Former XCOM Designer is Working on New Life Sim Title With Gilmore Girls-Inspired Drama

A former designer for turn-based sci-fi game XCOM, Jake Solomon, is reportedly working on a new life simulator title filled with Gilmore Girls-inspired drama.

The news comes as the life sim genre is beaming with life with various new titles that are challenging The Sims' spot at the top. Solomon, who is the co-founder and creative director at newly-founded Midsummer Studios, said his lifelong dream was to build a relationship simulator.

A New Life Sim Game

He noted that he learned everything he knows from Firaxis Software co-founder and simulation game tycoon Sid Meier, who is most known for the Civilization franchise.

After Solomon worked on that particular series himself, he took the creative lead and started to focus on characters and relationships with the soldier bond system found in XCOM 2.

Later on, he also worked on the friendship system that can be seen in Marvel's Midnight Suns, which is a game that he affectionately described as his "little hero dating simulator." He also said that he "lavished way too much attention" on that particular game, according to PCGamer.

He now says that he wants to part ways with making combat games entirely, which is something that he said was his plan all along. Solomon also said last year that he was done with turn-based strategy games after he left Firaxis and hinted at his interest in life simulation.

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The game designer says that his dream was always about working on a game about high school and dating. He said, "I think these things have always been kind of brewing in the back of my mind. And they've probably manifested in each game that I've designed."

The first game for Midsummer Studios sounds like it wouldn't solely focus on high school dating but is definitely focused on the drama of its characters' personal relationships. The basics of the company's yet-to-be-revealed game include players being able to decide what kind of story they want to tell.

Letting Players Write Their Own Stories

Solomon is joined in working for Midsummer Studios by co-founder Will Miller, who is also from Firaxis, and former The Sims producer-director Grant Rodiek. The latter had previously worked as Project Rene's game director, which is the currently in-development follow-up of Maxis to The Sims 4, said Polygon.

There are also at least half a dozen other former Firaxis game developers who worked on the XCOM games and Marvel's Midnight Suns that are now with Midsummer Studios. In a news release, Solomon said that the best stories in games are "written by players."

The game director added that at Midsummer Studios, they are making a life sim game that is focused on the drama of modern life. In it, players will write meaningful stories just by playing the game and will be able to share those stories with the world.

With their new title, the team at Midsummer Studios is planning to "revitalize the life sim genre" with a game that is described as "a next-gen Life Sim."

The team said that it emphasizes player-driven narratives and allows communities to share memorable moments that grow out of the creativity of the players themselves, according to Rock Paper Shotgun.

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