A Trial Run

I'm going to start by trying to create elementary countries or countries in vacuum.

What I have written down on my little pad here is "Countries/Nations that arise and develop separately (ie. without competition)" and that's more or less what I'd like to create.

I have 6 proposed parameters that define the geographical area in which humans (we're working with humans to keep things simple for now) would exist from prehistoric times and develop into nations. The idea is that by defining the terrain, weather, etc. you can make meaningful guesses at what kind of culture might develop. For example, a very fertile area might result in a more agrarian society, a very rainy area may find a lot of rain imagery in art or religion, an area with a lot of wildlife might have some very ferocious predators and create an aggressive society of hunters... that sort of thing.

Of course these things can still be arbitrarily decided or determined, but simple correlations to existing characteristics are more prudent than trying to place farmers in a desert by accident.

From these six parameters, I hope to find the ways they will interact and define more specific characteristics of nations. Each one will tentatively be rated from 0 to 1, to facilitate the inevitable mathematics that will come later.

1. Size of Area
      Narrow/Wide
2. Hydration
      Arid/Drenched
3. Ores and Minerals present in area
      Resource Poor/Resource Rich
4. Climate
      Cold/Hot
5. Terrain
      Tame/Rugged
6. Wildlife
      Absent/Plentiful

Tomorrow, I'd like to generate some random variables and begin the process of creation. The idea isn't to get a polished final product, but to see what the strengths and weaknesses of a model like this might be.

As always, looking forward to feedback.

-Cheers,

CS