The Legacy of Alpha Centauri
Evolution is at work here, but just what is evolving remains to be seen.
--Comissioner Pravin Lal, "Man and Machine"
Tomorrow will see the international release of Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth on Microsoft Windows. This addition to the Civilization series takes the action to space, and is a spiritual successor to 1999's Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, itself intended as a sequel to Civilization II. Fans of that game will recognise this as being both a welcome and a worrying fact.
First, a quick summary of Alpha Centauri. Earth is lost and mankind travels to the distant Alpha Centauri system, to the planet Charon, to rebuild civilization. The colonists split under the leadership of seven charismatic figures who vie for survival. They are up against an eighth character: Planet itself.
What made Alpha Centauri special was how well-written and researched it was. The technologies and social projects in the game were within the bounds of scientific theory at the time of release (indeed, the in-game researchable Human Genome project has since been completed in real life) and even the most outlandish fancies such as teleportation are theoretically possible. This can be contrasted to a franchise such as Mass Effect, which has a detailed, hard science universe that nevertheless relies entirely on the fictional Element Zero. Alpha Centauri does not need such additions to make its world work. It adheres to Occam's Razor beautifully.
The seven leaders are fascinating. Almost every significant event comes with commentary from a leader, and these each provide as succinct a summary of their world views as you can ask for. Colonel Santiago (Spartan Federation) speaks efficiently on military doctrine, CEO Morgan (Morgan Industries) discusses 'the ethics of greed' and pragmatic economics in a rich, extroverted voice. The Human Hive's Chairman Yang's lilting, gentle lecture on the meaninglessness of sensory input chillingly accompanies a video of virtual reality torture. A lesser game would have transformed these characters into caricatures. But no matter how abhorrent they may appear on the surface, you realise they each raise valid points. Whatever atrocity Yang rationalises, every inflection in his voice tells you he believes in what he's saying. Likewise, Morgan is a brilliant economist who is more present-minded than anyone else on Planet. As the game carries on, you start to notice the delicious ironies setting in: future advancements are viewed with scepticism and caution by Sister Godwinson (Lord's Believers), as well they should be. In contrast the decidedly rationalist Academician Zakharov (University of Planet) begins to speak of his discoveries with an almost religious fervour. The outwardly pacifist Lady Skye (Gaia's Stepdaughters) has no qualms about using Planet's psychic fauna to drive her enemies insane. For all their ideals and philosophies, these are flawed people.
It is this insistence on the creation of a well-researched, convincing and philosophically diverse universe that is Alpha Centauri's real legacy. It is something that is missing from mainstream gaming, to say nothing of the genre of 4X, turn-based strategy. I have followed the development of Civilization: Beyond Earth and am perfectly willing to concede that it looks like a great game. I am just sceptical as to whether it can really be a 'spiritual successor' to Alpha Centauri. Sure, they could easily make the game better to play, but that is not the real spirit that has to be captured. It may be overly optimistic to expect that level of writing and presentation again (witness Starcraft 2). Indeed, Alpha Centauri's own expansion pack, Alien Crossfire, didn't get it right. And the gaming industry has changed so much since then.
I guess we'll find out soon enough. Either way, I'm excited. Transcendence awaits.
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