Here comes the new Beyond a Steel Sky Dev Diary that explores the multiple themes of the game for PlayStation, Xbox and Switch.
Beyond a Steel Sky: here is the new Dev Diary
The new Dev Diary of Beyond a Steel Sky, which explores different themes of the game. By Charles Cecil, creator of the Broken Sword series, under the art direction of Dave Gibbons, legendary cartoonist creator of Watchmen, Beyond a Steel Sky is the spiritual successor to the classic Beneath a Steel Sky. The game is available for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch
“We are very excited about the collaboration with Microids to bring Beyond to Steel Sky on consoles,” he comments Charles Cecil, CEO & Game Director di Revolution Software.
“We are fortunate to have such a positive and enthusiastic community of fans, and it has been truly gratifying to receive such positive feedback from players on both the improvements in the new console version and the extensive content of the retail versions. It’s always a pleasure to see new players interact with the game’s history and lore, and it’s great to be able to provide them with extra information on the game’s themes through a new Developer Diary. ”
In this Dev Diary Charles Cecil details the social issues touched upon in the game. The story of Beyond a Steel Sky is set in Union City, where a benign artificial intelligence is tasked with making all citizens happy.
“I think it’s very interesting to understand what happens to a society where an AI is tasked with creating this sense of happiness and ultimately well-being for the inhabitants,” explains Charles. “I was based on the idea of an American psychologist, named Abraham Maslow, who in the 1940s conceived the so-called ‘pyramid of the hierarchy of needs’ theory: and this pyramid, starting from the bottom, first of all satisfies human needs fundamental, then the psychological ones, and finally, it leads to self-realization, and as you go along, people become happier and happier ”.
A pyramidal council made up of five ministries
In the game, Maslow’s pyramid concept is embodied by ‘The Council’, made up of five ministries: the Ministry of Abundance, the Ministry of Comfort, the Ministry of Security, the Ministry of Aspirations and the Ministry of Welfare. But what happens when all the needs of Maslow’s pyramid have been met? This is one of the themes explored in Beyond a Steel Sky: “A quote from the philosopher Will Durant came to mind, who says that every society ‘starts stoic and ends epicurean’, in the sense that every society ends through its own decay.”
Another essential theme of the game is that of aspirations.
“This is an issue that has both positive and negative implications. From a personal point of view, you can be pushed to do things that you never thought you would be able to do, but this can lead to an exponential increase in the spirit of competition that leads to wanting to break down every obstacle, even if that obstacle is constituted. from other people “.
In the game, AI causes people to act the way it thinks advantageous for the whole society through bonuses and salaries, the Qdos. “The problem, of course, is that AI is what decides what is good and, conversely, what is bad. Not exactly the best of ideas! ”.
In Beyond a Steel Sky hacking must also be used skillfully, both conceptually and as a game mechanic. Hacking allows players to examine the logic of all hacked devices and then subvert the world around them. In this way unexpected things happen, both for the player, but the characters who live in Union City, because they know that the AI is never wrong, leading to interesting results and the solving of puzzles. “Of course, this is just a story of a video game. Players will be able to decide if any of the themes have any relation to modern society, ”concludes Charles.
Also read our Beyond a Steel Sky review.