World Turtles

World Turtles is an economic strategy game, possibly inspired by Terry Pratchett's Discworld. It was developed by Re: cOg Mission, an indie studio based in South Africa, and published by Freedom Games.

Plot

World Turtles is set in a world housed on the shell of a gigantic space turtle. The player watches over the land, takes care of its inhabitants, the humanoid Meeps, and charts their path of growth. We must take care of the turtle itself, as if we keep it safe, it can take us to the farthest corners of the universe.

Mechanics

World Turtles makes use of the top-down perspective. We start off the game with a small group of Meeps, who are already raring to work. We don't have direct control over them; instead, we must set goals and prioritize them, letting the Meeps fulfill their duties themselves. By acquiring resources, cultivating the land and constructing buildings, our colony grows. Over time, we also develop the Meeps themselves, as they improve at what they do, become more efficient at work, create more advanced buildings and even establish guilds.

Our work doesn't end there, as we must also take care of the giant turtle and feed it. In return, it can repay us by taking us on a journey through space. Before we start traversing the universe, we must first prepare our people for various challenges. Different sectors of the cosmos have different conditions, which affect the temperature, water levels or even cause natural disasters. The risk is worth it, though, as we can acquire unimaginable riches and even meet other turtles, hosting other groups of friendly Meeps.

The lands on the turtle shells and the outer space are procedurally generated, making each playthrough different from the last.

Technical aspects

World Turtles runs on the Unity engine and features colorful, low poly visuals.