Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
God games use an omnipresent (of course!) interaction model and an aerial per-
spective. They often share qualities with both construction and management
simulations and with real-time strategy (RTS) games. (Sometimes games in these
genres are described as god games, but if a game doesn't specifically refer to the
player's role as that of a god, the term is not appropriate. The
Civilization
games are
not god games.) As in a CMS like
SimCity
, the player of a god game exercises only
indirect control over the population. He can't tell each specific individual what to
do, as he can in a strategy game. On the other hand, as in an RTS, he competes
directly against an enemy—in this case, a rival god—who has his own population
of supporters. And unlike either RTS or CMS games, god games offer the player god-
like powers: controlling the weather, reshaping the landscape, and the ability to
bestow various blessings (such as fertility) on his own population and various
curses upon the population of his enemy. God games are a subgenre of artificial life
games because so much of the player's role involves tending to a population of sim-
ulated people whom he controls only indirectly.
TIP
Bullfrog
Productions, a com-
pany founded by Peter
Molyneux and subse-
quently purchased by
Electronic Arts, was
the most prolific and
successful developer
of god games. To study
games in this interest-
ing genre, seek out
Bullfrog's games such
as
Populous
and
Dungeon Keeper
.
Black & White
, also
developed by Molyneux
at his new company
Lionhead, is another
famous god game.
THE ECONOMY OF GOD GAMES
In a god game, the player's power, usually called
mana
, grows along with the number
and prosperity of his worshippers. The size of the population typically influences
two critical values: the maximum amount of mana the player may have and the
rate at which mana is restored when it is below maximum. Using godly powers con-
sumes mana, and the player spends much of his time using his godly powers for his
people's benefit—flattening hills to make good farmland, reclaiming land from the
sea, blessing their crops, and so on. Mana often grows in exponential proportion
to population size, so as the population increases the player acquires vastly
greater powers—a progression that god games share with spellcaster characters in
role-playing games. However, if his population declines, the maximum amount of
mana that he may expend declines also, reducing his ability to help them.
The close connection between population size and available mana can easily create
runaway positive feedback: The more mana the player gets, the more he can do for
his people, and the more their population grows, the more mana he gets. Positive
feedback is usually limited by several factors, however. First, his people do not
reproduce instantaneously, so in spite of the player's increasing power, he cannot
force rapid population growth. Furthermore, they often need land in which to
expand, and creating suitable land consumes mana. Second, the mana cost of using
his higher-level powers also increases exponentially, so mana growth is balanced
by increased spending as he exercises his powers. Finally, many of his higher pow-
ers cannot be used to help his own population, but only to do damage to his rival's
people. The next section addresses this issue.
GAMEPLAY IN GOD GAMES
The primary challenge in a god game is to produce population growth, but the
player cannot defeat the rival god simply by helping his own population. He must
