Post by NickTheNick on Apr 26, 2015 6:16:50 GMT
This is my description of the standard playthrough I expect for Thrive. It’s meant to give an idea of what each stage will look like and what the defining transition points will be. Also it might just be cool to read this and then imagine what your own playthrough will look like. Note that there are no clear divisions between sections of the gameplay. The idea is that it’s meant to all flow seamlessly together. It is essentially just the story of Homo sapiens. However, this doesn’t include the many other possibilities the game will allow. Your species could choose to stay as an aquatic organism, or several other species could become intelligent at the same time as you and advance parallel to you through the later stages, it’s all dependent on the playthrough.
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You start the game a simple eukaryotic cell. You and your environment all exist on an underwater, two dimensional plane. Through generations of evolution and competition with the other cells in your starting environment, you develop more organelles, more efficient compound processes, chemical agents which you release into the environment, and eventually the ability to bond to other cells of your species.
With this newfound trait, you begin to loosely cluster together with other cells of your kind, however each constituent still with great autonomy, until evolution yields a communicative signal agent with which the movements and processes of the cells in your colony are united. This colony continues to grow, as more and more cells bond to it, until eventually it grows large enough for specialization. Cells on the outside develop roles of protection, absorption of nutrients, excretion of waste or chemicals, or movement, while internal cells develop towards digestion, transport of compounds inside the colony, and inter-cell communication.
Eventually, your colony gets so big that the individual cells become indistinguishable from one another, and the camera orbits outwards to reveal that your organism in fact exists in a three dimensional underwater environment. Your organism is no longer a colony of cells, but a single creature (initially a disc-shaped, gelatinous invertebrate). Again, generations of evolution and competition with your surrounding species sees your organism develop improved senses, limbs, a spine, organs, and eventually a primitive brain. Parallel to this, your organism begins to adapt to life near the shore, and gradually transitions to amphibious, and then fully terrestrial survival.
With a new life on land comes a new set of pressures and competition, and evolution shapes your species again as continents shift, climates change, and mass extinctions come and go. Your species survives on despite all this. Increased development of your species’ brain leads to a heightened intelligence, a greater degree of communication and cooperation between members of your species. They begin to interact more with their environment, using branches and stones to their advantage. Tool use emerges, as well as the building of temporary shelters, and the discovery of fire.
These new developments cause members of your species to band together into tribes. Occasionally conflicts arise between neighbouring tribes, or resource shortages occur, or wild animals attack, and these hardships drive your people to discover new technologies to cope with the situation. Of these new inventions, agriculture is the most important, leading to many tribes trading nomadic life for sedentary life to tend to the fields of crops they begin to grow.
These settlements develop into the first cities, and with the continued practice of agriculture, populations grow and early governments develop to manage these larger numbers of people. Cities interact with each other through trade, diplomacy, or war. Some cities begin to expand their control by settling new cities or conquering their neighbours. Religions also begin to arise, and people from various cities strive to build grand temples to their gods and deities. Whole civilizations begin to arise in different places across the globe.
With the passage of time comes the unceasing advance of technology. Cities become larger and more complex, transportation becomes faster and connects more cities together, weapons become deadlier and more effective. Eventually, the industrial revolution unleashes the full force of technological advancement on the civilizations of the planet. Modern cities and nations emerge, large complexes of factories and corporations spread across the world, scientific discovery is methodized, huge wars devastate the planet, and international competition leads to the first rockets escaping the planet’s atmosphere into outer space.
The technological race into space stimulates whole new fields of research back at home. New spaceships and probes explore the other celestial bodies of the solar system, and it’s not long before colonies begin to get set up. International conflicts on the home planet gradually subside, and for the first time in history the world is unified. With a united effort, your people develop new spaceships able to travel faster than the speed of light and explore neighbouring solar systems. The first alien life is discovered on other planets, followed by contact with other space-faring civilizations. Some alien interactions are friendly, and develop into trade partnerships and alliances, whilst others devolve into hostility or even break out into war.
