In Horizon Zero Dawn, humanity is pushed to extinction by technology. The Earth could have easily been left a desolate rock, but life on Earth is saved by Dr. Elisabet Sobeck and her team of brilliant scientists who spearhead Project Zero Dawn. Through this project, the seeds of life are preserved so that they can be planted after the planet is hospitable again. Players find out a little about these scientists, though future Horizon games should delve further into their lives and their activities relating to the project.
Horizon Zero Dawn started a fascinating tale that gamers want more details about. It seems there will be a few opportunities for this to happen. In addition to a future mainline Horizon title, gamers can also look forward to Horizon Call of the Mountain, an upcoming PSVR 2 game, and there are also rumors of a Horizon multiplayer game in the works. All of these games could be an avenue for the members of Project Zero Dawn to be explored further.
Project Zero Dawn - Life's Last Hope
In Guerrilla Games' Horizon franchise, gamers are shown a future world where humans benefit greatly from technology. These benefits also hit the military thanks to Ted Faro and his Chariot line of peacekeeping robots. Faro, who is the head of Faro Automated Solutions, creates the Chariots with a host of impressive abilities, and the robots can keep themselves functioning indefinitely by consuming biomass. The Chariots function like insects and reproduce at an alarming rate.
When a glitch occurs, the Chariots shop following commands, and they begin attacking humankind. This marks the beginning of the Faro Plague. Soon, it becomes evident that the Chariots are well on their way to consuming all biomass on Earth, and that humans will not be spared extinction. Many powerful figures attempt to stop the deadly Chariot swarms, but the attempts are futile. Eventually, the genius Dr. Elisabet Sobeck decides that the best maneuver would be for humanity to instead safely secure the seeds of life until Earth is safe to repopulate once again.
She devises Project Zero Dawn, a last-ditch effort to save life on Earth. She creates an AI system known as GAIA, and she tasks it with terraforming Earth after defeating the Chariot swarm. GAIA is assisted by several subordinate functions, although some of them eventually go rogue. In her wisdom, Dr. Sobeck ensures that GAIA has emotional capacity so that the AI can make good decisions even when there aren't humans around to instruct it. As Dr. Sobeck predicts, the Chariot swarm wipes out all life on Earth, though through Project Zero Dawn, life is given a second chance. Without Dr. Sobeck, Earth may have been left a desolate planet. However, she did not do it alone, and others played an important role in saving humanity and other species.
The Alphas, Betas, and Gammas of Project Zero Dawn
As part of Project Zero Dawn, humans are kept in underground bunkers. This is not meant to be a permanent home, but rather to give humans a little more time to work on the project before the extinction of the species. The humans in the bunkers are divided into Alphas, Betas, and Gammas, and throughout the events of Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West, players find out a little more about their lives and how they felt during the twilight of the species.
The Alphas are the lead designers of Project Zero Dawn, and members include geniuses from around the world. There are ten Alphas, with Dr. Sobeck being one of them. When Dr. Sobeck sacrifices her life for the project, the rest of the Alphas are extremely heartbroken, but they continue with her plans. The Betas are ranked lower than the Alphas, and the only known Beta is Hank Shaw. He betrays his fellow team members by working with Ted Faro and installing Omega clearance within the Project Zero Dawn system, allowing Faro to have full control of the system. Lastly, the Gammas were subordinate to the Alphas and Betas, and not much is known about them.
Horizon 3 and Project Zero Dawn
The next Horizon game would be a great opportunity for developers to explore the lives of the Project Zero Dawn members. The most interesting would be the Alphas, as they had the closest relationship with Dr. Sobeck, and they knew the most about the project. Gamers see holograms of some Alphas, including Samina Ebadji who is responsible for the development of APOLLO, Travis Tate who is involved with the development of HADES, and Alpha Artemis who is involved with the development of ARTEMIS. Finding out more about them would allow fans to get a better picture of what it was like to work with Dr. Sobeck, and what the atmosphere was like during the last days of humanity.
Many gamers would also be interested in learning about the Betas in future Horizon games, especially Hank Shaw. This would give greater insight into Faro's role in the disaster and how he sabotaged Project Zero Dawn. The death of the Alphas is caused by Faro, who disagrees with Dr. Sobeck's plan to preserve cultural knowledge for future generations. Though Faro appears to be a greedy, self-centered, and loathsome character, he was charismatic enough to get people like Shaw on his side.
Horizon Forbidden West's ending suggests that Horizon 3 is very likely on the way. Nemesis, a rogue AI, is on its way to wreak havoc on Earth. Aloy and her friends will have to prepare for their biggest challenge yet. The game will certainly bring plenty more exploration and discovery, and hopefully, there is enough time amidst all the action to learn more about the members of Project Zero Dawn.
Horizon Zero Dawn is available now on PC and PS4.