h a l f b a k e r yIt's not a thing. It will be a thing.
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It is now widely believed that the surface of the Earth is made of several Tectonic plates
which can move relative to each other; the continents float around on a sea of lava.
Tetris is a game where you try to consolidate groups of four blocks into rows, which frees up
space for more blocks
to keep the game moving.
I propose a game which in some sense marries these two elements:
You take the role of a god, viewing the surface of a spherical planet of land and sea, with
the tectonic plates outlined. You can give these plates a push or twist to set them in motion.
Where land hits land, mountain ranges form. Where the plates rub against each other,
volcanos may occur.
Over time, the land erodes into the seas. Perhaps if the ocean currents are blocked by land
an ice-age develops.
To be honest I'm not particularly clear on what the goal is, but maybe more tectonic plates
develop and you need to deal with them somehow.
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Could be interesting as a VR game; and you can take it from us, being a God is most entertaining. |
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Einstein: god does not play dice with the universe
TC: god does not play nice with the universe |
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God took his dice and went home and left the
universe to play by itself. |
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This would be very soothing, a collection of orbs in the
void, yours to select and slide around, some inertia at first
when you try to get things moving but then they glide and
you watch on galactic time, as the continents travel
smoothly onward and, as the idea states, seas, mountains,
lakes form. But wait! what's this? The zoom feature allows
you to focus in on one area, perhaps the one around two
plates you have pulled apart, and watch as millions of
hapless simpeople die screaming and terrified, consumed
by landslides, earthquakes, pyroclastic flows. And then you
zoom back to the calm silence of your celestial viewpoint,
and try to create a mountain range that looks like Jimmy
Durante's nose. |
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This is a real-time simulation, right? |
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From the point of view of an immortal, omnipotent being, yes. |
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Tell us more about the deaths of millions, all screaming in terror. We like that bit - reminiscent of Gomez Addams' train set. |
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Will the player be allowed to do Africa with all fjords, even though they're not tropical enough ? |
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One problem is that planets are notorious for being spheroids,
whereas computer displays are known for being flat. |
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However, this could become an advantage, assuming that a
suitable projection (such as equal-area) is used. Then,
continents would change shape and size as they were slid
around, making the game interestinger. |
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Like we said, use VR. Then you don't have the flat screen problem - otherwise it's just a digital jigsaw. |
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... but very, very slowly. |
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