Creatures (video game series)

The original Creatures game, released in the United Kingdom and Australia in November 1996 and in North America in July 1997, took place on the fictional disc-shaped world Albia. While the "faces" of the disc were uninhabitable, the "rim" of Albia was home to a complicated environment much like Earth's. Here lay an abandoned system of laboratories left over by the Shee, an advanced race that had suddenly left the planet many years earlier in order to find a more stable world. In these laboratories and environments, the player was able to hatch new Norns from leftover eggs and re-inhabit the world of Albia. According to Millenium, every copy of Creatures contains a unique starting set of eggs, whose genomes are not replicated on any other copy of the game.[10] An expansion pack, called "Life Kit #1" was released for purchase later.[63]

Creatures 2 added 16-bit graphics and a larger world

Creatures 2, released on September 30, 1998, took place many years after the first game, after a devastating natural disaster (or, as explained in later games, a devastating Shee disaster) had changed the landscape of Albia dramatically and opened up new areas of the world. New technology and species were made available to the player, and the creatures themselves had been provided with "considerably more sensory input, more actions they can take, and improved brain dynamics".[64] Despite the great change in environment, including a "complete working eco-system",[34] the focus of the game remained the same. Creatures 2 Deluxe (with Life Kit) soon followed. 200,000 copies of Creatures 2 were immediately shipped upon its release.[14] Two expansion packs, Life Kit 1 and Life Kit 2, were released for C2.[65][66] Creatures 2 was considered "much more difficult" than C1,[67] and the new, more challenging environment and norn biology was described as frustrating, but that after installing a new genome and going through successive generations, the Norns seemed smarter.[31] Nick Walkland described the gameplay as a "labour of love", noting that the challenge was to sustain your Norns' lives.[68] Sid Fisk of Gamezilla criticized the audio for Creatures 2 for not alerting him when his creature was near-death, but playing a "funeral dirge" as the body left the screen.[69]

Creatures 3, released on November 4, 1999, took a detour from the first two games. It took place on the spaceship that the Shee had used to flee Albia. The ship was divided into many carefully controlled environments (Norn Terrarium, Jungle Terrarium, Desert Terrarium, Marine Terrarium). Creatures 3 was much more technologically focused, including many agents which could be connected in various ways to perform tasks.[70] Still, the goal was to experiment with the three principal species and create a living world out of an empty ship. Creatures 3 included a "new social element",[71] by which norns could remember relationships they've formed with other creatures better.[72]

The final major Creatures release was Docking Station, an Internet-based add-on to Creatures 3, released free of charge on the Creatures web site on March 27, 2001.[43][73] It was intended as a way to sell Creatures 3 (the player could dock the worlds of the two games together, hence the name "Docking" Station) and extra packs of Norn breeds. Docking Station has an intermittent reminder screen that encourages users to buy Creatures 3.

Docking Station added the possibility of interaction between individual player worlds; Norns could 'travel' to other online worlds via a central server, players could chat to other online players, and it was possible to track Norns (and their offspring) that had been present in their worlds via the Docking Station website.[74] While Docking Station was released late in the series' run, it changed gameplay (and the potential of the series) dramatically. One reviewer stated that it opened up a whole new world for her online.[75] Another reviewer criticised the online portion of the game, as it requires the player to find online buddies.[76] Docking Station also expanded considerably on the game mythos, including the introduction of an 'anti-Shee', the Banshee (a Grendel/Shee hybrid).[77]

Released in 2000, and targeted at younger children (ages 6–9), Creatures Adventures dropped the complex interface of the main series in favour of brighter graphics and a more childlike atmosphere.[78]

The second game in the younger children's series, Creatures Playground (released the same year), could be connected to Adventures to create an even bigger world to explore. It has a theme park for the creatures, including mini-games like whack-a-mole.[79]

The Creatures concept was made into three different games for consoles: Creatures for the Game Boy Advance and Creatures and Creatures: Raised in Space for PlayStation. In the PlayStation games, the hand is replaced by a fairy named Scrubby.[80] Because of the limited processing power of the early-day consoles, the AI had to be completely reprogrammed by the console development team around Volker Eloesser.

Prior to the cancellation of Creatures Family, Spil Games produced two free-to-play online creatures games, Creatures Alchemist, and Creatures: Color Craze. Unlike the main series, these games are not simulation games, but are instead puzzle games loosely based on the Creatures franchise.

Creatures Project Loci was planned as a fully 3D, third-person Creatures game based on puzzle-solving and adventure, set on the fictional planet of Cruthiar. It was in development at the time of Creatures Labs' liquidation,[81] but was canceled due to lack of funding. Loci would have been the first Creatures game for PS2, Xbox and GameCube.

