“Greetings survivor”
There’s a plan, but if we don't persevere there will be messy times ahead.
Stay focused and we’ll get there in the end.
We must rebuild!
Welcome to Floodland, “Now our eyes are open to this new world”
Floodland is not a game about the end of the world, but about the beginnings of a new one. When we came to create our overall vision for the game, we were inspired by lots of classic city builders, but especially 11 Bit Studios’ excellent Frostpunk. However, we also wanted to address some of the city builder’s limitations, and help the genre evolve by offering players a chance to think in new ways.
Our first thought was to create a sandbox-style experience, so you can choose from lots of different paths to bring society back from disaster. Our key focus is freedom; freedom to create your own society in whatever manner you choose. You can be a freedom loving libertarian, or a despotic authoritarian, or whatever you like in between. Even change your approach as circumstances change, but consider each style of government has advantages and consequences. We also wanted you to change from thinking like a city builder, to thinking much more like a society builder.
Another real point of difference is the setting. At first, our backdrop was a more generic post-apocalyptic one, but when we added the flood, it immediately became a much more interesting environment. We think it’s engaging and connects players with current environmental concerns with glaciers melting and sea levels predicted to rise. Linking it to the current climate crisis we’re living through grounds it in reality and makes it more relatable. It makes you think, what would I do in this situation? How would I rebuild?
Whatever way you decide, we’re going to equip you with all the means necessary to do so. If there’s one thing we want players to take from the game, it’s to feel the struggle required to create an effective community. There’s a myriad of key decisions to make, from covering basic needs like food, shelter, and water, to where you’ll focus your resources and manpower. When is a good time to expand? What risks will this bring? And even, what kind of people you’ll welcome into your collective? We also want you to see the outcome of what happens when you make even the smallest changes to your society’s organisation.
The key to building a functioning community is that you need a variety of different people with varying skills and abilities. So you’ll encounter different clans who have different world views that shape their relationships to other clans. Finding agreement between them and balancing their needs, is not only possible but desirable. It’s not an easy task by any means, but creating a common consensus, a social contract, will ultimately be key to your success. This is what makes Floodland different, you have to focus on building a working society, not just a collection of different buildings.
Other games' guiding visions are also slightly different to ours. They imply that during hard times people will turn on each other and make horrible decisions in order to survive. While that can happen, we’re much more positive than that. When you begin playing Floodland, the so-called apocalyptic event has already passed and as survivors you need to work together to not only endure, but to prosper, while trying to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.
Ultimately you’ll go through times of stress, but also of comfort while you establish your society. Floodland is not a rogue-like game, you shouldn't need to restart a playthrough because there will be multiple ways out of problems. You’ll be treated as a mature player capable of making harsh decisions, which while characters in the game may judge your actions, we won’t :)
Our lead designer Kuba Pałyska out it like this:
“There is hope. Now you need to act. It may have been our fault that we destroyed the old world, but we can learn the lessons. It’s a new beginning and you need to do your best to find a new and better way. In Floodland the choices you make will really matter.”
Wishlist us on Steam and keep up-to-date with our weekly DevBlogs which will continue to delve into the mudded waters of Floodland. The tide has risen and there is much to prepare you for before the November 15th release.
Using the tech of the before-times, you can follow us here for more:
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Join us next week and we focus on the exploration, resources and keys to survival that you’ll discover while playing Floodland. Happy surviving,
- Your Floodland Team