But what about the period before the apocalypse? You know, you're living your life, doing whatever it is you do, and then people find out some unavoidable crazy shit is going to happen a while from now - you've got some time to do something about it.

So I was thinking about a game that spans the change. Maybe the beginning has you preparing for the inevitable, while also dealing with the rioting and crazies and whatnot, and then the Bad Thing happens, and you find some of your preparations worked and some were for naught. And now you need to go forward under whatever post-apoc scenario they dreamed up according to whatever the event was.

So besides Terraria and your voluntary entry into Hard Mode (which is about 1/10th of what I'm thinking), are there any games like this where you play both the Before and the inevitable After - with maybe some During thrown in for good measure - and where the Before actually matters? As in, the slate does NOT get wiped clean with a cutscene and whatever you did before the event DOES have an effect on the present and future. And I'm thinking along the lines of the game world being utterly shaken up by the event: massive change in population, society, habitation, technology, what-have-you.

There's a game called 60 seconds which is precisely what you describe. Very well-reviewed, too, though I haven't played it myself, yet.

Also, the MMO Guild Wars 1's original single-player campaign has one of those in the middle, easily the most memorable part of the campaign, though being a fairly linear story there's not *that* much you can do before that alters the after. Oh, and for added fun, the pre-apocalypse area and missions were only available to players who owned the original campaign -- those who bought any of the following expansions could only see the post-apocalyptic version of the continent, leading to some player conversations mirroring that of NPCs, saying how beautiful everything used to be and stuff.

And then for an example that only kinda-sorta fits, there's also Trillion, a jRPG by the makers of Neptunia, which lacks the post-apocalyptic part but more than makes up on the pre-apocalyptic stuff. In fact, it's suprising how dark it often gets, given the devs' previous work.

Technically, Sim Earth is running on a very long timer. And you can induce the end of life as the poor creatures know it in various ways from making the planet into an ice ball, to unleashing hordes of robots.

But once 5 billion years have passed, that's it. Game over.

Dragon's Dogma.
Given the cause of the apocalypse there isn't anything you can do before to affect the after - aside from preventing the apocalypse entirely by sacrificing the one you love most. You can reverse most of the apocalypse by... uhhhh... yeah the ending... is weird.

Civilization/Alpha Centauri?

So basically a simulation of you building a bunker on your land and hoarding canned food and GOG games there, preparing for the inevitable?

I'm already doing that in the real life. I guess that game could have a mini-game where you try to download all your GOG games to your hard drive. Then in the post-apocalyptic part there would be zombies walking around who are after your GOG games, moaning "Gamezzzz, GAMEZZZZZ...".

Never heard of this, apparently you have only 60 seconds to search for your family and supplies, before you make your way to your underground shelter and that's when the game actually begins. I don't know how I feel about the stressful, time limited introduction to the game, but for now I'm bookmarking it. It's clearly inspired by Fallout, due to the '50s setting, which is a big plus for me. Maybe watching some youtube clips will make it clearer.

Poseidon: Master of Atlantis (expansion of Zeus: Master of Olympus) is kinda like you described: first you get to build up Atlantis into a thriving city with some nicely set-up colonies and then the disaster happen and you have to deal with it. Most of the things are scripted though but some of your decisions (the way you arrange your city) are very important later on. But I guess it's not what you are looking for per se.

Now that you mention it, didn't Pharaoh also have several missions where there was an earthquake that caused fractures on the maps, destroying your buildings and forcing you to rebuild the infrastructure? Unfortunately it was entirely scripted and could easily be avoided. Pharaoh also had the Nile mechanic where every time the Nile flooded it would destroy all the buildings on the fertile lands, those closest to the riverbed. If you failed to store the harvest everything would be lost and you'd have to deal with the repercussions. Survive from your reserves, buy food or use hunter if possible.

It's not pre post apocalyptic but Don't Starve has a something like what you're asking. From the very start you have to keep in mind that winter is coming and you have to rush to make sure you're ready for it. Winter is very harsh and if you're not ready for it then it's curtains for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eC_6QzvLrE


??

It's not but after trying to get through the first night you'll wish the end was near! :P

Seriously, great great great game, but CHALLENGING!

Oh yes, and I still have to try Reign of Giants, but I'm not sure about making the game even more difficult :\ Perhaps I should actually try to finish the original first :P

Most annoying enemy in the game...

Guess I hadn't really considered the survival genre a la Don't Starve and the like. You're already in the post- mode, but things still happen that present inevitable and grand life-or-death challenges. Hmm...

Not quite a start from a 'normal' lifestyle into something completely different, but similar. That sounds about on the mark, though I was thinking more of a build-up to it. Should give it a whirl.

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Ultimately, I would like to see something RPG-ish but I don't know what sort of end-game there would be, especially if the event isn't something you can overcome such as an alien invasion.

It almost sounds like you're looking for a really beefed up tower defense game, which are all more or less the same premise: build and prepare for the shit hitting that fan.

Only now instead of a tower you are defending/preserving.....well.....everything I guess.