Programmer creates own Xcom game in Excel

A Reddit user created an Xcom game in Excel. According to him, the work is not finished yet, but the game is already playable. Although the game has very little in the way of Xcom in terms of graphics, the underlying game mechanics are the same.

In his Reddit post, user crruzi states that at the moment the balance in the game has not yet been adjusted and there are enough bugs in it, but that the game does work. Special abilities such as run ‘n’ gun, known from the Xcom games, are also included. In addition, the environment can be destroyed and there is a level editor. The elements in between the levels, such as base building, research, interrogation and other strategic matters are not there yet.

Crruzi says that his job required him to learn the vba programming language and decided to make an Xcom game as a result. “Two months ago, I couldn’t write a line of code,” he says in the comments. He says he mainly used YouTube and Google to find solutions to his programming problems. Furthermore, he also reports that it is a limitation for a game that Excel cannot refresh the screen with 30fps. Instead, the code works with intervals, which can cause the scenes in the game to jump.

According to cruzi, there is even a story in the game. “It takes place between the events of Xcom: Enemy Within and Xcom 2. Guerrilla fighters try to free their city from Advent occupiers.” For people who want to try the game, crruzi has made available its EXLcom.xlsb file.