The company was ready to create a unique backstory for them

Mar 25, 2014 02:16 GMT  ·  By

XCOM: Enemy Unknown, as re-imagined by Firaxis, was never a game too attached to its characters, but it seems that in an early version of the title, the studio imagined chief engineer and chief scientist Dr. Vahlen and Dr. Shen as a married couple.

Chris Sulzbach, the lead character artist who worked on the title, explains in an official blog that, “Everyone on the team had their own backstory for Vahlen. What surprised me is that no one attached Vahlen with Central. It was always Vahlen and Shen.”

Apparently, creating such a powerful bond between the pair affected the game because it did not allow the team to present different perspectives on the alien technology that gamers got access to.

Greg Foertsch, the project art director, says that Firaxis decided to keep the two separate when they first though of MELD.

The substance, which is available in limited quantities in levels and can be acquired at great risk, can be used to modify soldiers on a genetic level in order to expand their abilities or can be spent to create powerful mechanized combat suits.

The two agendas of the characters made it hard for gamers to imagine them as being married, especially as the plot of the game progressed.

The project art director also talked about their visual design, explaining that, “Vahlen has her pristine lab coat that conveys knowledge and patience. To counter that, we gave Shen a look that shows he’s a builder, someone who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, and adds a certain toughness to his character. We knew Shen and Vahlen were going to have a yin and yang-type relationship.”

Sulzbach says that, at one point, a wedding ring was created for Vahlen, but that ended up never being used in XCOM: Enemy Unknown because the company wanted players to be free to imagine their own relationships between the various included characters.

The title created by Firaxis and published by 2K Games is one of the best strategy-focused experiences of the last few years, especially when the Enemy Within expansion is used.

It allows the player to control research, manufacturing and tactical deployments as he battles aliens that initially have superior tech and firepower.

Firaxis has not said whether it plans to introduce a second expansion for XCOM or whether it is actively exploring the possibility of introducing a full sequel that will explain the range of aliens that can be fought.