Eufloria
Encyclopedia
Eufloria is a real-time strategy
video game developed by indie developers Alex May, Rudolf Kremers and Brian Grainger. It was named after the Dyson tree hypothesis
by Freeman Dyson
that a tree-like plant could grow on a comet.
The game is for Windows and the PlayStation Network and is due to be released on iPhone
, iPad
and Mac
in 2011.
It is set in a futuristic space environment, where the player assumes the role of the commander of interstellar lifeform called Euflorians, who live and gain their resources on asteroids. Player has to use basic units that are grown on "Dyson trees" and are called "seedlings", to colonize and counquer asteroids. On asteroids, Dyson trees may be planted and as the tree grows and gets stronger, more seedlings with certain attributes it will produce. There are also flowers, defensive trees and other units later in the game. Players battle other empires and seek to discover the origin of a mysterious grey menace, to speed up the return of the mythical Growers.
Eufloria has been described as a simple but charming game with calming music, graphics and gameplay.
At the start of the game, the player has one tree on an asteroid which has a number of branches, and leaves which fall off and become seedlings, which can be used to either create trees or fight other seedlings. Each tree is unique, the growth of its branches based on a fractal
algorithm
.
To create trees, 10 seedlings are needed in orbit of an asteroid, which then plummet into the ground to grow grass and the trees' roots. A plant may also be grown that attacks invading enemy seedlings by releasing explosive fruit, called a defense tree. Over time, the plant's health, damage, and spawn rate increases. The player can also customize their asteroids with addons called 'flowers'.
If a dyson tree has a flower added, dysons with a vastly enhanced firerate and range are produced. If a defence tree has a flower added, lasermines are produced. They are powerful seedlings which can take on multiple enemies with multiple lasers, and a suicidal explosion.
The seedlings can attack enemy asteroids, and take them over by burrowing through the roots to the core, and sapping the energy of the asteroid.
All levels are randomly generated, meaning each playthrough is slightly different. Also, each asteroid is unique in size and values, and produces seedlings with different stats. There are three stats. Speed enhances the moverate of seedlings, strength enhances the damage of seedlings, and energy increases the speed at which seedlings can convert enemy asteroids. The stats also affect the appearance of the seedlings.
markup language, and later the Lua programming language for increased flexibility.
The game was renamed Eufloria after a contest on IGN's Direct2Drive
. Over 400 names were sorted through, with Vernon Sydnor giving the winning name.
The game has since been upgraded with a campaign, substantial AI and graphical improvements, and has been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Dutch.
Early in the game, the player encounter an enemy, the greys, which has attacked one of their colonies, with extreme rage and violence. Soon the mothertree learns that the greys have been driven mad by a disease, which forces them to attack.
They also learn that another empire is attacking their empire and so the player is sent beyond the borders of the empire to find out why the greys are attacking, and deal with them.
The player continues, gaining new technologies and rescuing allies along the way, to find that their enemies produced the greys, despite the danger that the greys would destroy them too.
Eventually, the home asteroid of the greys was found. After conquering them, the mothertree analysed their remains, and found that all the enemy seedlings had the same DNA
as your seedlings.
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
video game developed by indie developers Alex May, Rudolf Kremers and Brian Grainger. It was named after the Dyson tree hypothesis
Dyson tree
A Dyson tree is a hypothetical genetically-engineered plant, capable of growing in a comet, suggested by the physicist Freeman Dyson...
by Freeman Dyson
Freeman Dyson
Freeman John Dyson FRS is a British-born American theoretical physicist and mathematician, famous for his work in quantum field theory, solid-state physics, astronomy and nuclear engineering. Dyson is a member of the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists...
that a tree-like plant could grow on a comet.
The game is for Windows and the PlayStation Network and is due to be released on iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
, iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
and Mac
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
in 2011.
It is set in a futuristic space environment, where the player assumes the role of the commander of interstellar lifeform called Euflorians, who live and gain their resources on asteroids. Player has to use basic units that are grown on "Dyson trees" and are called "seedlings", to colonize and counquer asteroids. On asteroids, Dyson trees may be planted and as the tree grows and gets stronger, more seedlings with certain attributes it will produce. There are also flowers, defensive trees and other units later in the game. Players battle other empires and seek to discover the origin of a mysterious grey menace, to speed up the return of the mythical Growers.
Eufloria has been described as a simple but charming game with calming music, graphics and gameplay.
Gameplay
Graphically, Eufloria is quite simple, with minimalistic graphics, and a simple design. The colour of your empire is customizable.At the start of the game, the player has one tree on an asteroid which has a number of branches, and leaves which fall off and become seedlings, which can be used to either create trees or fight other seedlings. Each tree is unique, the growth of its branches based on a fractal
Fractal
A fractal has been defined as "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole," a property called self-similarity...
algorithm
Algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...
.
To create trees, 10 seedlings are needed in orbit of an asteroid, which then plummet into the ground to grow grass and the trees' roots. A plant may also be grown that attacks invading enemy seedlings by releasing explosive fruit, called a defense tree. Over time, the plant's health, damage, and spawn rate increases. The player can also customize their asteroids with addons called 'flowers'.
If a dyson tree has a flower added, dysons with a vastly enhanced firerate and range are produced. If a defence tree has a flower added, lasermines are produced. They are powerful seedlings which can take on multiple enemies with multiple lasers, and a suicidal explosion.
The seedlings can attack enemy asteroids, and take them over by burrowing through the roots to the core, and sapping the energy of the asteroid.
All levels are randomly generated, meaning each playthrough is slightly different. Also, each asteroid is unique in size and values, and produces seedlings with different stats. There are three stats. Speed enhances the moverate of seedlings, strength enhances the damage of seedlings, and energy increases the speed at which seedlings can convert enemy asteroids. The stats also affect the appearance of the seedlings.
Development
Originally called Dyson, the game originally started as a simple single proof of concept level. Levels were originally designed with the XMLXML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
markup language, and later the Lua programming language for increased flexibility.
The game was renamed Eufloria after a contest on IGN's Direct2Drive
Direct2Drive
Direct2Drive is an online game store offering PC videogames via direct download. On May 25, 2011, Gamefly acquired Direct2Drive from IGN Entertainment Group .- Competition with Steam :...
. Over 400 names were sorted through, with Vernon Sydnor giving the winning name.
The game has since been upgraded with a campaign, substantial AI and graphical improvements, and has been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Dutch.
Plot
The game begins in the far off future in space. The player controls a force of seedlings, and take more asteroids for the growers, mythical beings which spawned the seedlings. The mothertree hopes that by taking enough colonies for the growers, they can make them return.Early in the game, the player encounter an enemy, the greys, which has attacked one of their colonies, with extreme rage and violence. Soon the mothertree learns that the greys have been driven mad by a disease, which forces them to attack.
They also learn that another empire is attacking their empire and so the player is sent beyond the borders of the empire to find out why the greys are attacking, and deal with them.
The player continues, gaining new technologies and rescuing allies along the way, to find that their enemies produced the greys, despite the danger that the greys would destroy them too.
Eventually, the home asteroid of the greys was found. After conquering them, the mothertree analysed their remains, and found that all the enemy seedlings had the same DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
as your seedlings.
External links
- Eufloria at PlayStation.Com
- Official site
- Game Pitch: Dyson - Guardian
- Eufloria Review - Destructoid