ROGUE EARTH is a strategy city builder and survival game directly inspired by Kurzgesagt’s Youtube video, “What If Earth got Kicked Out of the Solar System?”.
Both video and game elaborate on this notion, and what would hypothetically happen to our planet and human civilization. It would be an unstoppable global apocalypse, where humans would have a very small chance to save themselves. Even if equipped with technology decades beyond our contemporary advancements.
Thus, ROGUE EARTH offers a glimpse to a near future where humanity works towards surviving in vaults deep underground. To complicate things further, the setting is placed after the collapse of our current civilization.
THE BEGINNING
“It has been almost thirty years since the end of the Long Fall. Humankind had suffered so much during that period, it is beyond comprehension. Billions perished, and many more had their lives turned to hell. Even these numbers…billions…of people, are inconceivable in our present time. No wonder it all collapsed under the sheer weight of the masses…
We have started to rebuild our world anew, but it was not an easy task. Not at all. Thankfully, it is finally starting to bear fruit and give us some space to breathe! Now there is a young generation which knows the Fall only from the tales of elders and from the rare recordings we have protected. Nature has healed by a large part…people probably too. Hope is rising, even if slowly. Surely, we are far from the peak of past civilization, but our goals are not the same anymore.
After all that, despite our best efforts, there is an even bigger calamity coming our way. Some would surely dismiss it as nonsense, rather than face this terrible prediction. And again, almost ironically, it is something we knew about for a long time, but ignored in the face of more urgent events. If the Initiative is right, there is a lonely star approaching our solar system at tremendous speed. Its passing will likely throw our planet out of the Sun’s embrace into the void of space.
There is nothing we can do to stop it. We can only attempt to survive.”
LEAD THE INITIATIVE
You will take care of a small group of people, the Initiative. The Initiative believes that predictions of the incoming star and its effects on Earth are correct, and have dedicated themselves to preparing for it, even with little time left. You will face many obstacles, decisions, and sacrifices in order to succeed. Luckily, you will be backed by one of the most influential factions which exist in this bleak futuristic world, and will have a clear goal ahead.
Nevertheless, the clock ticks mercilessly onward with every decision you make.
BUILD A COLONY
Players begin by starting a new colony in a suitable location for a large underground complex. While your beginnings will be humble and slow, your effort and progress may lead to a bustling city and a project of magnitude not seen in a long time.Managing the needs of your population, underground survival efforts, and the effects from the surrounding world will be a hard but necessary task to balance.
RESEARCH AND RECOVER TECHNOLOGIES
As previous civilizations peaked before the Fall, they left behind traces of their sophisticated technologies in ruins. Along with your own research efforts, there will be opportunities to find some of these lost technological marvels. You will need all the human ingenuity you can uncover to help you in the race for survival.
SHAPE SOCIETY VALUES
By enacting various forms of civics, players will be able to change policies, laws and forms of government of surviving colonies. Will you choose to lead with an iron fist, or inspire unity? You may choose to preserve the traditional order, leap into the unknown, or find a middle road through your decisions. These choices will matter later and will unlock special gameplay options, buildings, and bonuses.
PREPARE FOR THE ENDLESS WINTER
ROGUE EARTH’s greatest goal is to build an underground complex able to sustain its inhabitants indefinitely. Underground survival demands a population large enough not to deplete after a few generations, requires saving more than just humans, and includes meeting a variety of other conditions before you leave the solar system…forever.
