What would be the effect on life/civilisations if the length of a year was longer or shorter?
If you want to have a smaller star but you also want to keep your planet in the habitable zone, you need to put the planet closer to the star. This means shorter years.
It is also possible to have a larger star and a longer year.
Specifications: The planet is not tidal locked to the star. To have any significance, keep in mind that the years would need to be at least twice as long or half a normal year on Earth.
The length of a day would be the same as on Earth.
Edit: the axial tilt of the planet is exactly the same as Earth and stable at 23,5°
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I'm actually going to consider how such a year would affect animals, because I have a feeling nobody else is planning on addressing it. This should be short and to the point, unlike some of my other answers.
Many animals have a "mating season" - i.e. a period each year where they mate. This can manifest itself in brilliant displays of plumage, or head-butting confrontations between some males. For many species, the mating season only comes once a year, and so each female only gives birth to a small number of offspring.
Now, if the year was longer, and there was still only one mating season per year, each female (and therefore each male) would produce only half as many offspring throughout their lives as they would otherwise. If the year was shorter, each female (and therefore each male) would produce twice as many offspring throughout their lives as they would otherwise. Thus, population growth could be affected by a change in the length of a year. Note: This assumes gestation period remains the same, which may not be the case.
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