Nevertheless, your civilization continues to advance until becoming a dominant power in the galaxy, with its control spanning across countless planets and star systems. Meanwhile, technologic innovation advances to such a point that your species is able to literally transform themselves into energy and achieve ascension, choosing to leave behind all the products of their civilization. As an omniscient force in the galaxy, you are able to travel freely in space and time, and wield unlimited powers to create, change, or destroy. You have the ability to zoom in and take control of an individual species, or to create a whole nebula with a single motion. The entire galaxy becomes your personal sandbox. You have won.
---
You start the game a simple eukaryotic cell. You and your environment all exist on an underwater, two dimensional plane. Through generations of evolution and competition with the other cells in your starting environment, you develop more organelles, more efficient compound processes, chemical agents which you release into the environment, and eventually the ability to bond to other cells of your species.
With this newfound trait, you begin to loosely cluster together with other cells of your kind, however each constituent still with great autonomy, until evolution yields a communicative signal agent with which the movements and processes of the cells in your colony are united. This colony continues to grow, as more and more cells bond to it, until eventually it grows large enough for specialization. Cells on the outside develop roles of protection, absorption of nutrients, excretion of waste or chemicals, or movement, while internal cells develop towards digestion, transport of compounds inside the colony, and inter-cell communication.
Eventually, your colony gets so big that the individual cells become indistinguishable from one another, and the camera orbits outwards to reveal that your organism in fact exists in a three dimensional underwater environment. Your organism is no longer a colony of cells, but a single creature (initially a disc-shaped, gelatinous invertebrate). Again, generations of evolution and competition with your surrounding species sees your organism develop improved senses, limbs, a spine, organs, and eventually a primitive brain. Parallel to this, your organism begins to adapt to life near the shore, and gradually transitions to amphibious, and then fully terrestrial survival.
With a new life on land comes a new set of pressures and competition, and evolution shapes your species again as continents shift, climates change, and mass extinctions come and go. Your species survives on despite all this. Increased development of your species’ brain leads to a heightened intelligence, a greater degree of communication and cooperation between members of your species. They begin to interact more with their environment, using branches and stones to their advantage. Tool use emerges, as well as the building of temporary shelters, and the discovery of fire.
These new developments cause members of your species to band together into tribes. Occasionally conflicts arise between neighbouring tribes, or resource shortages occur, or wild animals attack, and these hardships drive your people to discover new technologies to cope with the situation. Of these new inventions, agriculture is the most important, leading to many tribes trading nomadic life for sedentary life to tend to the fields of crops they begin to grow.
These settlements develop into the first cities, and with the continued practice of agriculture, populations grow and early governments develop to manage these larger numbers of people. Cities interact with each other through trade, diplomacy, or war. Some cities begin to expand their control by settling new cities or conquering their neighbours. Religions also begin to arise, and people from various cities strive to build grand temples to their gods and deities. Whole civilizations begin to arise in different places across the globe.
With the passage of time comes the unceasing advance of technology. Cities become larger and more complex, transportation becomes faster and connects more cities together, weapons become deadlier and more effective. Eventually, the industrial revolution unleashes the full force of technological advancement on the civilizations of the planet. Modern cities and nations emerge, large complexes of factories and corporations spread across the world, scientific discovery is methodized, huge wars devastate the planet, and international competition leads to the first rockets escaping the planet’s atmosphere into outer space.
The technological race into space stimulates whole new fields of research back at home. New spaceships and probes explore the other celestial bodies of the solar system, and it’s not long before colonies begin to get set up. International conflicts on the home planet gradually subside, and for the first time in history the world is unified. With a united effort, your people develop new spaceships able to travel faster than the speed of light and explore neighbouring solar systems. The first alien life is discovered on other planets, followed by contact with other space-faring civilizations. Some alien interactions are friendly, and develop into trade partnerships and alliances, whilst others devolve into hostility or even break out into war.
Nevertheless, your civilization continues to advance until becoming a dominant power in the galaxy, with its control spanning across countless planets and star systems. Meanwhile, technologic innovation advances to such a point that your species is able to literally transform themselves into energy and achieve ascension, choosing to leave behind all the products of their civilization. As an omniscient force in the galaxy, you are able to travel freely in space and time, and wield unlimited powers to create, change, or destroy. You have the ability to zoom in and take control of an individual species, or to create a whole nebula with a single motion. The entire galaxy becomes your personal sandbox. You have won.
