【Expression】Ages — Formation Mechanisms and Civilizational Phase Transitions

Document ID

Document ID: FM-ARCHIVE-0012
Release Time: 2026-01-14 11:06

Official Archive Declaration

This document is a canonical Expression Archive Entry within the
FireMatch Official Public Archive System,
concerning civilizational phase division and the mechanisms by which Ages are established.

This Archive Entry explains how the concept of an Age is defined within the civilizational structure of FireMatch,
including its conditions of establishment, criteria of judgment, and narrative boundaries.

This document holds civilization-level, long-term validity
and does not expire due to gameplay pacing, system implementation, numerical balancing,
or changes in presentation.

I. Definition of an Age

Within the FireMatch Civilization,
an Age is not a technology list,
not an architectural style,
and not a phase label.

An Age is defined as:

A set of core problems
that the civilization must confront and continuously endure
during a given stage of its existence.

When previous problems are stably resolved,
and new problems begin to emerge repeatedly,
apply sustained pressure at the scale of civilization,
and become unavoidable structural constraints,
the civilization enters a new Age.

II. Canonical Rule for the Establishment of an Age

The establishment of a new Age is marked by the civilizational-level completion
of the key technology at the end of the previous Age.

This rule implies that:

An Age is not a gradual transition, but a structural confirmation;
An Age does not begin when something is “being researched,” but when it has become “impossible not to rely on”;
Once an Age is established, the civilization is compelled to continue developing within a new problem framework.

The completion of a key technology
does not refer to a single individual invention,
but to an understanding that has sedimented through Technology Blocks
and become a default dependency at the scale of civilization.

III. The Relationship Between Ages and Technology

Within the FireMatch Civilization:

Technology exists to address problems;
Technology Blocks stabilize understanding;
An Age marks the point at which the problems themselves have changed.

Technology drives civilization forward,
but only when a technology has:

been used over the long term;
become widely relied upon;
turned into a structural prerequisite;

does the civilization as a whole cross into a new Age.

Therefore:

Technology is the condition for the establishment of an Age,
but an Age is not the sum of technologies.

IV. The Irreversibility of Ages

Once an Age is established,
it possesses civilization-level irreversibility.

This irreversibility does not arise from rule enforcement,
but from structural dependency, including:

changes in modes of urban organization;
changes in production and transmission pathways;
changes in population, spatial, and temporal scales.

To return to a previous Age
would require the civilization to actively abandon
key technological structures that have already proven effective,
and to once again bear problem costs that had previously been resolved.

As a result, Ages are typically surpassed,
rather than revoked.

V. Overview of the Ten Ages

The following is an established overview of the ten Ages
recognized within the FireMatch Civilization.

These descriptions are provided for conceptual understanding and narrative context,
and do not constitute system objectives or operational guidance.

I. Straight-Line Age

The civilization has not yet formed complex structures.
Survival behaviors unfold in direct, linear ways.
Action, gathering, and consumption occur almost simultaneously.

II. Framework Age

Structures begin to be reused.
Space is partitioned,
and stable patterns of habitation and production emerge.

III. Curvature Age

Cyclical problems become apparent.
Moisture, fungus, and environmental feedback
emerge as pressures the civilization can no longer ignore.

IV. Mechanical Age

Expansion of scale introduces distance as a core issue.
Transmission, transportation, and structural efficiency
become central concerns.

V. Fire-Powered Age

High-energy conversion reshapes patterns of aggregation.
Public spaces and social interaction expand significantly.

VI. Steam Age

Sustained high-pressure operation produces fatigue.
The civilization begins actively seeking
ways to release and regulate itself.

VII. Electric Age

Light and information are widely controlled.
Aesthetics, expression, and symbolism
become new focal points of attention.

VIII. Automation Age

Efficiency is amplified systemically.
The civilization begins to reflect on the question:
Is the optimal solution always the best one?

IX. Digital Age

Information becomes highly transparent.
Individuals begin to feel the pressure
of being observed and recorded.

X. De-AI Age

Intelligent systems intervene deeply in civilizational operation.
For the first time, the civilization systematically asks:
Which decisions must remain human prerogatives?

VI. The Relationship Between Ages and Narrative Records

An Age itself
does not record specific events.

However, all Civilization Chronicles, City Chronicles, and Building Chronicles
take their contextual backdrop from the current Age.

An Age provides
a framework of understanding for history,
rather than a chain of causality for events.

VII. Scope and Limits

This Archive Entry is used to:

define the canonical meaning of an Age;
establish the sole criterion for the establishment of an Age;
unify the position of Ages within narrative and system structures.

This Archive Entry does not:

guide player behavior;
prescribe development goals;
list technologies or buildings.

Those matters are defined in other Archive Entries.

VIII. Canonical Authority

This record:

forms part of the official public Archive of the FireMatch Civilization;
holds the highest interpretive authority on the question of how Ages are established;
is binding on all Age-related systems, narratives, and designs.

Any future document
that involves Age transitions, Age naming, or Age determination
must adhere to the rules established herein.

IX. Effective Status

This Archive Entry takes effect immediately upon publication.

All future designs, narratives, and system expressions concerning Ages
must treat this document as the sole canonical reference.

— FireMatch Studio
Official Public Archive Entry