Sid Meier, the creator of the Civilization game franchise, tells Mashable there was no way for his team to test a game that spanned 10 years — a scenario that Reddit user Lycerius posted about on Tuesday.

"I can't say that we ever thought anyone would play a game of Civ for that long," Meier says.

Lycerius posted earlier this week that he had been working on the same Civilization II game gradually for a decade. While the game ends at year 2020 A.D., Lycerius continued playing to 3991 A.D. He described the resulting world as a “hellish nightmare of suffering and devastation,” where nuclear war between three superpowers had wiped out most of humanity.

The post was simple, but the response was explosive on Reddit. The subforum created just for this saved game now has hundreds of posts as Redditors create fiction, songs and interpretive dances. It's also inspired many to fire up the 16-year-old game and try to solve Lycerius's post-apocalyptic situation — or recreate their own.

While many online have made comparisons of the eternal war in Lycerius's game to dystopian novels like 1984, Meier says there wasn't any intent by his team to create a "lesson" for players about the future.

"Civ was designed to let each player write his or her own story, so there’s never an intended outcome or message from the designers," Meier explains. "It’s designed to give players the freedom to rule and conquer as they please, and most importantly, to have fun!"

With an expansion of Civilization V due out next week, Meier says Lycerius's chosen civ, the Celts, will be returning as a playable option. He thinks creating a similar scenario in the Gods and Kings expansion is possible.

"We never thought a game of Civ could be played for 10 years, so anything's possible, really," Meier says.

If you're less familiar with Civilization, publisher 2K Games has released a time line of Meier's epic series for the 21st anniversary.

Click for the full version of the image.

Image of Sid Meier courtesy Antonio Fucito.