Creatures Online was a planned sequel to the third Creatures game being developed by Fishing Cactus. The game was announced as Creatures 4 in Fishing Cactus's blog in May 2011.[82] Creatures Online was to have 5 worlds, was to be completely in 3D instead of 2.5D[8] pre-rendered graphics, and in-game currency was planned to buy Norns toys, food, etc. Creatures Online was designed to be a free-to-play game. A collector's edition box was also announced with a Norn figurine, the three original games for current PCs, and the money paid for the game being usable as in-game money for Norns.[83] Creatures 4 entered an in-house alpha phase in March 2013.[84] The internal systems of the creatures from C3/DS were retained and updated for the 3D environment.[85][86] Norns' fur patterns were to be partially procedurally generated, with the goal of ensuring "that no two Norns look alike".[87] Heterochromia iridum was introduced.[88] The norns of Creatures Online were to have a new drive, tentatively called "altruism", which would have encouraged them to do things to benefit the norn colony, like tending to plants and fixing broken toys.[89] "Creatures 4" was renamed "Creatures Online" in May 2013.[53] Creatures Online, unlike earlier entries in the Creatures series,[90] was to have a system of missions for the player to complete.[91] Creatures Online was cancelled in November 2015 due to the loss of the license.

Creatures Family was in development by Spil Games, who acquired the Creatures license in 2016. It was intended as a successor to Creatures Online, with a target audience over 20 years old, but was quietly canceled for "technical reasons" sometime before August 2019.

Norns

A Norn is an AIL (Artificial intelligent life) species, the development and survival of which constitute the main thematic elements of the program.

Norns are playful, all-trusting, naive creatures that love to explore. This is often the reason for their downfall, suffering, and death. They are more susceptible to disease in comparison to Ettins and Grendels, and in old age they may fall prey to a wasting disease that prevents them from absorbing certain nutrients.

Grand wished Norns to be endearing and for players to keep them as pets - that they should be independent and stubborn, like toddlers, that the design of the norn should be appealing to as many people as possible, and that the player should care about the norns.[107] Reviewers have compared the Norns' visual design to the Mogwai of the Gremlins film series.[31][108] The Shee originally created the Norns as a mixture of valet and pet. According to the Creatures Labs website, they spread across the galaxy through the Warp and evolved into various variations, including but not restricted to: Toxic Norn,[109] Treehugger Norn[110] and Magma Norns.[111] The spread of Norns throughout the galaxy is related to the mysterious disappearance of the Shee from Albia (from the point of view of the Norns). It may also be a sign of how the Shee fared in their attempt to find a habitable planet.

In the games, the Norns have their own simulated biochemistry, haploid genetics, and neural network to serve as a brain. From Creatures 2 onwards, Norns also possess organs determined by their genetics;[34] mutation and injury can render these defunct, with typically fatal consequences. Each of these has grown somewhat over the course of the series, allowing the creatures to become more complex and intelligent. Norns are omnivores and eat a variety of foods, including carrots, lemons, seeds, insects, fish, honey, and other things. The Norns that the player starts with require some degree of training and discipline from the player in order to make good decisions to maintain their health; however, later on they can evolve to be more independent and hardy, with better-developed instincts and a more robust biochemistry. The player can take advantage of this to breed certain colours or traits through artificial selection, and through many generations the changes can become quite pronounced.

Norns are very social animals,[112] sometimes to the extent that they will prefer to play with other norns than to eat.[96][113]

Shee

The statue of a Shee in Creatures 2. This is one of very few official in-game appearances of the Shee. (There are more hidden deeper in the game.)

The Shee are a race of absent-minded scientists. They are the original inhabitants of Albia, and the creators of the Norns, Ettins, and Grendels.

The Shee are all inventors, and make most of their inventions to save time on tasks that would have taken but a few minutes otherwise.[114]

Most of their discoveries are made by accident, and as such, they sequenced their own DNA and eliminated all genetic defects, before discovering the wheel.

Millennia ago, the Shee had left the disk-shaped world of Albia, as they desired to live on a "more spherical world". They created the Shee Ark, took along some Norns, Ettins, and various animals and plants, and set out for their new home. The Shee Ark, like all Shee spacecraft, was itself a living creature grown from scratch, and used "Bioenergy" (the energy of living things, used to balance the game) to perform its various functions.

Early concepts of the Shee had them as merely a more advanced life form than the Norns, not their creators.[115]

Ettins

Ettins are a species in Creatures 2 and Creatures 3.

Ettins were created by the Shee to help them on their experiments, especially when using machinery. They made them like machines so much, they tend to steal bits for themselves, often taking them to wherever they consider their home.

C2 Ettins behave rather differently; they tend to lead a sad and lonely life underground with no one but Pitz and the occasional Grendel for company. The backstory in the guides and manual, as well as the opening sequence, reveals that they once lived in the desert at the top of Albia and, true to their nature, built the pyramid that sits there. The actual use (if any) of the pyramid is unknown.

Ettins were introduced into the Creatures series in C2,[116] having been revealed to the world after the volcanic eruption.

An early concept of the Ettins described them as insignificant "small, lizard-like creatures", who were often kept as pets by Norns.[29]

The Ettins in Creatures 2 were infertile; however, in Creatures 3, there were two Ettins aboard the Shee Ark at most times (both female), and it was possible to get them to breed if two of them were placed in the Gene Splicer machine to create a male Ettin.

An in-depth exploration of the genetics and neurology of the Ettins in Creatures 2 revealed that they were constantly in pain, apparently by design. This discovery was met by fan uproar.

