicles like tanks.[4][3] Gameplay emphasizes strategic positioning on 3D terrain, class-based roles including medics, engineers, and heavy weapons specialists, and a promotion system to advance squad members, drawing comparisons to the Worms series but with fully realized 3D environments.[5] The title features comedic voice acting provided by British comedian Rik Mayall, enhancing its satirical tone on wartime tropes.[3][4]Gameplay
Single-player campaign
The single-player campaign in Hogs of War unfolds across a world map divided into five regions—Hogshead, Saustralia, Trotsville, Bellyopolis, and Arstria—culminating in a final mission on the Isle of Swill, for a total of 25 missions.[6] Players navigate this map to advance through the regions, conquering enemy territories in a turn-based strategy format that emphasizes tactical positioning and resource management.[6] Each region features five missions, with the objective of defeating opposing pig forces to claim victory and unlock the next area, progressing from introductory training to increasingly complex battles.[6] Missions incorporate a variety of objectives beyond simple extermination, such as capture-the-flag, king-of-the-hill, and targeted destruction of enemy assets like supply lines or fortifications.[6] Environmental interactions play a key role, with destructible terrain including bridges, buildings, and natural features that can be exploited for ambushes or defensive advantages, adding depth to the turn-based combat.[6] Opposing forces are nation-themed, pitting the player's squad against enemies like the Piggystroika (Russian-inspired) or Garlic Grunts (French-inspired), each with regionally appropriate tactics and compositions.[6] Progression relies on accumulating Promotion Points (PP), earned from mission completions (1 PP each), region conquests (5 PP each), and bonuses such as no unit deaths or specific objectives, which players use between missions to promote existing units to higher classes.[6][7] The campaign features a permadeath risk system, where fallen pigs return for the next mission unless excessive losses occur (e.g., 3 or more deaths), resulting in permanent removal of lower-ranked units and introducing risk to squad development.[6][7] This structure encourages strategic planning across the campaign, balancing immediate mission survival with long-term squad development.[6]Multiplayer modes
Hogs of War supports local multiplayer for up to four players, allowing competitive battles without the narrative structure of the single-player campaign.[8] On the PlayStation version, this is facilitated through split-screen play, enabling simultaneous viewing for all participants on a single console.[9] In contrast, the PC edition utilizes a hotseat system, where players take turns on the same machine without split-screen visuals.[8] The available modes emphasize direct confrontation and strategy, including deathmatch and various survival modes (novice, expert, strategy), where players compete to eliminate opponents or be the last standing, with customizable win conditions such as points accumulation or total eliminations.[6] Win conditions can be adjusted for points accumulation, total eliminations, or survival as the last team standing, with options to incorporate AI opponents for hybrid human-AI matches when player counts are uneven.[6][8] Map selection draws from reused campaign levels or dedicated custom arenas, with further variety available through randomly generated landscapes to ensure replayability.[10] Players can tweak settings such as team compositions, turn timers, and starting health to tailor matches. A notable difference in the PC version is the lack of animated movement for AI units during hotseat turns, as they instantly reposition for weapon pickups without visual walks, unlike the fluid animations on consoles.[11]Combat mechanics and classes
Hogs of War features a turn-based artillery-style combat system inspired by World War I trench warfare, where players command squads of anthropomorphic pigs across varied terrains such as mud-filled trenches and island landscapes.[3] Each turn allows a player to select one unit, move it within a limited distance based on terrain and unit fatigue, aim weapons manually in a third-person view, and fire projectiles whose trajectories are influenced by environmental factors like wind direction and elevation differences.[12] This sequential structure emphasizes tactical positioning, as units cannot act again until the next turn, and failed shots or missteps can expose them to counterattacks.[13] The game divides pig units into four distinct classes, each specializing in specific roles and equipped with unique weapons that promote diverse strategies. Heavy Gunners focus on high-damage area attacks, wielding weapons like bazookas for explosive blasts effective against clustered enemies.[3] Engineers handle demolition and support, using grenades for short-range throws and tools for repairing allied structures or vehicles.[14] Espionage units excel in stealth and disruption, employing sabotage devices and silenced rifles to infiltrate and eliminate from afar. Medics prioritize team survival, deploying healing kits or revival syringes to restore health to downed comrades, often at the risk of close-range vulnerability.[15]| Class | Primary Role | Example Weapons/Abilities |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy Gunner | Area damage and firepower | Bazookas, cluster grenades |
