''Creatures'' is an artificial life simulation packaged as a video game developed by British studio Creature Labs for

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, and was ported to

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, and

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. It is the first game in the '' Creatures'' series.

Gameplay

''Creatures'' is a game which allows the player to hatch and then raise anthropomorphic beings known as Norns. Notably, the environment was actually a physically constructed model, carefully photographed. This was to keep graphics costs low. ''Creatures'' is an artificial life simulation where the user hatches small furry animals and teaches them how to behave, or leaves them to learn on their own. These "Norns" can talk, feed themselves, and protect themselves against vicious creatures called Grendels. It was the first popular application of

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in an interactive simulation.

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are used by the creatures to learn what to do. The game is regarded as a breakthrough in artificial life research, which aims to model the behavior of creatures interacting with their environment. According to Millennium, every copy of ''Creatures'' contains a unique starting set of eggs, whose genomes are not replicated on any other copy of the game. An expansion pack, called "Life Kit #1" was released for purchase later.

Development

The game was in development for four years.

Reception

The PlayStation version received "unfavorable" reviews according to the

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website

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. However, ''

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'' said that the PC version "offers one of the most obsessive and entertaining experiences anyone can have in front of the computer." ''

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'' gave the same PC version universal acclaim, over a month before it was released Stateside. The PC version sold 100,000 units by November 1997. At the time, John Moore of Mindscape explained that the company "expect to sell more than 200,000 ''Creatures'' by the end of the year." Global sales of the game neared 400,000 units by February 1998.

Legacy

The model built during development and photographed as the game's backdrop, is held at

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, where it is on permanent display.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1996 video games Classic Mac OS games Conspiracy Entertainment games Creatures (video game series) Game Boy Advance games Mindscape games PlayStation (console) games Swing! Entertainment games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Windows games