Interview with Glenn McAnally

Elite Forces' success lies in the intense storyline created by one of the United State's most exciting thriller writers: Glenn McAnally.

Elite Forces follows a highly-trained team of soldiers' desperate attempts to prevent disaster on a global scale. Terrorists have kidnapped world reknowned personalities to use as pawns in order to launch an attack that will destroy most of the free world. The world's only hope lies in the United Nations' most secret weapon: the four members of Unit 77.

Besides a playability that catapults one into the action and impressive visuals, Elite Forces' success lies in the intense storyline created by one of the United State's most exciting thriller writers: Glenn McAnally.

Glenn, let's talk a little about your career as a novelist and screenwriter.

How did you make the foray into writing video games?

I had come off a great experience writing my first thriller novel Endangered and while I was promoting that book and finishing up a zany children's book, I was thinking of doing some kind of story for young adults. That was the time I was approached by Gammick Entertainment who was familiar with my work and asked how I felt about writing for a videogame.

What opportunities does writing the storyline for a video game offer that is not offered when writing for other mediums such as books, movies and TV?

With video games there's a speed to market mentalility that puts projects on the fast track to get into the hands of consumers. For me that translates to seeing my work brought to life faster and more vividly than ever. Leaps in technology have made videogames as intense as anything you can see on the big screen and there are more exciting developments on the horizon and I would like to be a part of that.

What has surprised you most about working on a videogame?

The greatest surprise for me was how a scriptwriter has to pack a lot of information into very little space so I have to choose my words very carefully.

What have been some of your references at the time of conceiving Unit 77 from Elite Forces?

I researched a lot about shadow operations that are in many branches of the United States government. The Delta Force for example. I know covert operations are done all the time but no one ever knows about it until years later that's how secretive these specialized units are. They have to be secret because they often have to detach themselves from any US involvement because they may participate in missions that are not officially sanctioned by the US.

What has been your level of detail in describing all the aspects of the unit's vehicles, weapons, etc in Elite Forces?

I want to make the scenarios believable with authentic detail. Therefore I make sure I do my homework. Players are very sophisticated these days so if I have a player shooting forty times with a Beretta 9mm without reloading the player will roll their eyes and lose interest in the game. You have to research specs of hardware the unit uses because whether a computer can get internet access in the jungle can have a major effect on the storyline. For me a lack of realism in this type of game lowers the playablility factor.

Who is your favorite hero in Elite Forces?

That would have to be Bill 'The Drill' Matic because he can cause more damage with a few strokes of his keyboard than with a whole aresenal of weapons.

Elite Forces presents a military crisis within the context of international political conspiracy. Your plot is dense, the type any player can enjoy?

Elite Forces is designed for any player to enjoy. Players want a good story because they want to know what they're fighting for and a reason behind their actions. I have created a storyline that is a bit more complex than the average shooter title. As the player advances from one level to the next, they will find themselves faced with moral dilemmas. Unit 77 will do some amazing things and wind up in unimaginable situations and it takes a lot of detailed backstory to explain how it is plausible that Unit 77 would wind up in such situations.

And finally. Do the good guys win at the end?

That's all going to depend on whether the player thinks quick, looks fast and keeps firing.

Glenn McAnally is a professional scriptwriter and the prolific author of thrilling novels such as Endangered.