14 DAY TRIAL // Civilization: Beyond Earth is the most recent big project from the development team at Firaxis and the leader of the studio, Sid Meier, believes that it can introduce a number of solid new features while keeping the core elements of the franchise it belongs to.
The veteran developer tells Gamespot that taking the player seriously is the most important aspect of the series’ success.
He states, “We assume they want to spend some interesting time with a game, that they're willing to think, be imaginative, and try out different things. That they're looking for an experience that is going to engage a good part of their brain and allow them to learn something, try something, or experience something new.”
Sid Meier says that his work on strategy titles means that he often approaches movies and books with a “what if?” mindset and then tries to replicate the experience in a game to see how it would play out.
The developer adds, “Civilization is certainly a good example of a game that never plays the same way twice and it always throws a new challenge at you and a new opportunity. You learn a new thing each time you play. At least, I hope that's true of the games that I design. That's really what I'm trying to accomplish.”
Sid Meier will not be the leading developer working on Civilization: Beyond Earth, but he will be advising the team through all the stages of the game making process.
Firaxis has promised that it will keep the spirit of the classic Alpha Centauri alive in its new title, while making sure that it has the core features that appeal to modern gamers.
This means a new take on technology and how it would affect the flow of the game and a quest structure that’s designed to give players narrative content, while allowing them to see how they can reach one of the five new victory conditions.
The company is also using the one military unit per hex concept from Civilization V, but at the same time, it will add new futuristic units and extra layers of action in order to give gamers more options when they choose to attack enemy factions.
The flora and the fauna of the alien planet featured in the game will also play a major role in the flow of the strategy title.
Civilization: Beyond Earth will be delivered to fans before the end of the year and the team currently only has plans to launch it on the PC.