Intelligent Design: An Evolutionary Sandbox

Intelligent Design: An Evolutionary Sandbox is a god game in which you create species and release them into an evolving ecosystem. A faceless corporation has hired you to build an ecosystem you will never control. The game simulates genetics and evolution as plants, herbivores and carnivores interact in a world you can leave running without intervention.

Genes and evolution

Each organism’s behaviour comes from its genes: these determine traits such as a plant’s height, a herbivore’s running speed and how often a carnivore searches for prey. Genes pass from one generation to the next with random mutations. As the simulation runs, species can form, boom in population, crash or go extinct without scripted events or player input.

You can modify organisms’ genetics directly, including those of creatures and crops. Changes can have significant consequences, and once a genome is in the ecosystem it can be difficult to control. You can work to balance a food chain, but a small genetic change can also cause it to collapse quickly.

A slow simulation

Populations take generations to change, so play centers on seeding a world, making small changes and returning later to see what has happened. The game does not focus on objectives, scores or fast-paced action. It also does not provide goals, a story, a win screen or explanations of what its numbers mean.