Uber Entertainment are filling out the backstory of their planet-smashing strategy game, Planetary Annihilation. They’re not doing it all by their lonesome, though. They’ve turned to their Kickstarter backers, asking them to decide the direction the lore takes.
“The world of Planetary Annihilation is a complex one,” write Uber. “It’s filled with untold numbers of scarred, warring machines with identities molded by the philosophies of their Commander. There are four known factions in the universe, and though every Commander and his troops have assimilated their machine-parts, each has a wildly different outlook on the world.
“Commanders haven’t always existed. They were built. Then abandoned. Now, they’re coming back from an extended dormancy, long after their creators have moved on. Few Commanders remember scraps of what life was like. Those that can become leaders and begin scouring the cosmos, reactivating other Commanders and converting them to their way of thinking.”
The lore will only add colour to proceedings, particularly as the game will launch without a singleplayer campaign. However, that’s not to say the backers shouldn’t be interested in the news. Uber “view lore as a great opportunity to build on Planetary Annihilation beyond its release. Also, it should give modders another tool to build off of.”
Rather than make all the decisions themselves, Uber have created a Backers-only message board where the game’s supporters can vote on certain aspects of the game’s story. Character names, faction logos, and faction titles are the current extent of it. Hopefully future decisions will be more far-reaching.