An Hour Through Polytopia

Shannelle
Shannelle
Sep 5, 2018 · 3 min read

So The Battle of Polytopia has yet to be purged from my phone because it’s charming and addictive each time I revisit it. It’s a very simple 4X game (EXplore, EXpand, EXploit, and EXterminate). I’m calling it simple, because Civilization, which is probably the poster child of the genre, can span hours and hours just to play through one game. Polytopia, on the other hand, only has a set thirty turns to get as far as you can.

Or maybe simple isn’t the proper word for it. Compact might be better. The basic premise is that you choose a tribe, and you explore your surroundings to unlock the clouded areas and find empty cities to own. There are technologies that you need to buy to do certain things, like harvesting items or building, but those require stars, the currency of the game — these can be gained through harvesting resources like fish or generated each turn from the level of your cities. These come in handy later on after encountering other tribes, as better warriors make taking other tribes’ cities and taking over the entire map much easier.

It sounds like a pretty typical game for the genre, and you’re probably imagining it to be very detailed 3D with some ancient style of sorts, but nope. It’s pink, it’s cute, it’s low-poly (I believe that’s the term, but if not, oh well)

That pink sky is actually an Easter egg; it’s usually black.

The design style is quite fun and unique, and it’s a game that you jump right into. Little unobtrusive hearts indicate hints for first time players, but other than that, it’s a smooth game that can keep me riveted for long periods of time.

I also rarely play with sound, but I tried it for this time around, and I was really impressed. The cuteness also carries over to the sound effects, and every little thing comes with a sound that’s very reminiscent of arcade game sound effects. Each tribe also has their own theme music, and there even are atmospheric sounds like that of waves and a call of a bird every now and then.

I feel like the only thing that distracts from the experience is the hunt for a good map at the beginning of the game. I haven’t gotten any new tribes, so I’m just working to beat my high score, and good maps with bonuses can be quite influential. So these days, I find myself restarting quite often just to generate a good map. Otherwise, though, it’s quite an addictive game with a variety of difficulties and scenarios that had me hooked for hours the very first time I discovered it.

creating immersive worlds

Course site for Creating Immersive Worlds, Interactive Media Arts, NYU Shanghai

Shannelle

Written by

Shannelle

creating immersive worlds

Course site for Creating Immersive Worlds, Interactive Media Arts, NYU Shanghai

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