Planet games tend to be the type of games that leave the user in total control of a large area of land. The player can take the persona of a divine entity, a specific leader, and sometimes no specific character. Some planet games only involve a city or a country, while there are some that have larger scopes that can include an entire planet or even a whole planetary system.
SimEarth
SimEarth was released in 1990 as part of the Sims collection. This game was wider in scope than other Sim's games since the player is in charge of controlling every aspect of the planet. Every decision that the player makes affects how the citizens of the planet called the "Sim Earthlings" will evolve, thrive or die off. Sim Earthlings can be humans, dinosaurs, mollusks or even insects, with one life-form being the most intelligent at a given time. The player can experiment with the weather, natural disasters, and other events to see how everything gets affected.
Evolution: The Game of Intelligent Life
Evolution: The Game of Intelligent Life was released in 1998 by Crossover Technologies. The objective of the game is to evolve the starting creature into the first intelligent life form on the planet. At the start of the game, the player can define the type of creature to start with. The player can also define the geologic era to start the game, set the geology of the planet, as well the as the speed of continental drift. Every five seconds of real time translates to around 30,000 years in the game. The player needs to make sure that the creatures stay safe, well fed, and at times decide what evolutionary characteristics to acquire to defend themselves.
Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri was released by Firaxis in 1998. It was developed by Sid Meier, who also developed the Civilization series. This game places the player as one of the faction leaders to make planet-fall on the planet Alpha Centauri. At the start of the game the player can set the geology of the planet as well as the amount of cloud cover. The player can decide to be one with the living planet or go against it with consequences. The objective of the game is to conquer the entire planet with diplomacy, trade or force.
Spore
Spore was released by EA Games in 2008. The player is given a single-celled creature that needs to be guided into five stages of evolution. At the start of the game, the organism needs to survive in a 2-D water environment until it can evolve and become a land-based animal. The next level is the tribal level, where the player now controls a tribe of the evolved creature. Once the civilization stage is reached, the player will now control cities populated by the creatures. During the final stage, the player will control a space-faring civilization that can also seed life on other planets.
Tags: start game, Alpha Centauri, game player, entire planet, Evolution Game, Evolution Game Intelligent
