God In Space: Maia

Barring the inspired but initially DRM-riddled From Dust, it’s been ages since I’ve seen a good god game, and though I’m (sadly) not at Rezzed this weekend, I have been following the adventures of indie developer Simon Roth on Twitter for a while. He’s been teasing his followers with news of his in-development god-game ‘Maia‘, and the lucky visitors at the expo (and readers of RPS) have been given a glimpse of the work in progress.

Maia is inspired by ’70s sci-fi’, set in a future where Earth is making its first attempt to colonise extra-solar systems. You will excavate an underground colony, in the process mining minerals, building rooms and living space, and researching better technologies to improve the lives of your underlings. The world around you will be procedurally generated and Roth has developed his own render engine capable of ‘hundreds of thousands of light sources’, which despite being in alpha looks gorgeous already.

The new screens show off the mining, lava and interior design space and definitely have that 70′s retro feel, albeit with a modern polish. I can’t wait to get a look at a working build, and with multiple pre-order options on the way it looks like there won’t be too long to wait. Commencing excitement in three… two… one…