After five years in development, the city-builderFloodlandwill offer players the chance to explore a post-apocalyptic world destroyed by the effects of climate change when it releases onSteamlater this fall. Players will be challenged to build communities strong enough to survive in a new world after the polar ice caps have flooded most of civilization out of existence.
“There are no electronics, and we have been set back by 1,000 years or more” inFloodland, according to writer Alexandre Stroganov. “We are trying to rebuild some semblance of society. attempt to create a kind of settlement where these peoples who have been … apart now have to clash with each other and have to live together.” With many social and political aspects driving the story,Floodland’s goals can seem complex. However, it includes familiar themes from severalpost-apocalyptic storiesthat many will recognize. Game Rant spoke to Stroganov about these themes and development challenges ahead of the survival city-builder’s release this fall
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Restoring Power to Save Humanity
The player’s quest inFloodlandwill be rebuilding the world as best they can with limited resources available. Materials to build homes and cook food must be scavenged, rewarded by exploring the fog-covered land. From the start, the player will need to work their way through typicaltrials and tribulations of the city-builder genrealongside complex human relations.
Residents of the established settlements must learn to work and live with one another, guided by the player’s choices. Stroganov compares the society building aspect to real human history. “It’s like a hint that we (the in-game NPCs) have been nomadic until the point where the player comes in.”
“First, you are going to collect stuff that is detachable and easy to construct without many machines. But as you progress, it’s going to become more and more complex. You start with plastic debris that you put your shanty town together into. And later on you’ll be able to build proper houses. You will also be able to impact your environment.”
Depending on players' decisions, they may encounter any five of around 30 possible clans per playthrough, according to Stroganov. Thoseclans may be friendly or hostile, and how they are dealt with can impact the game’s outcome in positive or negative ways.
The Lay of the Floodland
InFloodland’s imagined future, the oceans rose and drowned most of the known modern world. All that remains is the land available to explore within a clouded map of the unexplored. The player’s quest to restore power inFloodlandgoes beyond making their way to the “Rebirth Power Plant,” as in-between explorations they develop human connections to help a society thrive. Inrestoring that power to the peopleor their leader, Stroganov said players may learn more about themselves.
“There is a specific story that is going to lead the player to a specific place. That’s the thing that you have to complete, but the emphasis is ‘Can you make the people survive together?’ This is a game that will require some learning.”
City-builder games can be complicated, and the added pressure of maintaining a societycould seem overwhelming for players new to the genre. “This game is about the complexity of human relations, and I believe they are captured in a pretty good way,” Stroganov said. “A lot of the things within the game are natural. So don’t get discouraged. Keep playing the game. Keep killing your people sometimes and then restarting the game and not letting them die until you think this is what you want.”
