“The way players affect quality of life is through producing items. Look around at the items you have (in your home): computers, mobile phones, refrigeration, vaccines, and so on. Go back in time to the medieval era. What did they have? Basic medicines, grain stores, musical instruments, maybe some glass windows. Go to the Bronze age or even Neolithic era and you’re dealing with an occasional feast, herbal medicine, pottery, crude tools,” Meyer says.
For each example above, these items require resources and sophisticated supply chains to make them happen. In Ara, you can trade with other nations to get these goods and resources, or resort to conquest, as long as it’s not at the expense of your people’s well-being. Improving the lives of your people involves having access to resources and the knowledge to utilize those resources in innovative ways. And with crafted resources, players can form trade pacts, create research treaties, and forge alliances.
“While it might seem straightforward, in practice, it’s incredibly powerful. For example, if you want another player — human or AI — to “handle” a particular rival for you, you can gift them the resources or units they need to do the job. It’s a subtle but effective way to influence the battlefield without getting your hands dirty.”
