Post by Lord Ba'al on Jul 4, 2015 12:39:58 GMT
The Universim just hit pre-alpha and it enables you to be god of an entire GALAXY
By Zeus Tipado
It was pretty rough watching Peter Molyneux, the godfather of the god game genre, take an absolute beating in a recent Rock, Paper, Shotgun interview. When the interviewer's first question is "Do you think that you’re a pathological liar?" there's not really much wiggle room to explain yourself -- or even quietly exit through the back door.
All of this was spawned from a Eurogamer interview on February 11th when 'Curiosity: What's Inside the Cube' winner Scot Bryan Henderson revealed that his coveted prize promised by Molyneux has essentially been a cloud of empty promises that have been, above all else, simply confusing.
Apparently Molyneux had no knowledge of Henderson's plight, and expressed his concern in a brief statement to Eurogamer, but it seems like that just wasn't enough for gaming world who has essentially blackballed him from the realm of reason ever since he failed to come through on promises with his Fable franchise over a decade ago.
This internet -- they just won't let you forget. It's like a self-preserving engine of humiliation.
It's a shame the gaming world never fully gives Peter Molyneux the respect he deserves. Sure he may be a guy that doesn't necessarily deliver on his promises all the time, but the idea and concepts he's trying to create are astronomically huge. They're unparalleled -- there isn't even a blueprint for what Molyneux does (or is trying to do). A developer shouldn't be punished for thinking too big. If we're persecuting creativity, then the future of gaming will be trapped in a prison of Call of Duty clones and free-to-play mobile games. That's a scary scenario, you guys. A world of micro-transactions for DLCs and incomplete games -- that's the closest thing the world will ever get to a gaming hell.
If Peter Molyneux wasn't so wrapped up in defending his image, then he would have been able to manifest something as brilliant as The Universim, a game that went into pre-alpha just a day ago.
Designed by Alex Koshelkov and developed by his studio, Crytivo Games, The Universim seeks to redefine the god game genre by placing a heavy emphasis on a civilization's artificial intelligence. Instead of directly manipulating your people, you can only hope to influence them through planetary actions that aren't specifically detailed on their website. Developers must get off by keeping gamers in the dark with teasers and overly-vague descriptions.
"You can attempt to influence their decisions and sway them back onto your chosen path, but the end result is entirely dependent on the AI. One such situation could be that the AI cities declare war on one another. It is then up to you to intervene and attempt to bring an end to the chaos, or simply watch as they destroy one another. The outcome is always uncertain."
The Universim also seems to place the concept of research as a forefront of progressing your society through eras. Focus too much on increasing your sheer numbers and not enough on research and your civilization may never get out of certain technological ages.
Along with traditional cultural obstacles like incremental environmental disasters, famine, war, the game also boasts that unplanned alien intervention is actually a thing in the game. That's certainly something we've never seen within the god game genre -- hopefully they'll just weave in ancient astronaut theory and we'll get little floating head pop-ups from that guy on Ancient Aliens.
Now what's really intriguing about The Universim is the fact that once your planet has reached a certain technological epoch, a player can send out teams of scientists and engineers to colonize other planets in the game. However it goes far beyond that. If you look up in the night sky in The Universim, every flickering dot represents a new planet that can be explored. With the procedurally generated gameplay from The Universim's new Prometheus Engine, we're looking at a game that could be a satisfying blend of No Man's Land and Godus -- but the complete Godus that Peter Molyneux promised us back in 2014.
The Universim finally went into a pre-alpha state this week, which means all of you are invited to give it a free download -- and quietly pray to the gaming gods that your computers don't crash from some unforeseen bug. Of course if you want to know the trickling developments of The Universim, follow them on Twitter. While you're at it, follow us on Twitter @tsgtwt.
Oh and the trailer. Don't worry, we didn't forget. We never forget (unless we forget).
By Zeus Tipado
It was pretty rough watching Peter Molyneux, the godfather of the god game genre, take an absolute beating in a recent Rock, Paper, Shotgun interview. When the interviewer's first question is "Do you think that you’re a pathological liar?" there's not really much wiggle room to explain yourself -- or even quietly exit through the back door.
All of this was spawned from a Eurogamer interview on February 11th when 'Curiosity: What's Inside the Cube' winner Scot Bryan Henderson revealed that his coveted prize promised by Molyneux has essentially been a cloud of empty promises that have been, above all else, simply confusing.
Apparently Molyneux had no knowledge of Henderson's plight, and expressed his concern in a brief statement to Eurogamer, but it seems like that just wasn't enough for gaming world who has essentially blackballed him from the realm of reason ever since he failed to come through on promises with his Fable franchise over a decade ago.
This internet -- they just won't let you forget. It's like a self-preserving engine of humiliation.
It's a shame the gaming world never fully gives Peter Molyneux the respect he deserves. Sure he may be a guy that doesn't necessarily deliver on his promises all the time, but the idea and concepts he's trying to create are astronomically huge. They're unparalleled -- there isn't even a blueprint for what Molyneux does (or is trying to do). A developer shouldn't be punished for thinking too big. If we're persecuting creativity, then the future of gaming will be trapped in a prison of Call of Duty clones and free-to-play mobile games. That's a scary scenario, you guys. A world of micro-transactions for DLCs and incomplete games -- that's the closest thing the world will ever get to a gaming hell.
If Peter Molyneux wasn't so wrapped up in defending his image, then he would have been able to manifest something as brilliant as The Universim, a game that went into pre-alpha just a day ago.
Designed by Alex Koshelkov and developed by his studio, Crytivo Games, The Universim seeks to redefine the god game genre by placing a heavy emphasis on a civilization's artificial intelligence. Instead of directly manipulating your people, you can only hope to influence them through planetary actions that aren't specifically detailed on their website. Developers must get off by keeping gamers in the dark with teasers and overly-vague descriptions.
"You can attempt to influence their decisions and sway them back onto your chosen path, but the end result is entirely dependent on the AI. One such situation could be that the AI cities declare war on one another. It is then up to you to intervene and attempt to bring an end to the chaos, or simply watch as they destroy one another. The outcome is always uncertain."
The Universim also seems to place the concept of research as a forefront of progressing your society through eras. Focus too much on increasing your sheer numbers and not enough on research and your civilization may never get out of certain technological ages.
Along with traditional cultural obstacles like incremental environmental disasters, famine, war, the game also boasts that unplanned alien intervention is actually a thing in the game. That's certainly something we've never seen within the god game genre -- hopefully they'll just weave in ancient astronaut theory and we'll get little floating head pop-ups from that guy on Ancient Aliens.
Now what's really intriguing about The Universim is the fact that once your planet has reached a certain technological epoch, a player can send out teams of scientists and engineers to colonize other planets in the game. However it goes far beyond that. If you look up in the night sky in The Universim, every flickering dot represents a new planet that can be explored. With the procedurally generated gameplay from The Universim's new Prometheus Engine, we're looking at a game that could be a satisfying blend of No Man's Land and Godus -- but the complete Godus that Peter Molyneux promised us back in 2014.
The Universim finally went into a pre-alpha state this week, which means all of you are invited to give it a free download -- and quietly pray to the gaming gods that your computers don't crash from some unforeseen bug. Of course if you want to know the trickling developments of The Universim, follow them on Twitter. While you're at it, follow us on Twitter @tsgtwt.
Oh and the trailer. Don't worry, we didn't forget. We never forget (unless we forget).
