Preview: Photorealistic ‘Empire of Ants’ turns a classic sci-fi novel into a real-time strategy game

The 'Empire of the Ants' follows the exploits of Ant No. 103,683, and it brings the vision of Bernard Werber to life using photorealistic graphics and surprisingly accessible gameplay. — Photos: Microids

Tower Five Studio game director Renaud Charpentier first read Empire of the Ants when he was 15 years old. The unusual sci-fi novel dramatises a story about an ant colony in a park near Paris. It’s filled with politics and conspiracy as the six-legged protagonist helps its species survive after a surprising assault. The author Bernard Werber created a whole civilisation around the ant world that’s as elaborate as it is fascinating.

Thirty years later, Charpentier found himself making a real-time strategy game based on the novel. The Empire of the Ants follows the exploits of Ant No. 103,683, and it brings the vision of Werber to life using photorealistic graphics and surprisingly accessible gameplay.