Fortune: Evolution Game
Fortune: Evolution Game is an ongoing series of evolution game quest threads, with the titular planet of Fortune as their setting. It was begun April 30th, 2012 by a namefag calling themselves FortuneHost, and proved popular enough for multiple sequels.
Until then, you can chat with him (assuming he's on) on the IRC server here: Evolution Games Chat
Rules & Guidelines[edit | edit source]
Guidelines are about player conduct (especially in regards to what is or isn't allowed in submissions), whereas rules dictate game mechanics.
Rules[edit | edit source]
Fortune:Evolution Game is very rules-light, bordering on freeform.
The game involves "evolving" various species of plants or animals. There is no win condition, so to speak, the goal is to "create an interesting setting" as the namefag "nongent" put it in the first thread.
Various organisms are presented for the players in the form of images. The players can then change those organisms by editing the image and then posting it. A player can do one of two things with their new edited image. It can be posted as an evolution of the previous creature, meaning that the previous creature is now replaced by the new one; alternatively, the player can designate their new image as a newly emerged subspecies of the previous image, meaning the creatures in both images are now present on the world. This is called a split or a branch-off.
Once the edited image containing the creature is posted, it then becomes part of the developing "canon" of the game, and other players can edit and evolve it too. At various, arbitrary times, the GM will respond with results of the adaptation, as well as introducing random effects in the world in the interest of "shaking things up". Note that, sometimes, players will include cause/effect and results in their posts. So far, FortuneHost does not seem to mind, and if well written, sometimes even encourages it.
FortuneHost has said that there is a system in place to determine the result of the rare roll, whatever it is, though, has so far been withheld (though so far all rolls have been 1d10s).
Guidelines[edit | edit source]
Despite FortuneHost's exceedingly hands-off and light-handed approach, there are a few hard and fast stipulations as to what can and cannot be submitted.
- One change on one creature per posting, but anyone can edit any creature any number of times, as long as each is a different post.
- Try to limit these changes to the small. I would like this to be gradual. The more radical a change is, the more posts/stages it should take to get there.
- Each edit requires a picture. It doesn't have to be Rembrandt, but images help me keep track of the changes.
- Color change is free, as long as you can explain the change in pigmentation sensibly.
- No "alien intervention" or "meteors from space" or "cosmic radiation". These changes will occur due to environmental pressures ONLY.
- No joke/fetish races/changes. (eg. no dick shaped creatures, no "reproduces-by-rape", and no creature-with-a-spine-so-flexible-it-can-kiss-its-own-ass)
- When you create a creature, make sure you "quote" the post containing the creature you are changing/adapting.
- Make sure to specify whether your creature is a branch-off (...) or an evolution of it.
- You can only branch-off or evolve the most recent iteration of a species.
- The only adaptations disallowed are tool use and brain power/sentience.
- No creature can evolve two posts in a row. If critter A has evolved, then someone's got to make at least ONE post that evolves another critter before doing so again. (Note that I have no problem with the same person posting thrice in a row. Critter A, Critter B, Critter A all by the same guy. Fine by me.)
Events Summary[edit | edit source]
Here you will find a quick overview of the events, themes, and divergences of the various threads of the Fortune: Evolution game. Each thread was given a fancy title and a theme, in the interest of distinguishing each individual section but also to create a light narrative to the planet of Fortune as a whole.
Click the linked headings for a detailed description of the fluff starting creatures of the thread. Note that only the final forms at the time of the threads beginning are presented (meaning that Part 2 shows thread 1's final forms, Part 3 shows thread 2's final forms, and so on).
I. The Dawn of Life[edit | edit source]
This is the thread that started it all, began as an offhand attempt to get a "gaming fix" by the OP, Fortune: Evolution Game began with three very simple creatures, the Flipper, the Pinkie, and the sedentary Wiggles.
Later, FortuneHost added the plants the Bluegrass, the Banana Leaf, and the Red Lichen as food for the land critters. These three were not available to evolve, but were intended mostly as a game mechanic, as each had a listing of its availability and relative nutritional value. This however did not catch on, so instead they relegated to the status of a background element, until they were unlocked in [later thread]. More plants were added even later, but this time they were available for advancement. This second batch consisted of the Curly-Q Tree, the Mud Shrub, the Vampire Lily, and the Water Berries.
(More of Part 1 to be added at a later date.)
II. Winter is Coming[edit | edit source]
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Note that, while this map is an illustration of the world during Part 2, this image did not appear until Part 3, where it was included along with the map for part 3, intended as a before/after image, showing how the world had changed.
(Full Summary of Part 2 to be added at a later date.)
III-IV. The Age of Ice[edit | edit source]
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(Full Summary of Parts 3 & 4 to be added at a later date.)
