Deep History & Gaming

An upcoming game featuring the deep history of humanity released gameplay footage this past week. 

Titled “Ancestors”, the game allows players to journey 10 million years into the past to survive as a proto-hominid, apparently going through multiple phases of genetic and cultural evolution. It is being developed by one of the world’s most celebrated game designers, Patrice Desilets, who has been behind major titles in this medium including the blockbuster “Assasin’s Creed”, which is a historical adventure series. The title is slated for a 2019 release:

It reminds me of the film “Quest for Fire” which was recommended by professors in my Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness program at CIIS in San Francisco.

Also, “Ancient Cities," an economic simulator set during the Neolithic Revolution is slated for release next year. The aim seems to be to lead a tribe through its earliest days of creating and growing the very first settlements after farming.

Another game featuring an even bigger picture history of bio-cultural evolution is the title “Spore” from 2008. I never had a chance to play it, although it too has been created by a legendary designer, Will Wright (the mind behind “SimCity", and "The Sims"). In Spore, you start off as a single celled creature, and eventually grow into a multi planet species…

Here is half an hour of gameplay footage in Ancestors featuring Patrice himself.