Regenesis of the god game

Wow I really like your idea for the spell casting! I've read something similar on the 22Cans forum a long time ago, perhaps it was you who posted that. As for the resources system you describe I'm not too sure I would like it. But perhaps if you'd explain your vision in more detail it would paint a different picture. As I read it now it seems a bit too micromanagy for my taste. (in this game that is) But there are plenty of people who like that.

I think most of us have been disappointed in regards to expecting to help design Godus. I can't speak to how much influence the higher pledge levels have had as opposed to my level. Regenesis is probably a correct term for what 22Cans are doing with the concept, but it seems to have a somewhat different outcome from what most people expected.

First of all, thanks everyone for the encouraging feedback!

Yeah that's the general idea.  I think being a 'god game' infers great creativity.  And IMO, if all the 'gods' have and use the same spells/miracles, then I think this really detracts from the creative aspect of truly being a unique deity and creating / leading followers after 'one's own image'...

Yeah I really don't want micro management in a god sim either...  The idea would be that your villagers would still be a simulation, but their scripts would vary depending on the environment they were in.  Hence followers near the sea would be more naturally endowed with water tithes and therefore their god would take advantage of more water based spells, whereas followers in the mountains, would generate more wind tithes (windmills etc) and their god would be more inclined to use air based spells.  Of course, being a god, you could manipulate the landscape into a world that persuades your followers into tithing certain elements/pigments...   (This would also discourage massive, systematic belief farms...  It would keep the terrain dynamic and diverse)

Personally i think any direct control over a follower is a big no no for the god genre...  It completely goes against the whole free will aspect for the follower, and simulation aspect of the game :/.    Thoughts?

You are welcome.



Well when you're talking about a simulation then I would indeed say that direct control over followers is not something you'd want to have. Unless perhaps there were only a handful of special individuals who are let's call it "in touch" with god. I can totally see a completely devout individual take direct orders from me as his god. This could be a way to have some very limited form of micromanaging available. Perhaps by making that individual do certain tasks other followers that come in contact with him are inclined to lean towards a certain behaviour. The devout one could be in a sense spreading the word of god. How much others are influenced by this word is another thing. Perhaps when you combine the actions of the devout one with a well placed lightning strike the others are more inclined to follow the example. Or perhaps it would be exactly the opposite of that. It all depends on how you would model that behaviour.

By the way in Populous the Beginning you do have control over all your followers. You can tell them to go somewhere, build something, get into some vehicle, attack something, guard something, tear something down, get wood, enter a building or go to some kind of school. The shaman (you) has the added ability to cast all kinds of spells. I guess you could say that this isn't really a god game, but to me it still feels like one. It's the feel of power you get from casting the spells that does the trick. At the end of the game you do become a god. You can still cast all the spells and control your followers but there no longer is a shaman character, you are just a "voice" in the sky. This means that you no longer have a limited range of influence but you can wreak havoc anywhere you'd want to. Now you tell me. Is this a god game?



I think you are dead on about the creative aspect of this spell palette. I would suggest though that people who don't want to use this creative aspect could still discover certain spells but those would have far less impact than they could have. If they wanted them to have more impact they would have to get creative or perhaps earn the bigger effects little by little by performing certain tasks or reaching certain goals. Or by going to the in-game shop and throwing some money at it. ***ducks*** That last part was off course a joke, I would never ruin such a great and important aspect of a game by implementing a pay to win concept.



Are you suggesting that once you have a lot of followers that live for example near water you could have more or more influential water spells at any location or do you mean that you could perform more or more influential water spells in areas that contain a lot of people near water? Now I write that down I guess you would have to mean the former. Silly me. You wouldn't want to tidal wave over your own people. Well perhaps you would but maybe you shouldn't want to. Unless you consider a system where no people are followers of a specific god so that the people that live in what you consider to be the enemies territory could be tidalwaved without remorse.

I believe Godus is not a God game.

The key feature, the defining feature of God games is macrocontrol.
Godus has none.
Is collecting belief yourself, even without clicking, macrocontrol? No. The macrocontrol is "managing managers". you do not take it directly.
Is sprogging villagers and directly guiding them with totems, leaving them unable to do anything without your order macrocontrol? No. It's very crude microcontrol with contextual orders.
Is building settlements and statues macrocontrol? It can be a part of macrocontrol (which it isn't yet), but it itself is a high-level microcontrol.
Is sculpting macrocontrol? No, it would be macrocontrol if villagers did it under your guidance, not you.

Therefore, Godus currently has no macrocontrol and by common definition is not a God game. Which, by the way, directly contradicts the advertisement.

I believe morsealworth raises valid points. There are far too many menial tasks to perform that are in the way of me feeling like a god. Click repeatedly on rocks to make them vanish in thin air (but you can't make them reappear), click repeatedly on trees to do the same, click repeatedly on people to kill them off, click repeatedly on land to make it expand/retract a tiny little bit (often not even in the way you want). Don't even get me started on running around town knocking on doors collecting your charity faith. Very ungodlike. Also unlike being a god is digging up chests containing miraculous and ridiculous resources so the people can supposedly become more advanced. Why don't the people dig those up themselves the lazy bastards?! In other words, "playing" Godus is performing a never ending series of chores.

I actually like the digging up chest. But I think they didn't push it far enough. It's like a puzzle with land sculpting. If the area of hidden chest was bigger. So the paper hints would cover a circle about half of screen then you would need to dig a bit to find it. It would feel more like searching the beach with a metal detector.

Now that the location is precise it's just an exercise in left clicking.

Yeah indeed. Treasure hunting is fun. But if you already know exactly where the treasure is than there is no hunt and therefore no fun. I think there shouldn't be any paper or whatever they are thingies flying around at all. The first chest should be obvious to find, perhaps half buried in sand on the beach. When you open it you should find something useful but along with that should be subtle hints as to where you may be able to find another chest. And then that chest has hints on where to find another and so forth. But you might just get lucky and find a chest while you're busy sculpting somewhere. If you're gonna have chests at all that is.

I am not sure I like anything that promotes mass flattening even more then it is already pushed. I personal flatted out mountain tops or hill sides as I needed to get houses built. I would hate a teasure hunt of flattening more land to find some treasure and end up with some large flat "grassland".