V. The Triumph of Spring[edit | edit source]
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After several centuries, millennia, even, the glaciers have started to recede, and Fortune is a world that sees green again. This great springtime engendered an absolute explosion of life, as organisms no longer struggled against the harsh conditions of the Ice Age.
Fortune also experienced geological change as well, the small island off the coast of the main continent erupted, spewing ash and soot into the air, creating a greenhouse effect that was responsible for the retreat of the glaciers. After a thousand years of darkness, the world awoke to a new landmass, now called, rather unimaginatively, Volcano Island. Time passed, and the main continent of Fortune split nearly down the middle. It remained a single landmass, but now it had a massive gouge in it. A new mountain range had also risen to the north, in what is now a vast savannah.
The game began with no less than 47 playable species (34 animals and 13 plants), too many to list in full here. Follow the link at the heading for full details.
VI. The Parting of the Ways[edit | edit source]
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The single supercontinent has split into 3 pieces, and soon Fortune will see these isolated populations evolve into wildly diverging and different forms as each evolves to their habitats. These continents have been granted titles from the Greek alphabet. Alpha is to the south, a humid place touching the equator and thus it is a green and lush landmass, full of jungles and swamps. Beta is to the north, extending unto the frigid poles, but is dominated by the desert to the south, and a vast prairie to the north. Lastly there is the heavily wooded land of Delta, located to the east of Beta.
Other than Delta, the continents possess multiple regions and each of these will have at least one thread dedicated to it. Alongside the continents, there's also three oceanic regions, the Abyss, the Open Ocean, and the Tropical Sea, and in these one can find both Volcano Island and Pickle Island, isolated regions that will no doubt become home to a variety of unique species. Indeed, FortuneHost has said as much, that these are intended to be equivalents of Earth's Galapagos, an evolutionary lab where species diverge immensely from their predecessors.
Archived Threads[edit | edit source]
Links for both suptg and foolz.us archives are included (where possible), as well as the related discussion threads between games. It should be noted that such "discussion threads" are not necessary to read in order to follow along, they are mostly presented here for completeness' sake.
Creature Stage[edit | edit source]
The creature stage is where it all began, start from the first multicellular mite and work your way up to macro-scale beasties that roam the land, swim the sea or even ply the skies.
Chapter 1, the Dawn of Life[edit | edit source]
Chapter 2, Winter is Coming[edit | edit source]
Chapters 3-4, the Age of Ice[edit | edit source]
Ice Age I. suptg warosu.org
Ice Age II. suptg warosu.org
Chapter 5, the Triumph of Spring[edit | edit source]
1. suptg warosu.org
2. suptg warosu.org
3. (Deserts) suptg warosu.org
Chapter 6, Parting of the Ways[edit | edit source]
1. Forest (Delta) suptg warosu.org
2. Swamps (Alpha) suptg warosu.org
3. Arctic (Beta) suptg warosu.org
4. Open Ocean suptg warosu.org
5. Prairie (Beta) suptg warosu.org
6. Volcano Island suptg warosu.org
7. Highlands (Alpha) suptg warosu.org
8. Jungles (Alpha) suptg warosu.org
9. Abyssal Trench suptg warosu.org
10. Desert (Beta) suptg warosu.org
11. Pickle Island suptg warosu.org
12. Tropical sea suptg warosu.org
13. Valley of the Giants suptg warosu.org
Miscellaneous[edit | edit source]
Discussion Threads[edit | edit source]
"Discussion threads" are when the GM comes to answer player questions and gauge public reaction in between quest threads. What the players like, what they wish to see more of, or what, if any, changes are desired, that sort of thing. Suggestions and ideas are bounced off one player to another, and the players can have a say in the future of Fortune: Evolution Game. This is also a good time for newcomers to join in or get information without trying to catch up in the middle of a busy quest, when the GM and others are otherwise occupied.
FortuneHost has also been known to tease or preview upcoming creatures or other features of the next thread in these threads.
1. Discussion Thread 1 (Between Parts 2 & 3)
2. Discussion Thread 2 (Between Parts 4 & 5)
3. Discussion Thread 3 (Between Parts 4 & 5)
4. Discussion Thread 4 (Between Parts 5 & 6)
5. Discussion Thread 5 (Between Parts 5 & 6)
6. Discussion Thread 6 (Between Parts 5 & 6)
7. Discussion Thread 7 (Between Parts 5 & 6)
8. Announcement/Discussion Thread 8 (Between Parts 6-1 and 6-2)
9. Discussion Thread 9 (Between Parts 6-3 and 6-4)
10. Discussion Thread 10 (Between Parts 6-5 and 6-6)
11. Discussion Thread 11 (Between Parts 6-12 and 6-13)
Voting[edit | edit source]
On the suptg archives, threads are rated by the number of community votes, either positive or negative. In order to vote the various Fortune: Evolution Game threads on suptg, a link to all threads with the tag "Fortune Evolution" is provided. Simply click on the "Vote" button in the rightmost column.