| Engineer | Explosives and repairs | Grenades, mines, repair kits |
| Espionage | Stealth and sabotage | Silenced rifles, disguise kits |
| Medic | Healing and revival | Medical syringes, health packs |
Plot and setting
Storyline
The storyline of Hogs of War centers on a satirical parody of World War I-era trench warfare, where anthropomorphic pigs from rival nations clash over control of swill, a vital resource depicted as the "lifeblood" of pig society. The conflict ignites when swine scientists discover vast swill deposits on the fictional continent of Saustralasia in the South Pigsific Ocean, prompting six pig nations—Tommy's Trotters (Britain), Garlic Grunts (France), Sow-A-Krauts (Germany), Uncle Ham's Hogs (United States), Piggystroika (Russia), and Sushi Swine (Japan)—to declare war and invade the resource-rich land.[6][19] Players command a squad from one of these nations in a single-player campaign that unfolds across Saustralasia's five primary regions: Hogshead, Saustralia, Trotsville, Bellyopolis, and Arstria. The narrative arc follows a progression of territorial conquests, with the squad recruiting and promoting specialized pigs—such as medics, engineers, and commandos—to overcome enemy forces in 25 missions, including key events like invasions, ambushes, and rescues (e.g., "Saving Private Rind"). This world-building emphasizes the absurdity of resource-driven nationalism through pun-filled geography and nation names that mock real-world stereotypes.[6][20] The campaign builds to a climactic battle on the Isle of Swill against the elite Team Lard, a group of legendary pigs representing the pinnacle of the war effort. Victory leads to a satirical resolution where the nations celebrate peace with a feast, underscoring the conflict's pointlessness; narrator I. P. Grimly delivers an upbeat monologue justifying the carnage for the medals earned, while hinting at potential future wars. Narrative elements are conveyed through cutscenes featuring voiced briefings, instructional "educational films" on warfare, and comic-style panels that blend humor with anti-war commentary.[6][21]Characters and humor
In Hogs of War, players command a squad of five anthropomorphic pigs, each customizable through naming and promotion via earned points to advance through class-specific career paths such as Grunt to Hero, with unique taunts and death animations enhancing the comedic tone during combat.[6][13] These pigs exhibit cartoonish personalities, smiling or cowering in exaggerated responses to battlefield events, adding layers of slapstick humor to the turn-based tactics.[13] Player-controlled pigs feature class-specific quips, such as medics offering healing with cheeky one-liners that poke fun at their roles, reinforcing the game's lighthearted parody of military archetypes.[6] The voice acting is a cornerstone of the humor, provided by British comedian Rik Mayall as the narrator and generals—including Armitage Shanks—with his manic delivery of pig-themed puns and British-inflected sarcasm, alongside Marc Silk voicing the rank-and-file troops in distinct national accents for added comedic flair.[22][23] This full cast brings thousands of lines infused with wordplay, such as references to "pork chop" grenades and "swill wells," blending absurd animal puns with sharp British wit.[6] The overall humor style emphasizes slapstick violence through exaggerated pig animations and weaponry, alongside satirical wordplay that parodies war tropes like propaganda posters and resource control slogans such as "He who controls the swill controls the universe."[6][13] Cultural nods include references to World War I history via missions evoking trench warfare and "over the top" charges, escalated absurdly with pig-adapted armaments like flamethrowers, critiquing militarism through animal rights undertones in the anthropomorphic conflict.[6]Development
Conception and influences
The development of Hogs of War began in 1997 at Gremlin Interactive, where founder Ian Stewart conceived the core idea of a pig-themed strategy game inspired by the 1995 film Babe, which featured anthropomorphic animals, and the real-time strategy title Command & Conquer (1995), aiming to blend squad-based tactics with humorous animal protagonists.[24][25] This initial concept envisioned warring pig nations in a fictional land called Saustralasia, parodying resource-driven conflicts through battles over "swill," a satirical stand-in for commodities like oil or Tiberium from Command & Conquer.[25] As development progressed under lead programmer Jacob Habgood, the team incorporated influences from the Worms series, particularly its turn-based artillery combat mechanics, which the developers enjoyed during breaks and adapted to create team-based elements in a 3D environment distinct from a potential 3D Worms.