Short Thought: Why did Ancient Civilisations Die Out Despite Amazing Technology?

I’ve wondered for years about the ancient civilisations in videogames. Usually based on factual ones, they still wound up dying out centuries ago. Yet whenever I enter some tomb that’s been untouched by man for thousands of years -- the torches are lit.

A never-ending fuel source isn’t the only thing these people created, because the place is invariably filled with death traps. Now, spike pits have been used since humankind discovered that you could cover a hole and make an animal fall into it, so those aren’t what I mean. Pressure plates that fire off crossbow bolts are also known of, however not the ones with an infinite supply of ammunition.

It’s the robots. Okay, more accurately golems, these rock creatures come to life when a very specific set of circumstances occur with the sole duty of stopping you. Fully articulated, and sometimes capable of healing themselves, if your people were being killed off by invaders -- why didn’t you throw a few of these at them, instead of using them to protect an artifact someone might never reach?!

Then there’s these things with a time limit. Oh, the solar equinox is happening in 24 hours, and this is the first chance to open the tomb in a thousand and sixty years? You won’t have another chance until it happens again sometime next millennium?

But what’s that? You have to get the gemstone into the holder, so that it will activate the light sensor, and open two hundred ton stone doors? A freaking light sensor? And how coincidental that it’s all happening right this very day, instead of in five years time!

Most of the time you didn’t know the place or artifact even existed until a couple of days before… And despite being a lost city, there’s so much documentation about it that you’re an expert! Good thing you know ancient Bulgarian, ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and modern day Russian, because you left your dictionary at home and almost risked not knowing all the answers!

Yes, I have been playing Rise of the Tomb Raider recently, why do you ask…?