Eric Chahi is no stranger to world creation. One of his best-known games, "Another World" (called "Out of this World" in the US), took players to lush alien planet filled with deadly creatures and devious traps. But "Another World" was carefully designed by Chahi himself. What if the world creation was placed in the hands of the player? Enter "From Dust," stage awesome.
"From Dust" is a god game in the vein of "Black & White" or even "SimCity." As a god, your objective is to keep your native villagers safe. The hook, though, is that you have no direct control over your villagers. In fact, all you can control is the land around them. You're able to collect a massive handful of dirt and dump it across a river to make a land bridge, for example.
What makes this so interesting is the remarkable world engine that runs in the background. Let's say you built that land bridge out of dirt. Well don't expect it to be there for long. Flowing water will realistically erode dirt, ruining the safe passage for your villagers. Now you might try building a taller land bridge, but why not just divert the river instead, sending it in the opposite direction of your village?
Dirt and water are the most basic elements in "From Dust." The game quickly escalates in complexity, adding elements like lava and calamities like tidal waves which make keeping your villagers alive a bit tricker. To help you out a bit, there are special powers, one of which can cause water to become a Jello-like substance, removing the threat of erosion for a brief period of time.
While the challenge of keeping my villagers alive proved interesting, I was just as happy to mess with the game's engine, making new islands out of cooled lava and reflecting pools from a hole in the ground. It's a remarkable piece of technology, especially when you consider that "From Dust" is a downloadable game.
If you're interested in world creation and don't mind getting your hands dirty, "From Dust" is likely to be one of the most unique and taxing downloadable games of the year. It's scheduled for release on PC, XBLA and PSN in 2011.