I bet you all wonder what this one is all about. Well, if you came in from the Creatures Caves website or some other Creatures related website you will know exactly what this blog is about and you may skip the "Read All" link that may appear beneath the dotted line, unless you happen to be very bored and lack something to read. But if you came from elsewhere, like dropping in out of the blue from a search engine or I have passed on the link here to you personally, I urge you to click that link. Or just read below the dotted line if it doesn't appear. This being my first time writing a blog, it is now obvious that I have much to learn about how these silly things work.
So, about the future contents of this blog and why it doesn't -look- like it is for a beloved series. I'll explain that second part first since it's very simple: It's easier on the eyes than the offerings the gallery provides, or at least it is so on mine. And pretty. In time it will change little by little. As for the contents, it's pretty much as the above says. Bubbles and brainfarts of new ideas for COBs, Agents, and creature breeds have been drifting around my head and I have this very strong but foolish determination to sprite and code them all! I hope that one day I will be able to share them with the community, but right now that day will not be any time soon. With that said, one is more likely to find posts about the variety of mutations I've encountered in my breeding programs. Maybe an old story from Memory Lane from time to time. Definitely some Creatures-themed artwork. I can already say that I have one crafty post in mind for the future. I just have to work on mastering the method a little more before even embarking on what promises to be a fun yet frustrating experience. My only hint to you on what it is that its something to keep the norn plushies created by the pattern released for the CCSF of 2006 company.
And I bet the first question on your mind is this: What is this "Creatures" that you speak of?
Well, in a nutshell, Creatures is an open-ended series of virtual life simulators. Not like the more popular and mainstreamed Sims titles, it is far more complicated than that. There is actual virtualized biology involved; such things as chemical reactions, genetics, organs, functional neuron-based networks. Things that one would expect to be written by an artificial life research scientist. While you could think of it as a virtual pet game, but because of the little things I mentioned it is most certainly not. At the very least it is not your average virtual pet game, the world and the creatures within are often quite unpredictable, but if that is your style of play you can treat your creatures like that. Just don't be surprised if they suddenly stage a revolt! Okay, I kid on that last sentence, though I know for sure that I am not the only one who has had that thought a time or two whilst playing Creatures 1 and 2. Alongside "Which developer let them get a hold of a history text about Gandhi?"
How many installments (or games, if you prefer that term) are in the series?
For the PC alone about five, an add-on, and a new one on the way set to be possibly released later this year. I speculate that Fishing Cactus, the crew of developers behind Creatures 4, may be releasing it on the original release day of Creatures 1 as a way of marking the series' longevity of sixteen years. Well, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if that was a reason besides needing time to make sure that it meets the expectations of the Creatures Community at large! (And if it is, I'm onto you sneaky ninja devs! Can't outsneak this "old" girl, no sirree. Again, totally kidding for the reader's amusement.)
What are the creatures in these games? In the order of introduction in the series they are the Norns, the Grendels, the Ettins, and an unofficial breed called "Geats." (Or perhaps the Geats were introduced before the Ettins, I cannot for the life of me remember nor find a reference to when they appeared but I remember downloading the first Geat that I knew of, a Shee, from the active days of Lis Morris's website "Palace of the Evil Shee.") In Creatures 1 you are introduced to the adorable but oftentimes helpless Norns and the red-eyed and scaly green softies at heart, the Grendels. Don't let the manual descriptions fool you, the Grendels are not carriers of disease nor do they seek to hurt the Norns on intention. They're just misfortunately scripted to show their affection by hitting the poor, clueless things that they come across. In Creatures 2 you meet the Ettins, which are described to be industrious little blokes but much like the Grendels, again, you will find that they are different from that. At least with a clean install with no third party content, one will find the Ettins to be horribly depressed, depressing, and short-lived; as on the genetic level they are programmed to be miserable little guys who would never feel happiness. The Geats are an unofficial breed, comprising of creatures that are neither Norn, Grendel, or Ettin. These four are also present Creatures 3, where the official three are a bit closer to their base description. Your mileage may vary on the kleptomaniac trait of your Ettins.
Where can I find these titles? Though you could try waiting for this fabled boxed set that I heard about from scuttlebutt, I would recommend getting these titles through Gog.com. (For those not in the know, GOG is short for "Good Old Games.") Not only is it quicker and easier to purchase from them, but it costs way less than scouring online resellers for the actual game discs. And, if available, you also get to download bonus materials like the game manual in pdf format. But in my very honest opinion the biggest bonus of buying from Gog would have to be the fact that despite going through all the trouble of acquiring the titles that they sell and making them compatible with the PC systems of today, the cost of their inventory of older titles is considerably dirt cheap. The Creatures titles available on Gog are sold in twin packs and are as follows:
- Creatures: The Albian Years - Composed of Creatures 1 and Creatures 2.
- Creatures Village - Composed of Creatures Adventures and Creatures Playground.
- Creatures Exodus - Composed of Creatures 3 and the free add-on Docking Station.
A Very Important Note on Docking Station: The multiplayer features of the addon is no longer available, but there is a patch for offline play. You can find it included in the third party add-on C12DS or on the following link, where Docking Station by itself is available for download: http://www.creaturesdockingstation.com/
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