How The Concept Works...

The other night, Conor and I spent some time over MSN discussing (and trying to work out) all of the nitty-gritty details of our game to make sure that the concept was as strong as it could be, and that everything made sense.

It was really, really hard to not overcomplicate things - we tried to avoid doing so because it is already a very complex concept.

This is what we came up with:

• The objectives/ responsibilities of the Alien Committee:

There is a committee of alien species in the wider universe who have the responsibility of finding life on planets. When they do, they move these planets into isolated sectors in the centre of the galaxy, where they are safe from external interference, and from which they can be monitored. Their objective is to give these life forms enough time to develop and evolve to a stage of relatively high awareness, understanding and intellect. After this time has passed, it is their job to decide whether the race has reached a sufficient stage of perfection, and whether it would be a benefit to the rest of the universe if they were to join it and continue life. Ultimately, planet Earth and the human species which occupied it weren’t worthy of this honour.

The basic goal of the committee of aliens is to ensure that life, in all its various forms, is given a chance. After the prescribed time, life and planet will be eliminated if it has not reached the right level of perfection, as it then poses a threat to the wider universe – e.g. planets where species have wars, destroy their environment etc. would have a negative effect on the universe and all other planets if they are allowed to keep living and growing.

• Planets - life cycles:

Each world follows a quite specific lifecycle, similar to Earths. The planets are born, they are populated by life forms, they are moved into the isolated ‘solar systems’, the life forms are given a certain amount of time to reach perfection, if they don’t – they are destroyed, if they do – they are allowed to pass into the wider universe.

•  2012 for every planet - or each with a unique time?/ Mayan symbology:

The time given to each planet depends on what the committee sees fit, considering the differences in species and environments. The precise date of each planet’s ‘judgment day’ is hinted throughout the planet through the use of ancient Mayan glyphs, which are left there in the early stages of the planet’s life. This is why each planet in the universe shares similar ‘Mayan’ buildings, glyphs and prophesies.

• How a planet is detonated:

If a planet is to be destroyed, the aliens activate a detonation system which was placed in the center of each planet at the time it was moved into its isolated sector.

•  The concept of the Micro-verse and travel within this:
  

Each planet is guarded by a barrier which keeps out interference from the wider universe, with the exception of the alien committee. These barriers are only able to be crossed by species from other ‘testing’ planets, who have reached such a high level of development that they have achieved space travel. However, no life can venture outside of this micro-verse until they have passed the test, and no other life forms are able to come into it from the outside.

• Motives - Good vs. Evil:

In the wider universe, there is no good or evil. The alien committee responsible for the isolation, monitoring and perhaps the detonation of planets and their life forms are not concerned with the existence of the individual, but instead for the greater good of their entire universe as a whole. Good and evil exists to some degree on the individual planets in their ‘testing’ phase, but this is ultimately overcome if a species is able to reach ultimate perfection.

I think that sums up the majority of everything...

We will probably use this in our presentation, along with diagrams (I think Conor is making one) which will make it all easier to understand and put into perspective.

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With the world sketches, we decided that we should each take a planet to create. 

Conor is creating planet 1, Chitra - planet 2, me - planet 3 and Natacha - planet 4.