This is our regular series that shines a light on some of the members of the Formation Games team.
Taking the questions this month is our Football Director, Guy Rogers.
Can you start by telling us when you joined Formation Games and what you were doing before?
I’m one of the co-founders of Formation Games Studio so I’ve been working on our first game, CLUB, for a while now.
Before we founded the studio, my role was product, business development, fundraising and whatever else was needed! A lot of the early work was coming up with creative ideas for CLUB and then talking to people to see if it resonated with them, so that we could seek funding to execute on our vision.
Prior to all of that, I was working with a company called Twenty First Group who advise football clubs and golfers and I worked on recruitment and player models there. Prior to Twenty First, I spent around 15 years working in the betting industry.
Can you tell us a bit about your role as Football Director?
I’m responsible for the strategy of the business but also involved in the creative process of the game, particularly around the football side e.g. player scoring and player profiles. We’re ensuring our game is as authentic as possible to football for fans around the world, and that’s a key part of my role.
Let’s talk games! What’s the first football game you can remember playing?
The first football game I can remember was Championship Manager when I was 9 years old. I can’t remember too much but I think it was just buying and selling players, sticking them in a formation and letting the simulator decide your fate. The aim was to lead your chosen team to success in domestic and international competitions.
My friend and I used to sit on the floor of his mum’s bedroom looking at the big old TV monitor, watching the text commentary and suddenly the screen would just go “GOAL!”. Exciting… and a little bit similar to what we want to do with CLUB eh?!
Do you have a favourite football team?
I’m a lifelong Liverpool supporter.
Your happiest football memory?
Ooh, that’s big. I would say the first game I ever went to was the FA Cup Final in 1986 when Liverpool beat Everton 3–1. That was when Wembley was still standing so people would climb into the stadium without tickets so, for many reasons, that game really stands out (I did have a ticket).
I obviously have to mention the Champions League final in 2005, where we came back from 3–0 down to 3–3 and won on penalties. And the Barcelona game in 2019 where we were 3–0 down after the first leg and went on to beat them 4–0 in the second leg at Anfield! Also I can’t forget the Dortmund fixture in the Europa League in our first season under Klopp, that was another incredible comeback!
Those are my Liverpool highlights but I think watching my son Artie play is on a parallel with those memories. I also had a cup win in a work-related tournament in Birmingham with a previous employer. We were 2–0 down came back to 2–2 so went to penalties, I had just handed my notice in and there I was about to take the final penalty at 4–4. I stepped up and it was the worst penalty I’d ever taken, the keeper got 2 hands to it but it squeezed in the bottom right-hand corner and we won the cup!
What excites you most about CLUB?
I just can’t wait to get it into people’s hands and to start to see how they react!
When you’ve been this close to a product for so long, that’s the exciting bit — to see what others think. We’ve spoken to a lot of people and everyone buys into the vision, so I’m looking forward to fans playing.
Last question, if you could have a superpower, what would you choose?
Ermmm… I think it’s got to be flying. I’d find it fun if I was super fast and I could keep my power undercover and use it to win Olympic races, or something like that. People would be like “how on earth is he winning all these races?” and I’d just kept that on the sly the entire time!
