Elemental: War of Magic - Impressions @ IGN

Once on the world map, which can be adjusted to be small or so large it'll require weeks of play to see all there is, you'll notice your sovereign isn't alone. Other NPCs run around the landscape who can be recruited, enemies perch in positions around the terrain waiting for someone to pass by, and ruins dot the ground that's been ravaged by war. You can wander around snatching up resources from various debris piles, but a good idea would be to cast a spell to rejuvenate a patch of land so a city can be founded. Initially it's just a meager camp with little going on, and you can zoom in and observe behavior. Ideally it'll grow over time, changing in visual appearance as it becomes a better place to live and you tack on workshops and defensive structures. To simplify this process, the game has only one resource type, so you don't need to worry about gathering wood and stone and a bunch of other things from the environment to build out population centers.