Civilization Beyond Earth lead game designers Will Miller and David McDonough have told Venturebeat about the switch from history to the future and some of the choices players will have to make along the way.
McDonough said Beyond Earth is rooted more in science than Alpha Centauri was and it's all about making step-by-step developments which will bring the game to a "totally sci-fi" state. He commented:
"I think Alpha Centauri was actually a pretty fun blend of science and science fiction. It was maybe a little heavier on the fiction side. But we’ve had a good time making that blend, too. We’re different people, and we have a different level of fandom for the various branches of science and sci-fi.
"One of my favorite things about this game is that it starts off very rooted in science and builds these threads of plausibility all the way through to its wildest, most ridiculous fiction. We sort of trick you along the way — “Oh, this is totally real, we can totally do this” — and, by the end of the game, you’ve gone totally sci-fi. But an emphasis on real science is part of our enthusiasm for the game. It’s an opportunity to have some fun."
Miller added:
"The reason why we chose to take that approach is because we really care about the suspension of disbelief. We want to maintain that in the player throughout the whole experience. You do end up in a very sci-fi place at the end of the game. You’re changing the physiology of the human species.
"You’re making these fantastical vehicles and units. The face of the planet is changing based on what you’ve done to it. But to get there, we want you to go through these incremental steps that all make sense. When you finish a game of Beyond Earth, you can say, 'Yeah, I understand how that, in some future, might happen'."
Even so, Miller's previously noted that Firaxis has done a lof of research for Beyond Earth by turning to sci-fi classics from the likes of Isaac Asimov and Orson Scott Card.
Beyond Earth sees humanity leave our home world after an event called 'The Great Mistake' and the developers say that while some background will be provided, they want players to come up with their own version of what happened.
Before games begin, players will design the space ship which will get them to the new planet as well as who to bring along but McDonough says, "There’s a lot of strategy in it, but we don’t want to misrepresent ourselves. The choices you make at the very beginning of the game are presented abstractly. You decide who you’re going to start out as and what you’re going to take with you, but the whole game takes place on the new planet. "
From turn zero right until the end of the game, all the action will take place on this other world.
Civilization: Beyond Earth is set for release later this year.
