Really Awesome Virtual Creatures Game that Lizo Loves of the Month Because She’s Taking Over GameCola Mwahahahahaha:
Creatures!
I don’t know how many of you have played, let alone heard of, this game. Well, technically there were three PC games (and more, if you count the children’s versions, and maybe a Game Boy version?), but I’m talking about the original PC one here.
This game rocks, and was, as far as I can tell, pretty popular in the mid-late 90s when it and its sequels were released, but the company that made it has since dropped off the face of the earth—or else been devoured by some other company or something. The gameplay revolves around hatching and raising a group of “norns” (that is, good creatures) teaching them to talk, reinforcing good behavior and discouraging bad behavior, and then breeding them when they’re mature enough.
The language aspect is pretty darn awesome. The creatures are born knowing the name you give them, but insist on using words like “bibble” unless you teach them otherwise. Once they know English words, you can interact with them and tell them what to do (“push food,” “come hand,” etc.) through the use of a keyboard, and even ask them to tell you what they’re doing at the moment.
The Creatures world is large enough to give your norns enough space to explore, but compact enough so that you don’t lose track of them.
Also, breeding is cool. This game uses what the developers claim to be virtual genetics, so it’s possible to breed creatures for specific traits. I had a strain of creatures at one point which lived about 10 times longer than the other ones, and I swear I had a green-tinted one once (although that could’ve been in the third game. I forget).
Even though this game was made quite a few years ago, it’s still crazy fun to play around with. The norns are cute and endearing (except when you get one that insists on alternating between staring at and pushing the same elevator button for half an hour straight), and there’s plenty of things to do. For example, I like to play by hatching a bunch of creatures and getting them started in the world, and then leaving them alone for a few hours and see if any of them manage to actually survive by themselves and reproduce.
Creatures is cool and fun. Go play!
Actually yeah, the third game rocks as well, so you can play that too!
