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[Mesa]

The world is recovering.
One million years ago, the greatest challenge that oxygen-breathing life ever faced had finally been conquered. The Gelidian era ('frozen') has finally ended. The glaciers, after 400 million years of grinding the newly-born continents into rubble and dirt, have joined with the sea, and their cargoes of minerals have arrived in the waters. Trillions of photosynthesizing cells are pumping billions of tons of breathable gas into the air and ocean. Oxygen and nutrients are available in vast quantities, and multicellular life has begun. Most are simple creatures, focusing only on taking what they need from the blue-green liquid soup that surrounds them. One of the most prolific of these is the seafloor blob, a tiny organism that feasts off of the organic matter in the ocean's waters. They cover the floors of the ocean. For now, life is good, but competition is starting. One of them is destined to become great, though. And its form of life will survive, no matter what.

This one reproduces, and then dies, like the many other blobs of the reef. But its descendants are evolving. How, though? Will it evolve muscle and dig, or feast on fellow members of its species? Will it let itself free from the ocean floor? If there are a million different choices it could take, which is the choice that it will follow in the end?

That choice is up to you.
 

Spoiler: Explaining the game (click to show/hide)

Hello, and welcome to Competition Adaptation Extinction! This game is about our little... organism. I'm really not sure how it will  turn out, though knowing you lot, it will be twisted.
Our organism is living in its habitat. Because it's a single species, it won't really know much beyond its neighboring biomes (unless it's managed to get worldwide, one way or another). World events will happen, and it'll evolve. You guys are going to direct where it goes with its life. Depending on which rolls we get, it'll either go how you want or it'll do it its way. But, most likely, if you want a bird it'll fly and if you want a fish it'll swim.
Feel free to go wild, as long as you don't delve too far into the realms of the magical. If you suggest something wild, and I can see a way to get it done, I will do it. Although maybe over multiple turns.

GENERATION 1:

Seafloor blob
A blueish blob of jelly that builds reefs. Their upper surfaces take food from the water. It's about a centimetre or so wide.
REPRODUCTION: It lets out male cells in the current, and growths grow on other blobs when they land. These growths fall off and become another blob.
MOVEMENT: Completely immobile.
EATING: It absorbs cells that are drifting on the current.
PREDATION: No predators or meaningful prey.
COMPETITION: Our blobs are the only ones that live on the bottom, but competition for space is fierce. Most only live for a short time before they are covered by the next generation.
ENVIRONMENT: A shallow sub-tropical sea. Layers upon layers of seafloor blobs have built massive networks of reefs. Fronds grow above the rest, filtering food from the open water. They grow from their stalks so that they don't get covered by the bottom layer. Their underground sections form a complex root system that feeds off of the corpses of blobs that were buried.

Welcome to Extinction, a game which will hopefully NOT end in what its title may initially suggest!
Evolutionary suggestion games are fun, but they are even more fun when you add some (rudimentary) illustrations!

ASCII, brought by yours truly, using REXPaint. Check the spoiler in quote above to see! (I never said they will be of X@Com quality)
Also, I know that the "world map" is not exactly accurate yet, but I should get that sorted out soon enough.


Adaptation and Competition both sprawled into very different paths. Let's see where Extinction brings us! (hopefully not to itself)

[GreatWyrmGold]

Elongate into worm- or tentacle-like animals, which snag swimmers-by.

[Urist Mc Dwarf]

+1

Gain shell for protection

[TopHat]

PTW

[kaian-a-coel]

Elongate into worm- or tentacle-like animals, which snag swimmers-by.

+1

[GreatWyrmGold]

+1

Gain shell for protection

-1, not only is it not worth the minerals, it also clashes with my "image"...

[kopout]

Elongate into worm- or tentacle-like animals, which snag swimmers-by.

-1
web are essentially a sponge (if that), no gut.
Evolve endosymbiotic algae

[NRDL]

Elongate into worm- or tentacle-like animals, which snag swimmers-by.

+1 let's get to Cthulhu as quickly as possible here. 

[Xantalos]

Elongate into worm- or tentacle-like animals, which snag swimmers-by.

+1 let's get to Cthulhu as quickly as possible here.

+2

[flame99]

Elongate into worm- or tentacle-like animals, which snag swimmers-by.

+1 let's get to Cthulhu as quickly as possible here.

+2

+3

[wer6]

Elongate into worm- or tentacle-like animals, which snag swimmers-by.

+1 let's get to Cthulhu as quickly as possible here.

+2

+3

+9001

[Cheesecake]

Elongate into worm- or tentacle-like animals, which snag swimmers-by.

+1 let's get to Cthulhu as quickly as possible here.

+2

+3

+9001

+1

[Dansmithers]

OH GOD YES!
Evolve hydrogen chambers in our skin.

[Mesa]

Spoiler: Evolution attempts (click to show/hide)

Elongated body 5
Hydrogen sacks 4
Endosymbiotic algae 2

// If someone who hosted evolution games in the past could explain to me how the rolls work via PM, I'd be thankful. I only have a basic grasp of this, so there may be flaws.

Spoiler: GENERATION 2 (click to show/hide)

Zeppelin blob (Figurus volans)

A blueish, long blob of jelly. Named due to their form of movement, which is very reminiscent of airships. They form reefs, but can quickly ascend and swim away should the need arise, but are mostly stationary.
Reproduction: It lets out male cells in the current, and growths grow on other blobs when they land. These growths fall off and become another blob.
Movement: It filters out hydrogen from the nearby water and stores it in special sacks that allow it to ascend and descend and be picked up by the current. It can move on its own, but it's a very sluggish movement. The young don't have their hydrogen sacks fully developed and thus remain stationary in reefs, along with certain mature zeppelin blobs.
Eating: It absorbs cells that are drifting on the current.
Predation: No predators or meaningful prey.
Competition: While the competition for space with other kinds of blobs is still fierce, their ability to ascend and swim allows them to reach new places, new predatory kinds of blobs begin to appear. The most notorious one is the chargeblob, which propels itself to great speeds with gases stored within that it releases in the opposite direction to swim to their prey and absorb them.
Environment: A shallow sub-tropical sea. Layers upon layers of seafloor blobs have built massive networks of reefs. Fronds grow above the rest, filtering food from the open water. They grow from their stalks so that they don't get covered by the bottom layer. Their underground sections form a complex root system that feeds off of the corpses of blobs that were buried.

(Zeppelin blobs shown in purple, chargeblobs shown in orange. Other minor blobs shwn in red and turquoise.)

[Cheesecake]

Evolve fins and tails to allow faster movement.