Civilization VII Devs About New Game's Mechanics & Leaders

In their recent interview, Civilization VII's Executive Producer Dennis Shirk and Game Designer Carl Harrison talked about creating the game, discussing the sources of inspiration for the game mechanics, choosing leaders, and other aspects of the creative process.

The new title will feature many new elements, including new mechanics like the Crisis system and Legacy Paths. It is the 7th installment in the franchise, but the creators stay inspired and come up with new ideas for the gameplay. "We're a building full of history nerds, there is always something to be inspired by," said Dennis Shirk. He also shared that "there are endless amounts of real-world history and situations to gain inspiration from, and that really helped decide our approach to Civ 7." For instance, the Fall of Rome was one of the inspirations for the Crisis system.

The creators also touched upon the process of choosing leaders for the game. Shirk said that there were always fan favorites, and the fans got upset if they couldn't play as someone they wanted to. When Civilization V was released without Genghis Khan, Sid Meier, the co-founder of Firaxis Games, said, "What?" And a month later that historical person was added to the game's DLC. "We ended up releasing Genghis Khan the next month in a free update because he was right. We shouldn't have shipped without Genghis Khan, so there's always going to be that collection, that foundation," added the producer.

Dennis Shirk also shared that the game's creators planned to find some historical cultural or industrial leaders that are interesting but not popular. Carl Harrison elaborated on this, explaining that it was not about the ones that are "obscure and people don't know about." He said, "It's also the ones that people do know about that we're like, "That's so cool. We've never done it before. Let's get them in."

First announced in 2023, Civilization VII is one of the most anticipated games scheduled for 2025.

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