''SimLife: The Genetic Playground'' is a

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

produced by

Maxis Maxis is an American video game developer and a Division (business), division of Electronic Arts (EA). The studio was founded in 1987 by Will Wright (game designer), Will Wright and Jeff Braun, and acquired by Electronic Arts, EA in 1997. Maxi ...

in 1992. The concept of the game is to simulate an

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

; players may modify the

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

of the plants and animals that inhabit the

virtual world A virtual world (also called a virtual space) is a computer-simulated environment which may be populated by many users who can create a personal avatar, and simultaneously and independently explore the virtual world, participate in its activities ...

. The point of this game is to experiment and create a self-sustaining ecosystem. ''SimLife'' was re-released in 1993 as part of the ''SimClassics Volume 1'' compilation, alongside '' SimCity Classic'' and ''

SimAnt ''SimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony'' is a 1991 life simulation video game by Maxis and the company's third product, focusing on ants. It was designed by Will Wright. In 1992, it was named "Best Simulation Game" at the Software Publishers Assoc ...

'' for PC, Mac and Amiga.

Development

The producers of ''SimLife'' refer to it as "The Genetic Playground". The game allows users to explore the interaction of life-forms and environments. Users can manipulate the genetics of both plants and animals to determine whether these new species could survive in the Earth's various environments. Players can also create new worlds with distinctive environments to see how certain species (earth's species or their own) fare within them. ''SimLife'' gives players the power to: * Create and modify worlds. * Create and modify plants and animals at the genetic level. Exclusive animals appearing in this game are the Killer Penguin, the Monkeyphant, and the Orgot. * Design environments and ecosystems. * Study genetics in action. * Simulate and control evolution. * Change the physics of the universe in your computer.

Reception

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...

'' in 1993 praised ''SimLife'', stating that "By neatly bridging the gap between entertainment and education, ''SL'' brings the engrossing science of genetics within reach of any interested person". Games Finder gave ''SimLife'' a score of 7 out of 10. In 1993, ''SimLife'' received a

Codie award The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) is a trade association dedicated to the entertainment, consumer and business software industries. Established in 1984 as the Software Publishers Association (SPA), the SIIA took its new na ...

from the

Software Publishers Association The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) is a trade association dedicated to the entertainment, consumer and business software industries. Established in 1984 as the Software Publishers Association (SPA), the SIIA took its new na ...

for Best Simulation.

References

External links

*
SimLife : Maxis
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

Manual
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simlife 1992 video games Amiga games Amiga 1200 games Classic Mac OS games DOS games God games Biological simulation video games Maxis Sim games Video games about evolution Video games about genetic engineering Video games developed in the United States Video games scored by Mark Knight Video games scored by Russell Lieblich Windows games Single-player video games

Development

Reception

See also

References

External links