A “Relax em’ up Mountain Simulator” with features like “no controls,” “time moves forward,” and “nature expresses itself.” You would be forgiven for thinking that this is the latest high-concept foolery from @PeterMolydeux, but the described game is very real, and coming out soon.
At the Horizon game conference yesterday in L.A., 3D animator David O’Reilly announced Mountain for iOS, Mac, and PC. The game begins with three “question” words to which you respond with drawings. These drawings are then used to procedurally generate your unique mountain’s terrain, climate, and foliage. While no direct control is possible, you will be able to indirectly manipulate your little ecosystem by inputting melodies. The game will feature day/night cycles and dynamic weather. “All of this interacts with what grows and dies on the mountain, and it all interacts with itself, ” explained O’Reilly. The whole thing will last around 50 hours and have an actual ending, he promises.
O’Reilly’s animation work came to prominence lately when he designed the immersive, projected video game that Joaquin Phoenix plays in the recent Spike Jonze film, Her. He also guest wrote and animated a 3D episode of Adventure Time, “A Glitch is a Glitch.” Mountain will come out in a week or two and cost “about a dollar.”
