Earth vs Mars News

[p]In today's episode, we meet the Colonel. [/p][p]Born under the equatorial skies of Kenya, Marcus Shaw cut his teeth in the Air and Space Forces. A prodigious pilot with nerves of steel and an insatiable ambition, he rocketed to the rank of Colonel in the Kenyan military until his reputation reached the ears and interest of Gene Orson. [/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Orson’s proposition to the Colonel was irresistible: join the Orson Corporation as its premier test pilot and spearhead humanity’s first mission to Mars. Marcus’ eyes had always been fixed on the heavens; now he stood on the brink of rewriting history as a pioneer of space exploration.  [/p][p]But life had other plans. The Mars mission plunged the Colonel into the heart of an interplanetary crisis, and with Gene Orson’s support he emerged from the ashes of that ill-fated voyage with a new calling — to lead Earth’s defense against the Martian invasion.  [/p][p]Sharp-minded and self-assured — some might even say cocky — Colonel Marcus Shaw commands the Global Military Alliance on the front lines with tactical brilliance and ruthless resolve. He’ll deploy cutting-edge, untested weapons if it means tipping the scales in humanity’s favor. [/p]

[p]Good day, Defenders of Earth!  [/p][p]After uncovering the secrets of Annabel Corman in our first character spotlight, it is now time for us to introduce Mr. Gene Orson, the powerful CEO of the Orson Corporation (or O-Corp), a massive media & technology empire.[/p][p][/p][p]However, the man behind O-Corp came from humble beginnings.  When he was much younger, Orson inherited a small newspaper business from his late father. Within decades, he transformed his father’s small business into a cross-platform empire; from toys to military hardware to streaming services and entertainment. With his no-compromise attitude, he’s the epitome of ambition, success and cold, calculated ruthlessness.  “Enough” has never been part of his vocabulary. [/p][p]So, when Gene Orson felt he had reached the pinnacle of every key industry on Earth, he moved on. [/p][p]To Mars. [/p][p]Orson massively invested in aerospace, and when his commercial aerospace division led the first manned mission to Mars, they accidentally triggered the First Martian Invasion. Though the mission discovered marsonium, a powerful new energy source that Orson believes will change the world (and create immense profits for O-Corp), an invasion didn’t sit well with shareholders.  With Earth (and profits) on the line, Gene Orson has stepped in to help the Global Military Alliance personally, providing them with resources, technology and weapons to help in the fight against the Martians. Gene Orson has little interest in diplomacy, camaraderie, or what he calls “sentimental nonsense.” He doesn’t waste time with jokes or small talk. And if his methods seem ruthless or morally questionable? That’s just the price of victory. [/p][p]That’s a wrap for today! Don’t miss out on our next installment as we explore more characters from Earth vs Mars.  [/p]

It’s time to learn more about our heroes – the last remaining hope for Earth. Meet Annabel Corman, an ex-Global Military Alliance (GMA) engineer, now desperately trying to convince Earth’s leaders that she can help fend off the Martian invasion.



Most humans see the tales of UFOs and aliens as harmless nonsense, but there are those that know better. As an extremely talented engineer, Annabel was on the fast track to a senior engineering position at the GMA until she was abducted by aliens. Six months later, she resigned, sick of being ridiculed by her coworkers for speaking up about her abduction. People, the truth is out there!

Now, 11 years later, she lives in her souped-up RV, collecting evidence of UFOs and scavenging alien technology from wreckage she finds in the Nevada desert. Over this time, she has integrated this Martian technology (along with stolen GMA tech) into her RV to replicate the atomic splicing technology she believes the Martians used on her. Her invention, the Splice-O-Tron, may be the secret weapon GMA forces have been searching for. What secrets might she uncover?

While she still must earn the trust of the other members of the team, you can rely on Annabel to heal your units with her unique Commander Ability. As the game progresses, you’ll unlock her ability to drain all special abilities from enemy units. Deciding which powerful Commander Ability to take into battle will be up to you!

That’s it for today! Stay tuned for our next installment. Let us know in the comments which character you’d like to meet next time!

This is your secret weapon in Earth vs Mars – the Splice-O-Tron! Combine human “volunteers” with Earth creatures to create powerful hybrid supersoldiers, with over 160,000 creature combinations. Get an early look at a handful of these hybrids in action:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Earth vs Mars is crashing onto our planet later this year — our love letter to the turn-based strategy genre. Beyond putting a Relic spin on this style of game, we’re introducing a whole new universe; a colorful and fun world built to immerse, surprise, and keep you engaged for hours.

In this series, we’ll explore the inspirations, designs, and ideas that shape the Earth vs Mars experience.

First up: where did this weird, wonderful aesthetic come from? Let’s find out!

[h2]Defining the Style and Look[/h2]

While Earth vs Mars draws a lot of inspiration from other games in the turn-based strategy genre, we wanted to add our own Relic twist. Developing the overall visual direction of the game we wanted to go for something more playful and light-hearted with a sophisticated "Graphic Novel" look. Bright and bold color choices, neutral environments with eye-catching and bombastic VFX to bring forth the spectacle of play. Allowing the artists and players to focus on the clarity of shape, silhouette, and color rather than fine textures and overly detailed scenery.

Pre-Alpha VFX

[h2]Earth vs Mars – Inspiration and Influences[/h2]

The original concepts for Earth vs Mars were heavily influenced by 1950’s nostalgia, looking to capture the vibes of B-movie science fiction films. The team worked highly collaboratively assembling the games characters and units. Each craft area sharing their experience and perspective, this cross-team effort fully realized the cast and made them relatable. While Earth vs Mars is influenced by our world, it does not exist in the same universe, allowing us to tell the story we want and create a visual language that reinforces this in interesting ways.

Early Reference Exploration

A unique challenge was deciding upon an original look for the Martians. We wanted something unique but with so many established visual references we decided on the core inspiration for the Martians to be culturally inspired by 50s-60s era design aesthetics. Mixed with the strong silhouettes of modern urban vinyl toys this combination resulted in a look that feels nostalgic, familiar, and contrasts greatly with the Earth’s military utilitarian aesthetic.

Early Martian Concept Art

That’s a wrap for now! Stay tuned for more and let us know in the comments if you want us to tackle specific aspects of the artistic process behind Earth vs Mars!