Floodland takes place in a world afflicted by rising sea levels, an event inspired by real conversations about climate change. The upcoming city-builder adds elements of survival and human relationship building, or re-building as it were, following a fictitious catastrophe influenced by real-world science. Developed by Vile Monarch and Ravenscourt, the Steam title will feature a narrative directed by the decisions of the player.
Writer Alexandre Stroganov spoke with GameRant about creating the survival city builder and story of Floodland. "Because the history of the company is that a lot of the games have been more lighthearted and more fun, this was an idea to do something actually serious." Director Kacper Kwiatkowski worked on This War of Mine, and according to Stroganov brought the idea of tackling serious subjects in his games forward. The topic of climate change and what consequences the world could face remains a hot topic, but not everything needs to be completely factual when dealing with a video game that has a fictitious setting.
The Climate Catastrophe That Informed Floodland
Floodland explores the potential future that humanity could face if the polar ice caps melted. For example, the title art for the game features its name in large letters similar to the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles, California. "We have missed our opportunity to fix climate change issues, and it has backfired hard," Stroganov said. "There was an extra mysterious event that exacerbated the whole situation."
"A lot of the world is flooded, and specifically the region that the player is going to be located in. The world is mostly devastated."
On account of the catastrophe, humans have disbanded and reverted to their nomadic roots. In order to restore the balance of power, developers include functions like Technology Development and Law Committee that advance with players as they traverse the game. Of the game's development regarding technology, Stroganov said, "We were thinking about how the world is going to look in our scenario and what kind of resources are available, and how is it going to function?"
Exploring the Complexity of Human Government in Floodland
In addition to building cities, Floodland tasks the player with governing the societies that live within them. Players can choose to be a controlling authoritarian or a permissive liberal, a choice that can be influenced by in-game characters. What the player decides will direct the path of the story's narrative, particularly in terms of how the people are taken care of in-game.
"Here it’s about whether people have enough food, water. Are their needs met? And later on, are their higher needs met? Shelter is still basic, but do they have places to spend their free time and the opportunity to do it or are they under an iron fist of the present dictator?"
City builder games share a common theme of creating communities. Sometimes, those citizens may have differing viewpoints or ideologies, and it is the player's responsibility to quell the conflicts that might arise. In Floodland, developers offer a chance for the leader of the post-apocalyptic world to learn diplomacy and humility as they engage with other clans and their leaders. "We are putting all these peoples who have been roaming, living with their own ideologies, cultures together. Try to create a kind of settlement where these peoples who have been like apart now have to clash with each other and have to live together," Stroganov said.
"The complex nature of it is that this is a survival city builder. People can die and we have seen that happen. This game is going to keep you on your toes. It’s not that you just build buildings."
Having climate change as the background to a story can encourage development and play. Although Floodland's devs don't consider the game factual, the theme has been reinforced over the years of development thanks to demonstrations, news reports, and an innumerable amount of research published seemingly around the clock. "The climate catastrophe is a setting because I think people have made loud, bold statements and claims and these sometimes sink in," Stroganov said. "Sometimes they bounce off, and that’s not the purpose here. The purpose is to have a story of hope."
Development for Floodland began in 2017, according to Stroganov, and tackles the climate crisis from the viewpoints of its developers. "The idea ... is something that has been bubbling up [for a while] in the company." That idea will come to fruition by having players explore a fictitious land once Floodland hits shelves next month.
Floodland will be available on Steam November 15, 2022.