God Games - Game Design

Game Design

God games allow players to take on the role of a god with limited powers, similar to the gods from the mythology of ancient Greece. The player's power comes from simulated worshippers, who are usually simple or tribal in nature. It is common for most people in god games to look alike. Early god games only featured models for full-grown men and women, while Black and White introduced children. Players must economize quantities of power or mana, which are derived from the size and prosperity of their population of worshipers. The player consumes this power by using godly powers to help their worshippers, such as blessing their crops or flattening hills to make better farmland. This results in a positive feedback loop, where more power allows the player to help their population grow which helps them gain more power. However, more powerful abilities typically require more power, and these usually take the form of natural disasters that can damage rival populations rather than improve life for the player's worshipers. Games typically utilize an aerial top-down perspective, similar to a real-time strategy game.

God games are classified as a subgenre of artificial life game because players tend to a population of simulated people that they control only indirectly. Although god games share qualities with both construction and management simulation games and real-time strategy games, players in god games are only able to exercise indirect control over their population. They cannot tell specific units what to do, as seen in strategy games, although players may sometimes compete against other players with their own population of supporters. Moreover, players are given godlike powers not seen in construction or management games, such as the ability to control the weather, transform the landscape, and bless or curse different populations.