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A Brief Interview with Designer Martin Cirulis
8/7/00

Who worked on the Cataclysm backstory?
Me and Arinn Dembo. Arinn did a lot on the kiith histories. I did most of the politics and background, and scripted the whole Cataclysm single-player campaign.

How much of the backstory was handed to you?
The idea of a conflict between the Beast and a Hiigaran kiith was devised by Barking Dog as a group.

Did your cohorts alter what you did?
There was feedback. There was some wrangling over IP issues that dictated what we could or couldn't get into the game. Technical issues sometimes dictated changes to the script.

What challenges did Barking Dog face in building Cataclysm?
Adapting the engine for our game was a challenge for the developers. For me as writer, continuing my work from Homeworld was simply a lot of fun.

What were some of the major influences on the backstory?
A lot of the original Homeworld framework was dictated by Relic, and I did my best to dress it up. I guess I could say I was influenced by Frank Herbert, Robert Silverberg, and Isaac Asimov on Homeworld, and Lucius Shepard and H.P. Lovecraft on Cataclysm…and a little Babylon 5.

What would you like players to pay attention to in the story?
The mystery and the suspense. The galaxy is in political chaos. Kiith Somtaaw is disenfranchised. The true origins of the Beast and its intentions will remain more or less secret. Play the campaign to find out more. Overall, what Homeworld is to Battlestar Galactica, Cataclysm is to Alien.

How much did you play the game?
Tons. Missions changed for technical reasons, and some lines were no longer appropriate and needed to be removed. I helped direct the voice talent and worked out these changes accordingly.

What are your favorite strategies, broadly defined?
When playing as the Beast, I like to unleash quick fighter/bomber attacks on enemy resourcers while building up my Carrier capability.

As Somtaaw, I like to use Mimics and Leeches to harass the enemy while building my Acolytes up to missile capabilities. I don't like to be overly dependent on the Siege Cannon.

What's Barking Dog going to do next?
We're working on a tactical action game. We're not saying any more.