Grendels

Grendels are the green-skinned, red-eyed antagonists of the Norns, over which the player has little control, stealing food and injuring individual Norns. They also carry diseases harmful to Norns.[14] The early concepts of their appearance described them as "resembling a huge, titanium spider".[29]

In the unmodified Creatures 1 and 2, Grendels do not reproduce, being born infertile. Generally, only one Grendel is alive in the world of Albia at a time. In Creatures 3, two Grendels were alive aboard the Shee Ark at most times (both male), but it was possible to get them to breed and have offspring if both were placed in the Gene Splicer machine and used to create a female Grendel.

In all three games, Grendels are automatically produced by a "Mother" machine; in Creatures 3, however, it is possible to ensure that there are no Grendels in the game by killing any existing grendels (e.g. in the airlock) and then waiting by the mother, then placing any eggs into water (the piranha pool) so that they cannot hatch.

The Grendels were another genetically engineered creation of the Shee, albeit an accidental one. They were certainly not what the Shee were trying to get as a result from their experiments, and were considered to be harmful, useless monsters. However, some of the evil Shee (known as the Banshee) believed the Grendels were genetically superior to the Norns, and kept some for improvement.

It is possible to cross a Norn with a Grendel, creating a 'Grenorn'.[117][118]

The Creatures community has appeared to adopt the Grendel as an underdog figure, creating a "Grendel Liberation Front" - despite being intended to add stress to Norns' lives, players began to tame their Grendels.[14]

In each of the games, players interact with the world through the use of a graphical hand as the player's mouse in the main visual area of the game. In Creatures and Creatures 2, players can use applets in a toolbar, often called Kits, along the top of the game window, to access many functions, such as getting their first norn eggs, naming and photographing their norns, monitoring the health and general biochemistry of the norns and administering medicines, monitoring pregnancies, injecting objects into the world, and recording deceased norns.[119][120] Creatures 2 introduced an Ecology Kit and Neuroscience Kit.[121]

In Creatures 3 and Docking Station, players still use a hand as their mouse to interact with creatures and the world, but the main game area does not have toolbars like in Creatures and Creatures 2, but instead has areas along the sides of the screens with buttons that the user can press to move to different locations, view the current creatures in the world, manage an inventory of items, and change game settings.

Charlie Brooker regarded the level of detail shown in the monitoring kits as "terrifying",[122] and it has been argued that the detailed monitoring kits highlight the artificiality of the norns.[123] Peter Smith disliked the limitation of C1 that the player is "limited to seeing areas that you've tagged as favorite places or that are currently inhabited by Norns," and found it difficult to correctly reward and punish the creatures.[124] Creatures 2 introduced an angel and devil glyph which appears next to the hand to show you whether you are about to reward or punish your creature.[121] Jim Brumbaugh, in reviewing Creatures, disliked the amount of typing that was needed to communicate with the creatures, but found the menu system "highly user friendly." He noted also that there was only one way that the player could save, when the player exited the game.[125] Eddie Walou praised the simplified user interface of Creatures 4, saying that earlier games felt like you had to have your BAC to understand.[85] Kahn Lusth, writing for Canard PC, enjoyed the new interface of Creatures Online for communicating with creatures, where with a click of the mouse the player can choose suggestions to guide their creatures, describing it as more convenient than typing keywords.[91] To improve the ergonomics on the iOS system, a 'rubber-band' system has been created for Creatures Online, where the player draws a line between the norn and an object. When the finger is lifted, the available instructions appear.[126]

While the initial pitch was for a desktop pet that could interact with other Windows programs, for example, Windows Media Player,[24] as the game developed, the need for a self-contained world became more apparent. The world was named "Albia", after Albion, and one of the goals of gameplay became to explore Albia.[26][115] Grand thought that having the creatures inhabit a rich, "messy", world, and to be able to interact with it in many ways would help creatures' personalities to emerge.[15] The backdrop for Creatures was created by taking photographs of a physical model of the world,[28] part of which is now housed at The Centre for Computing History.[127] Sarah Kember describes Albia as a "technological Eden".[128]

The world is rendered in 2.5D, and the world can smoothly scroll to follow a creature. The world contains many different items, which creatures can interact with in a variety of ways. Objects are written using an object-oriented programming technique - each item has their own scripts which determine how they interact with creatures and with other objects. Objects are detected by a creature by being in its line of sight, which excites a neuron dedicated to that class of objects.[8] All objects within the world are categorised, once a creature knows the name of one object, they will associate it with all other objects in that same grouping.[102][129] The object-oriented approach means that the games are highly modifiable.[95] Some of the items in the world are dangerous to norns.[130]

In Creatures 2, the environment became more complex, with a "Complete working eco-system, including weather, seasons and a functioning food-chain. The plants seed and spread around the environment if conditions allow. The result of this is a very "real" feeling world that adapts around the player."[34]

In Creatures 3 and Docking Station, the game was set on a spaceship. The environment became more segmented into areas called "metarooms", small biomes, each with their own ecosystem. Players could download and add new metarooms to their games.[131][74]