14 DAY TRIAL // Civilization: Beyond Earth is one of the most interesting strategic titles of the year, and the developers working on it at Firaxis have already delivered a lot of information about the stories it will tell and about the core mechanics that gamers can use to colonize the alien planet and dominate their rivals.
Now, co-lead designer Will Miller is ready to offer players a glimpse inside the actual development process by talking to io9 about the various other media that his team used as inspiration when creating the experience, which straddles the fine line between science fiction and realism.
He states, “The game's fiction references something called the ‘Great Mistake’, which is a nod to Dan Simmons's Hyperion Cantos. The ‘Contact’ victory type is an homage to Carl Sagan's novel of the same name, and the philosophical basis for the Purity Affinity was inspired in part by the Albertian Order of Leibowitz in Walter Miller Jr.'s A Canticle for Leibowitz.”
At the same time, the big siege worms that pose a deadly threat to player units and colonies at the start of the game are modeled on those created by Frank Herbert for his impressive Dune saga.
Miller says that plenty of other references are part of Civilization: Beyond Earth and that, after launch, his studio will look forward to talking about them all with the fan base on the official forums.
The developer also confirms that Firaxis is also introducing a range of Easter Eggs linked to Alpha Centauri, the classic turn-based strategy experience that is the main influence for the new title.
He adds, “There are several Alpha Centauri Easter eggs in the game, the most obvious being the ‘Transcendence’ victory. There are many less obvious references throughout the game, and I'm excited to see fans discover them!”
Civilization: Beyond Earth takes gamers to an entirely new planet and allows them to choose what European nation they want to play and to also customize the ship that will take them there and the initial cargo.
The turn-based strategy title is designed to keep many elements of Civilization V, including the one military unit per hex rule, while also introducing new elements like the Affinity system, the tech web, and the Favor concept for diplomacy.
Civilization: Beyond Earth will be only launched on the PC, and gamers can get access to it on October 24 of this year.