Welcome to the Creatures Wiki! Log in and join the community.

Difference between revisions of "Creatures"

From Creatures Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
m (french tag)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{cleanup}}
 
'''Creatures''' is the first game in the [[Creatures series]] ([[:Category: Creatures games|full listing]]). The game is no longer available by itself, but can be purchased as part of [[Creatures - The Albian Years|Creatures: The Albian Years]]. The word [[Creature]]s is also used in plural to refer to the [[A-life]] animals which are the focus of the games.
 
  
==Creatures, the Game==
 
[[Image:Hatchingnorn.jpg|right|frame|A hatching [[Norn]]]]
 
The original Creatures game was set in [[Albia]]. It featured [[Norn]]s, [[Grendel]]s and much in the way of [[cheese]] and [[carrot]]s. There was no set objective - although players were given a "score" in the [[Breeder's Kit]], no restrictions were placed on gameplay, and [[breed]]ers, [[COBbler]]s, and even [[norn torture]]rs were free to pursue their own objectives. The game was limited by the technology of [[history#1996|1996]], being restricted to a 256-colour palette (background images are available at [[C2 Back]]), bamboo architecture and occasional background sounds rather than the ambient [[music]] which evolved in later titles. 
 
 
''Read the [[Creatures Credits]].''
 
 
== Interesting Facts ==
 
* A ''real'' [[background model|model]] was used to create the [[Albia]]n backdrop in Creatures.
 
* The original boxed edition of the game was accompanied by a helpful booklet, [[The Chronicles of Nornia]].
 
* Creatures was first pitched by [[Steve Grand]] in the form of a 'Mouse for Windows' - a little desktop pet that would need to be fed and watered, and who would interact with the desktop icons and windows. [[Millennium]] didn't bite.
 
* A second attempt at a pitch was dubbed 'Little Computer Ewoks' (compare [[Wikipedia:Little Computer People|Little Computer People]]) by [[Steve Grand|Steve]] himself, for lack of a better name. It is interesting to note that this proposal appears to be the earliest manifestation of Creatures as we know it today. It also interesting to note that the phrase 'Little Computer Ewoks' was also used by [[Erin|Erin's]] father when he was first shown the game!
 
* The development title for Creatures was eventually set to '[[Small Furry Creatures]]' - the game also became known as 'Creatures 1' (or just 'C1') after [[Creatures 2]] was (eventually) released.
 
* Creatures was first envisaged and developed as a top-down adventure/RPG game set in the [[Wikipedia:Amazon Rainforest|Amazon]], where the player would find an abandoned norn community; much time was spent on this before deciding to base the game around the [[Alife]] concept itself (see ''[http://fp.cyberlifersrch.plus.com/creaturesarchive/vanimalspitch.htm vanimals]'')
 
* The final design of the norn as we know it is actually quite different that the original: Steve Grand originally imagined norns to be 'gawky and awkward' - early images of norns even resembled chickens!
 
* [[Grendel]]s were originally described as monsters, resembling huge, titanium spiders, complete with eight eyes and a voracious appetite for norn. Eek!
 
* As [[ageing]] and [[disease]] was introduced late in the game (''see [[history]]''), the death of [[norn]]s was meant to be enforced by a gene . . . however, the gene misfired and had no effect! Norns died through [[illness]] anyway, as originally intended, which greatly pleased [[Steve Grand]].
 
* The music from the title movie ended up as part of a published CD from the Cyberlife musician [[Andrew Barnabas]] - you can listen to the extended version of ''[[Creatures Montage]]'' here!
 
 
==Game Requirements==
 
Creatures was published for two platforms - Windows 3.1/95, and Mac OS 7.5
 
 
====Windows System Requirements====
 
*Windows 3.1 or Windows 95
 
*Pentium 60 or faster
 
*Double Speed CD-ROM (300k/sec)
 
*16-bit Sound Card
 
*256 Colours @640x480
 
*8MB RAM & 40MB of hard drive disk space
 
 
Windows NT/2k/XP compatibility is possible through an installer patch and upgrading to at least Creatures 1.02.
 
 
==Related links==
 
*[[Macintosh Creatures]]
 
*[[:Category: Creatures|'''Creatures 1 category''']]
 
 
==External links==
 
* [http://fp.cyberlifersrch.plus.com/creaturesarchive/creatures_history.htm Creatures History] as told by [[Steve Grand]]
 
* [http://www.gamewaredevelopment.co.uk/creatures_more.php?id=453_0_6_0_M26 Mythology behind Creatures]
 
* [[Wikipedia:Creatures|Wikipedia article on Creatures]]
 
*[http://www.computerandvideogames.com/r/?page=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/reviews/reviews_story.php(que)id=2854 Review of Creatures]
 
 
__NOTOC__[[Category: Creatures games|Creatures 1]][[Category: Creatures|Creatures 1]]
 
[[fr:Creatures]]
 

Revision as of 05:28, 21 April 2006