The evolution of Gaia.

[Quindiana Jones]

Let's talk about the people of Gaia. We've got standard humans, hippo-folk, rat-folk, clown-folk, moogles, chocobos, mole-folk (mentioned, but not seen), bird-folk, walrus-folk and Queen Brahne. I'm sure I've missed a few. The point is that many species have gained human-level sentience; how? Do you think there was an origin of all the walking, talking, sleeping, spending peoples of Gaia? Did the humans evolve from monkeys, the hippo-people from hippos etc., until they were all at roughly the same level? Or was there a single species, that would be the basis of all sentient life, that specialised in different ways?

I can't help but feel that the standard model of evolution works the same way in Gaia. :/

[blackmage_nuke]

My theory is they are all resultant offspring of cross-species gene splicing experiments from ancient times. If they can make Blackmage clones I could see it happening.

[Freya]

MAGIC! That's my only answer to this kinda thing. Because what we know about evolution is it doesn't all work together like that so well what is the answer? And with these worlds there is always magic afoot so let's go with that.

[Jiro]

Wasn't Necron implied to be some kind of God? Regardless, with all the 'playing God' we see throughout the game, it only makes sense that FFIX's universe has an omnipotent creator.

[Quindiana Jones]

It could be some kind of convergent evolution? Maybe all the species evolved separately then flocked to the Mist Continent? It's easily the lushest of all the continents.

Freya! This thread is about applying scientific principles to fantasy worlds for the fun of seeing how things might be explained. Magic is unacceptable! :mad2:

[Freya]

MAGIC!

[Jiro]

Maybe it was the fucking mist?

[Freya]

Could have been! It's what made the animals go crazy and violent to attack you!

[Slothy]

Maybe it was the fucking mist?

That was my thought as well. We already know that mist did some funky things to the monsters in the world, and you could stuff it in Black Mage bodies and make walking, talking, thinking Black Mages. Given enough time and exposure, perhaps some creatures ended up becoming sentient.

Or maybe Garland was just playing with some DNA one day and stuff happened. Who can say?

[ReloadPsi]

FF9's world just casually dropped these animal/human hybrids on you like they were the norm and I found that reasonably cool. They still had NPC names like "Fish Man" to suggest that the character you were playing as immediately looked and was like "oh WTF it's a fish man" and it worked fairly well, although Freya becoming a playable character led to me constantly questioning what the hell she was, and the lack of an explanation (other than the fact that Burmecians were rat people... and that was it) kind of bugged me.

P.S. The word is sapient, not sentient. All animals way below human intelligence are considered sentient. Animals of human intelligence are sapient, hence homo sapien.

[Slothy]

P.S. The word is sapient, not sentient. All animals way below human intelligence are considered sentient. Animals of human intelligence are sapient, hence homo sapien.

Whoops, my bad.

[Quindiana Jones]

Cheers for the clarification.

[Sephex]

I hate to use this joke again, but...

http://www.csicon.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Aliens-meme.jpg

Hmm...maybe it has something to do with the mist like Jiro said. Or maybe the planet hit the diversity lottery and happened to get a big box of DNA to play around with!

[Goldenboko]

Wasn't Necron implied to be some kind of God? Regardless, with all the 'playing God' we see throughout the game, it only makes sense that FFIX's universe has an omnipotent creator.

I will fight to the bitter end in favor of the theory that Necron was the core of the Iffa Tree.

As nice as the mist theory is, what about the Dwarves? L'est we forget about Conde Petie, rally-ho!
Or the summoner's they also were away from the mist!
I think this is one of the times that suspension of disbelief needs to be applied - sure such genetic diversity is improbable, if not impossible, on a single planet. But Fantasy games would be shitty Fantasy if they followed all the rules.

[Jiro]

Maybe they migrated there.

[Quindiana Jones]

I think this is one of the times that suspension of disbelief needs to be applied - sure such genetic diversity is improbable, if not impossible, on a single planet. But Fantasy games would be shitty Fantasy if they followed all the rules.

I'd like to reiterate that we're not trying to solve a problem here, or get to the bottom of some great mystery. This is simply an interesting little thought experiment. :D

[Slothy]

I'd like to reiterate that we're not trying to solve a problem here, or get to the bottom of some great mystery. This is simply an interesting little thought experiment. :D

What are you on about? This is a matter of the highest import! It could have damning consequences for the Federation Klingon alliance.

Or maybe not really, but it is pretty fun to speculate about. I'm still sticking with Mist (or maybe aliens) though. There just doesn't seem to be any other plausible mechanism for this unless we believe several humanoid species all evolved on the same continent at the same time, as well as some evolving on others. That mist must have some strange mutagenic properties. No wonder people try to live above it or avoid it. Otherwise you might have humans born with tails and rats born with no tails. Next thing you know, mutant humans are mating with mutant rats and that's just icky.

[Freya]

MAGIC!

[Slothy]

Magic? In a Final Fantasy game? What the hell kind of silly idea is that? Sorry Freya, but I wasn't born yesterday.

I bet you expect me to believe a wizard did it? Give me a break. :D

[Quindiana Jones]

That's almost as ridiculous as suggesting that an extra-Gaiastrial monkey created Black Mages.

[Tigmafuzz]

Maybe there's no real rationalization for any of it because it was all a dream. One day Vivi wakes up and realizes he's still all alone. That adventure he had? All the friends he made? His experiences and everything he learned? None of it was real. It was all a crazy dream. He's not a black mage, he's just a kid. It was all a figment of his imagination. A coping mechanism; a happy place his own mind created for him as he starves to death. Just like Garfield. (http://i.imgur.com/mYRmb.png) He awakens and realizes this, as he lies helpless, too weak to move, in the alleyway dumpster that his father abandoned him in all those years ago...

You can cry now.

[Jinx]

Necron just wanted to fuck with people.

More than appearing at the very end of the game after not ever being mentioned once.

"Let's make this fat hippo kid who can't run, and this crazy dog-noble who wears a little hat. Ooh, and a Six-Armed Man. Oh man, I am the epitome of evil."

[Jiro]

Well you know he's pretty evil when he makes dogs that wear hats.