bionic (6) Cultivation.6.gz

NAME

       cultivation - game about the interactions within a gardening community

SYNOPSIS

       cultivation

DESCRIPTION

       Cultivation  is  a  video  game  written  by Jason Rohrer about a community of gardeners growing food for
       themselves in a shared space.

       Cultivation is quite different from most other games. It is a social simulation, and the primary form  of
       conflict is over land and plant resources---there is no shooting, but there are plenty of angry looks. It
       is also an evolution simulation. Within the world of Cultivation, you can explore  a  virtually  infinite
       spectrum of different plant and gardener varieties.

       All of the graphics, sounds, melodies,and other content in Cultivation are 100% procedurally generated at
       playtime. In other words, there are no hand-painted texture maps---instead, each object  has  a  uniquely
       "grown" appearance. Every time you play, Cultivation generates fresh visuals, music, and behaviors.

       Cultivation  is  certainly an unusual game, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's good. From experience,
       some people absolutely love it, while others absolutely hate it. It's intended to be an "art game," after
       all, and mixed reactions go with that territory.

       When  two sides are fighting, they often ruin the commons for everyone. The game is a metaphor about that
       kind of situation. Too much fighting destroys the island for everyone.

USAGE

       Cultivation explores the social interactions within  a  gardening  community.  You  lead  one  family  of
       gardeners,  starting  with  a  single  individual,  and  wise  choices  can  keep  your genetic line from
       extinction. While breeding plants, eating, and mating, your actions impact your neighbors, and the social
       balance sways between conflict and compromise.

       Cultivation  features  dynamic graphics that are procedurally-generated using genetic representations and
       cross-breeding. In other words, game objects are "grown" in real-time instead of  being  hand-painted  or
       hard-coded.  Each  plant and gardener in the game is unique in terms of both its appearance and behavior.
       The game includes an extensive in-game tutorial.

       In Cultivation, the game system teeters on the verge of uncontrolled conflict, and the  player  can  make
       choices  within  this  system that affect the balance. Perhaps it is impossible to win the game by acting
       only out of self-interest, but likewise, it may be impossible to win acting only out of altruism  (I  say
       "perhaps"  here  because, even as the designer of the system, I have only explored a tiny fraction of the
       game's possible permutations). Players can directly see the results of the choices that they make.

       In  the  initial  release  of  Cultivation,  neighbors  would   respond   to   encroachment   with   both
       counter-encroachment  (claiming some of your plants as their own) and social scorn (refusing to mate with
       you). With only these mechanics in place, fighting  just  didn't  feel  serious  enough---a  fight  could
       continue  indefinitely  without  any  real  consequences, since after two plots overlapped completely, no
       further revenge was possible for either side. I had to think of a more serious act to crown the  peak  of
       an  escalating fight. Poisoning, which is now a key mechanic in Cultivation, fit perfectly. This mechanic
       allows an angry neighbor to poison a plant. Poison not only kills the target plant, but it  also  renders
       the ground around the plant forever unusable.

SEE ALSO

       You can find more information at http://cultivation.sourceforge.net/

                                                    June 2007                                     cultivation(6)