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Creatures 2

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Revision as of 05:41, 30 January 2005 by GreenReaper (talk | contribs) (add link to the Albain Years)
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Creatures 2 norns were cute, if a little dumb

The second game in the Creatures series, Creatures 2 took place in Albia centuries after most of the original Creatures world was destroyed by a massive volcanic eruption, caused by the Lone Shee's spaceship (the Capillata) taking off. Released in September 1998, it included a far larger world, more complex Norns and ecology, and introduced the Ettins, as well as the Genesplicer (which allowed the artificial combination of two Creatures into one).

This game is no longer available, but can be purchased as part of Creatures: The Albian Years. The background images for Creatures 2 are available at C2 Back. There are also a set of comic strips in the Creatures 2 style entitled River and Petal.

Read the Creatures 2 Credits.

Fun facts

  • In the initial Creatures 2 genomes, Norns have 771 genes, while Grendels have 547 genes and Ettins 597 genes
  • Nearly half of the genes in each creature control poses and appearance; the rest are concerned with biochemistry, organs and brain structures
  • The first creature in Creatures 2 was a Norn called Alice
  • Creatures 2 was intended to be released on the Mac, but as Cyberlife had no Mac expertise the work was contracted out, and the contractors never finished

History of Creatures 2

Creatures 2 was widely anticipated. It is likely that around 450,000 copies of the original Creatures had been sold by the time the game was released, and a huge following had developed behind it.

Unforunately, the Creatures 2 launch did not go as planned. The Early Adoption Program failed to deliver on its basic promise of being "early", and the game had several major flaws, the most notable of which was a deficient norn genome that lead to OHSS. Cyberlife was subsequently accused of gouging customers when they released a Life Kit with an improved genome (as well as other features) but neglected to release this as a patch to the original game until several weeks had passed. In addition, documentation was scanty - much appeared to have been reserved for the strategy guidebook, Creatures 2: Official Strategies & Secrets, and this did not go down well with people who had just bought a $40 game.

Overall, Creatures 2 was probably a commercial success - however, it could be seen as a strategic failure, as for many it compromised the trust between the community and Cyberlife. This was not fatal in itself, but it probably contributed to their later demise.

External links