INTERVIEW: Imagine Dragons’ Dan & Mac Reynolds Talk ‘Last Flag’, Their Upcoming Video Game

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At some point or another, you may have come across a tune by Imagine Dragons. Ranging from “Believer” to “Thunder” to “Radioactive”, this American pop-rock group’s music has ruled the globe since 2008 due to their infectious rhythms and poignant lyrics. Their songs have made appearances in films, TV series, commercials, and even video games. Now, Imagine Dragons members, Mac Reynolds, the band’s manager, and Dan Reynolds, the lead vocalist, are channeling their creative energies into developing a video game of their own, titled “Last Flag”.

The genesis of Last Flag occurred around 2020, marking the initial stage of its creation within Night Street Games, a freshly established game development studio by the siblings.

Inquiring about their latest project, I asked Dan and Mac Reynolds for details on what led to the creation of Last Flag. I also wanted to understand their vision for Night Street Games moving forward. Initially, I was intrigued about why the siblings decided to develop a game centered around the Capture the Flag game mode and the motivation behind it.

Mac Reynolds shared with me that the basis of this game is reminiscent of the childhood game of Capture the Flag, which was a favorite among many kids. While there were numerous modes featuring this concept in games like Unreal Tournament, Quake, and others, they all lacked the essential element where you could hide your flag anywhere you desired. This unique aspect, he explained, adds an exciting level of freedom to each gameplay experience and introduces a dash of psychology as players stealthily navigate the map to understand their opponents’ strategies. As they began to develop the game, they recognized its distinctiveness, with the goal of encapsulating this essence in a loop that offers high replayability and enjoyable team experiences.

Wondering about the backstory of the other characters in the game, since one of them is depicted as a Boy Scout, given the game’s inspiration?

Dan Reynolds remarks that each contestant has a unique motivation for trying out for the show. While some intentions are clear, others require delving deeper to understand as a participant. For instance, Julius, formerly a bounty hunter now turned author, aims to publicize his latest book. Alejandro, who’s a soldier, wants to bring attention to his missing sister from their childhood. He wears her guitar on his back, hoping she might catch sight of him on TV and hold onto hope. There may be some individuals with less than honorable intentions participating as well…

Did the development of the game begin around 2020 or so? I’m curious about your journey from brainstorming the idea to actually creating the game. Additionally, have there been any unexpected obstacles you encountered during this process that you didn’t anticipate before starting development?

Mac expresses that crafting your initial game is somewhat similar to producing your inaugural album – you invest a significant amount of time in a creative, brainstorming phase where ideas are being tossed around and refined before any tangible progress occurs. The luxury of such an extended planning period isn’t usually granted for subsequent games or albums, so we made an effort to maintain an open mind with our concepts as long as feasible. The process commenced with discussions between Dan and I, followed by sketches, and even songs and animations that Dan created to further develop the concept. We explored various approaches, such as isometric views and fog of war, before discovering what seemed like the perfect manifestation of all these ideas.

During the development phase, we’ve encountered numerous hurdles. One issue was finding a balance between making the game exciting (by hiding flags randomly) and ensuring it wasn’t just luck who found the hidden flag. After many brainstorming sessions, primarily with our talented Game Director, Matthew Berger, we arrived at the concept of radar towers and other features that provided the right amount of structure to the chaos.

For Dan, could you describe your experience with this whole process versus composing music? Since I know you’re a programmer too, have you integrated any of your programming abilities into the game at all?

In my work, I often draw from personal experiences and emotions, so it was refreshing to immerse myself solely in the world of Last Flag and its 70s atmosphere while creating the music. The process was quite collaborative, involving myself, Dave Lowmiller (our audio lead who is also a member of a metal band and has worked on Battlefield), and Grammy-nominated producer JT Daly. We incorporated numerous real instruments and recording techniques suitable for that era. It’s been an enjoyable journey so far.

For several years now, I’ve been learning programming online, which serves as my creative outlet away from the stage. I’ve managed to develop a fair amount of proficiency in prototyping concepts using Unity. Initially, when we founded Last Flag, these prototypes became our foundation, and over time, we were able to build an impressive team of developers that expanded our capabilities.

With the finish line of Last Flag approaching, is there a surge of creativity brewing for new concepts and perhaps the next project from Night Street Games?

In simpler terms, Mac shared that the team is brainstorming concepts for Game Two and potential destinations for Last Flag in the upcoming stages. However, they’re primarily focusing on gathering player feedback and being open-minded about the perfect version of the game. They learn something new every day from their players and have lots of ideas to develop before easing up on the development pace. Dan mentioned that although they aspire to be a multi-game studio, they treat this first project as their main focus, with an aim for long-term success.

The game “Last Flag” can be played for free in a limited-time trial on Steam between August 25 and September 1, as part of Steam’s Third-Person Shooter Festival.

In 2026, we anticipate the release of Last Flag on Windows PC through both Steam and the Epic Games Store. Console versions are slated for launch at a subsequent time.

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2025-08-27 14:50