Controversy Erupts Over Civ 5 at Environmental Agency Linked to Former Director

When you think about what a NASA employee might consider exhilarating, your thoughts likely drift to shuttle launches and exploring new celestial bodies. Surprisingly, having your work showcased in a Civilization game ranks quite high on that list, as Civ 7‘s creative director revealed.

Ed Beach has been part of Civ developer Firaxis Games for 17 years, contributing to the development of Civ 5, 6, and now 7. Prior to working on the renowned strategy series, he spent ten years as a contractor at NASA, where he worked on projects including the Hubble Space Telescope. In an interview featured in Edge magazine’s issue 405, Beach talks about how his NASA experience influenced his work on Civ 5 and the excitement he unknowingly sparked at NASA.

“When we reached ‘Brave New World’ in Civilization 5, we wanted a wonder that would assist players in achieving a science victory,” Beach explains. “I thought, ‘let’s include the Hubble Space Telescope in the game.'” Both the Firaxis studio and the Space Telescope Science Institute, which operates Hubble, are located in Baltimore, Maryland, not far from each other, making it a perfect local addition for the Civ 5 team.

In a somewhat expected development, there is a notable overlap between NASA employees and Civ enthusiasts, with Beach later discovering that the inclusion of the telescope was particularly well-received. “We connected with them afterward and learned that the day they found out Hubble was making its way into Civ 5, it caused quite a stir,” he said.