MCP: FROM DUST BLOWS INTO GAMESCOM

Echoing Populous, Black and White, and even the terraforming parts of Sim City, Ubisoft’s From Dust aims to reinvent the god game in the context of a nature simulation. Here’s a tech demo from today’s Gamescom event that shows off what the game can do, including some particularly amazing water physics:

It’s as if an early Peter Molyneux game mated with an Earth Science class.

From Eric Chahi, creator of the 16-bit classic Heart of Darkness, the game lets you control the fate of a tribe of islanders as they navigate your world. As their deity, you’ll be tasked with protecting your people from natural disasters by terraforming the land around them – for example, you can help them escape a tsunami strike by building a rock bridge over a river. In certain situations, From Dust will give the player a set of single-use god powers, like the ability to instantly turn all of the island’s rock formations into lava. Instant lavafication for the good of all!

It’s surprising that this seemingly massive geological event is an arcade title. Expect From Dust to hit the Xbox Live Arcade, PSN, and Steam in 2011.

Source: Joystiq