Overview
Taking control of an omnipotent being, players of Ascendance attempt to create the perfect, thriving society, by bestowing abilities and powers upon members of a tribe, guiding them through the early stone age. As they 'play god', players eventually select a member of the tribe to 'ascend', which will determine the direction the tribe will develop towards.
Core Mechanics
Ascendance is controlled from an initially isometric perspective, but presented fully in 3D. Players are able to shape the terrain around the village itself, control weather patterns, and animal movement. The objective of each game is to make sure the village itself survives long enough to develop basic self-sufficiency. Players are able to leave the village to its own devices, or intervene in order to make them grow. The village can be attacked by enemies as well as sustain a number of different environmental and societal issues. Tribal uprising and rebellion can occur, and the player can manipulate which leader takes control in order to steer the tribe in the direction they approve of. If the player continually intervenes, the tribe may not know how to deal with certain situations. The tribe will also worship the 'god' much more vehemently, more than they would if the player intervened less. If the player limits their input into the tribe's actions, they may become more self-sufficient (or alternatively die out entirely).
Ascendance
At critical points in the game, players may choose a member of the tribe to 'ascend'. This grants them semi-mythical attributes, and may increase the tribe's valuation of their deity. This prophet may also be shunned, however, if they are a less popular member of the tribe. Players can use this prophet to directly initiate or avoid some events, or they may be cast out and unable to be effective. Ascendance is intended to be a mechanic that changes the player's interactions with the tribe, rather than improving them. Ascended villagers may also be more valuable in dealing with other tribes, who may occasionally demand things from the player's tribe. An ascended villager with healing attributes may be able to broker a deal better than a normal villager, for example.
The player watches over a village similar to Cultures, but does not directly construct the village.
Gaia is a 'God game', taking place over the life of a village. In the vein of similar titles like Populous or Reus, Players take control of a ruling force or deity that influences the way that the people of the world interact. While players have limited physical interaction with the world, the primary way they encourage villagers to act is through ideas. Players craft ideologies, comprised of base ideas, that they then 'select' an individual to champion. As villagers ascend the hierarchy of their little village, more and more residents join that ideology. These ideals come from various categories, and the more inclined to one category they are, the village will appear and act differently. For example, if the ideology contains might and strength as cornerstones, the village will be more warlike and hostile. In contrast, if a player opts for more mercantile beliefs of mass production and advanced economics, the villagers will become traders and merchants.
These ideologies influence the way that a village develops as well - if scientifically advanced, a village's end goals will revolve around them achieving a particular development. If militarily inclined, the village's goals will involve dominating the surrounding villages.
Features include:
Power Incarnate - rather than shaping the world, shape the people that inhabit it through their ideas and visions for the future. Create the perfect society.
Responsive Civilisation - experience a civilization that changes according to the choices that you make, and not always in the ways that you expect.
Procedural Goals - Depending on the values you instil in the villagers, they will change and adapt to the ideals that you instill in them.
Image of a similar game, Populous.
(Image sourced from: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2d/Amiga_Populous.png)
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