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News

An Exclusive Interview with the Brains and Nerds Behind Indie 4X Game Predestination

Insert your own joke about fate and inevitability, then sit back and enjoy this extended feature on the story of the successful Kickstarter which launched a thousand spaceships and the dreams of a brainy nerd.
Image of Mat Westhorpe
Mat Westhorpe
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Published: Jun 21, 2013 07:24 am

This article is over 11 years old and may contain outdated information

Residents of North Atlantic islands seem to harbour a strong need to create ambitious space sci-fi video games. Englishmen Braben and Bell gave us the seminal Elite in the 80s which, a decade later inspired the Icelandic MMO EVE Online, and now Massively’s EVE Online columnist, Brendan Drain, is attempting revival of the 4X space genre from his Brain and Nerd lair in Northern Ireland.

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What’s a 4X game, you may ask? It refers to the genre of turn-based strategic games in which the object is to eXplore the game world, eXpand owned territory, eXploit resources (and other inhabitants) in pursuit of the eXtermination of all opposition. Yes, I know it should be the 4 ‘E’s, but the term was first coined in the 90s by game designer and journalist Alan Emrich, so it seems a little late to go changing it now.

Now, in an act of delightful symmetry, young Brendan is taking up the mantle of journalist-turned-designer to create Predestination his independent development studio operation, Brain and Nerd. Based out of a Belfast-based office occupying the top floor of what used to be a house and with a very successful Kickstarter campaign, as well as a small but dedicated team and an enthusiastic community behind him, Brendan seems to be on the inevitable path leading toward the realisation of his own Predestination.

I caught up with Brain and Nerd Lead Developer Brendan, and Project Manager Tina Lauro for the latest skinny on Predestination.

NEXT: Introducing Predestination

 

Predestination Exclusive Series Contents 

  1. An Exclusive Interview with the Brains and Nerds Behind Indie 4X Game Predestination
  2. Introducing Predestination
  3. Predestination: Concepts and Influences
  4. Predestination: Paths to Victory
  5. Predestination: Combat Gameplay
  6. Predestination: Development and Release
  7. Predestination: Building the Brain and Nerd Brand 
  8. Predestination Creator Brendan Drain on Developing His First Game
  9. Closing Thoughts and Useful Links
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Author
Image of Mat Westhorpe
Mat Westhorpe
Broken paramedic and coffee-drinking Englishman whose favourite dumb animal is an oxymoron. After over a decade of humping and dumping the fat and the dead, my lower spine did things normally reserved for Rubik's cubes, bringing my career as a medical clinician to an unexpectedly early end. Fortunately, my real passion is in writing and given that I'm now highly qualified in the art of sitting down, I have the time to pursue it. Having blogged about video games (well, mostly EVE Online) for years, I hope to channel my enjoyment of wordcraft and my hobby of gaming into one handy new career that doesn't involve other people's vomit.