Because Paradox is like a really thoughtful, sometimes obtuse, older cousin with a family secret that they only want to tell you weekly, strategy and space fans alike will be pestering that cousin every Monday for details about their upcoming space grand strategy game, Stellaris. Was that confusing? Anyways, Henrik Fåhraeus, game director for Stellaris, has released the first in a string of weekly development diaries for Stellaris, the upcoming Paradox joint that is guaranteed to blow your mind.
Even though this first installment is lite on game details, it does contain some honest discussion about what we can expect form the game and what Paradox and Henrik would love to see through the development. As all good stories start, Henrik chronicles the thinking that went behind the idea of Stellaris and how long they’ve wanted to develop a game like this.
So, how come we decided to make a space game of all things? Well, the idea has been kicking around the office ever since Europa Universalis II was released (we ended up making Hearts of Iron instead.) Ah, those were the days… Now, as you may know, our ambition is to eventually cover the entire “human timeline” with our games… including the future. So, in essence, making a space game is both something that has had a lot of support internally among the developers (seeking freedom from the shackles of history) and that many of you, our faithful players, have requested over the years.
Paradox has been kicking around this idea since 2001 with the release of EUII — a long time to sit on what would could be their most successful mainstream game yet. And Stellaris has big ambitions: biggest of all, an increased amount of replay value and unpredictability… Really? In the hallowed halls of Grand Strategy Games you can always expect to have multiple games occupying your time. But they need to diverge from their historic past to make their meteoric rise into the stars. As stated on the Development Diary:
Stellaris diverges from all of our other games in certain key respects:
- It is not historical.
- It features a symmetrical start.
- You start out small.
- Most of the world is unknown.
Even though these points fall under the category of 4X space games, a title that Henrik says he “somewhat dislike(s) the term”, but his excitement for parts of the 4X chain the he feels are unrepresented in palpable.
The early game is thus characterized by exploration and discovering the wonders of the galaxy. We have put a lot of effort into making this part of the game feel fresh and unique every time you play. Then you start coming into contact with rival space-faring races and soon you reach the mid game, when there is not much left to colonize and your easy expansion grinds to a halt.
Check back into Gameaspect every week for analysis and news about Stellaris and everything else nerd!