[19] The game's satirical war setting drew from World War I history, echoing the black comedy of the final season of Blackadder (1989), to critique human warfare through absurd pig soldiers and politically motivated "pig sacrifices."[25] Early prototypes, outlined in design documents, emphasized humor and accessibility, focusing on non-destructible terrain, diverse weapons, and strategic level design to ensure the game appealed to a broad audience while maintaining tactical depth.[25][19] Following Gremlin's acquisition by Infogrames in 1999, the project continued at the renamed Infogrames Sheffield House, where designers like Phil Wilson refined the single-player experience for balanced difficulty.[19][26] The team's vision, as briefed by Stewart, centered on a family-friendly yet comically violent parody that avoided overwhelming complexity, ultimately settling on four pig classes—Grunt, Heavy Weapons, Medic, and Engineer—to support strategic squad management without excessive micromanagement.[27][25]Production process
Development of Hogs of War began in 1997 at Gremlin Interactive's Sheffield studio and continued until its completion in 2000, spanning approximately three years.[28] The project transitioned ownership following Infogrames' acquisition of Gremlin in 1999 for £24 million, after which the studio was renamed Infogrames Sheffield House; this shift occurred mid-development but did not halt progress, with the game launching under the Infogrames banner.[29][30] The core development team, consisting of about 15 members at the Sheffield studio, was led by senior designer and producer Adrian Carless, with programming support from lead Jacob Habgood, who handled turn-based AI and overall code structure.[31][32] Artists focused on creating detailed 3D pig models and custom animations to capture humorous, anthropomorphic movements, such as waddling and exaggerated reactions to combat.[31] Technically, the game utilized a custom 3D engine optimized for the PlayStation, incorporating destructible environments like buildings and objects to enable strategic destruction and cover usage, though full terrain deformation was avoided due to hardware limits.[9] Voice recording sessions featured British comedian Rik Mayall providing the bulk of character lines, alongside voice actor Marc Silk for additional pig voices, with sessions completed shortly after Mayall's recovery from a 1998 quad bike accident.[22][33] Key challenges included balancing the game's satirical humor—through pig puns and absurd scenarios—with deeper turn-based strategy elements, ensuring accessibility without diluting tactical depth.[31] PlayStation hardware constraints, particularly limited memory (around 2MB RAM), necessitated optimizations like disc streaming for animations and voiceovers to minimize load times, while reusing physics engines from Gremlin's Actua Golf for realistic projectile trajectories and bouncing effects.[31] The PC port, released simultaneously, required adjustments for keyboard and mouse controls, addressing issues like imprecise aiming and AI pathfinding differences, where computer-controlled pigs do not fully animate walking movements.[11][34] Beta testing involved iterative refinements based on internal feedback, focusing on weapon balance to prevent overpowered options from dominating matches, mission difficulty scaling for progressive challenge, and the swill economy system—where players collect "swill" as currency for promotions and gear—to ensure fair resource progression without frustrating early-game stalls.[31] These playtests, conducted using a flexible level editor, emphasized fun chain-reaction physics and AI responsiveness, leading to adjustments that enhanced replayability across the 25-mission campaign.[31]Release
Platforms and dates
Hogs of War was initially released for the PlayStation console and Microsoft Windows personal computers. The PlayStation version served as the primary console release, while the PC port was developed subsequently to expand accessibility on personal computers.[5][3] The game launched in the United Kingdom for PlayStation on June 16, 2000, with other European countries following on varying dates such as June 19 in Germany and August 25 in France; the North American PlayStation release occurred on September 29, 2000. The PC version arrived later, releasing in North America on November 3, 2000, and in Europe in September–October 2000 (e.g., France in September and Germany on October 25). Published by Infogrames for both platforms in Europe and North America, the game received an ESRB rating of Teen due to animated blood, comic mischief, and mild language.[35][1][3][36][1][37]| Platform | Region | Release Date | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| PlayStation | United Kingdom | June 16, 2000 | Infogrames |
| PlayStation | North America | September 29, 2000 | Infogrames |
| Microsoft Windows | North America | November 3, 2000 | Infogrames |
| Microsoft Windows | Europe | September–October 2000 | Infogrames |