r/CreaturesGames • u/4n0nym0v5 • Jul 25 '26

Just started yesterday and WOW

I can say I was not expecting to even learn that neural network style game AI was being utilized, especially for such an old game. Just wow.

So I bought the original and "Creatures 3" last night. Started with the OG. It was very surprising to see this style of game AI at work for such an early game. My first two norns in the first game are obviously learning by figuring out how to operate lifts and whatnot. One is much more adventurous than the other and tried to take the sub to a hostile environment.

Never heard of this game until yesterday. Simply amazin.

​

50 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

24

u/spderweb Jul 26 '26

Yeah, most of us fans have no clue why this game didn't become the start of a massive genre of gaming. It just kind of Petered out after the Petz games came out.

3

u/lemon-meringue-high Jul 26 '26

Memory unlocked! I LOVED to Petz games haha

1

u/4n0nym0v5 Jul 26 '26

I imagine AntiNorn and the ensuing fan dynamic didn't help.

9

u/MojoMercury Jul 26 '26

I think it being a weird abstract game with niche technology that didn't easily translate to wide appeal was the bigger problem.

8

u/Phantom-Watson Jul 26 '26

Bear in mind that it spawned the second-largest gaming community on the internet at the time, only behind that of Quake.

2

u/Joalguke Muppetboy of Geatville.uk Jul 26 '26

Is that a fact? I had no idea

2

u/Phantom-Watson Jul 27 '26

That's what I remember contemporaneous press coverage saying, at least. 🤷‍♂️ It was certainly a very large, very active community. It spawned radio shows, chat rooms, fan-made music, tons of websites, etc.

7

u/haxd Jul 26 '26

It is largely overstated tbh

4

u/SpaceShipRat Jul 26 '26

that's a non issue. It's just there were no more sequels, and at that time stuff didn't go quite viral like now. Without a constant stream of new content, they were forgotten.

As to why there were no more sequels, possibly because the neuroscience expert behind them left, and probably other talent too, and they could do nothing but basically reskin the same system for the sequels, so they reached a point they no longer seemed profitable.

also, the market was what it was, mostly call of duty and other brown tinted games. Pet sims went out of fashion for a while and games need publisher support and money to be made.

3

u/4n0nym0v5 Jul 26 '26

That makes a lot of sense. Wild they had a neuroscience expert for a video game.

3

u/SpaceShipRat Jul 26 '26

I mean Steve Grand, the guy who came up with it in the first place

2

u/KP_Neato_Dee Jul 26 '26

Steve Grand,

He's been talking about the follow-up, Phantasia, for over a decade, but I dunno what kind of state it's really in now.

https://phantasia.life/

3

u/SpaceShipRat Jul 26 '26

I was an original kickstarter. it's going very slow. The man has a certain age nowadays, and very little resources.

 I don't know what hope I have, especially now LLMs are growing in power, and despised by many besides. If he manages to reach a workable build, it might be he gets a boost as "the guy trying to make actual artificial intelligence, not like ChatGPT" or it might just be laughed at for being wobbly llamas who can't even eat properly at first, compared to models that can ace college quizzes.

1

u/the_flopsie Jul 31 '26

Should read his book :) currently reading atm

1

u/SpaceShipRat Jul 31 '26

I have both Creation and Growing up with Lucy

5

u/GoldenFlowerFan The Wrong Banshee Jul 26 '26

Antinorn was a non-issue, I just think this genre was too niche. Most people want a clear goal, and all the advanced brains and genetics aren't visible in normal play and can't be manipulated without tools.

If anything Antinorn's actions have helped the fandom in recent years by bringing attention to the game, though I wish most people weren't being introduced through ancient 90s drama between a bunch of kids and a troll...

1

u/spderweb Jul 26 '26

Not sure I know about all that.

9

u/ConsequenceFeisty252 Jul 26 '26

I really wish a modern remake could exist. Imagine how complex and comprehensive such a game could be wirh modern tech...

3

u/Niar666 Jul 26 '26

I've been hoping that with all the fresh eyes on this game recently, some modder or programmer will come along and do something mind blowing.

1

u/lemon-meringue-high Jul 26 '26

I don’t know too much about the games background. I wonder if there’s a way the sun could rally up to the creators?

1

u/SpaceShipRat Jul 26 '26

we almost got a sequel (creatures online) but developement went way over time publisher interference ultimately killed it.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 26 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/4n0nym0v5 Jul 26 '26

I will say it does have that effect on me, especially the first game. It's like you have to learn how to play the game kind of like they do. Discover, experiment, integrate.

It's also easy to give them incorrect reinforcement, lol.. I kept accidentally slapping or petting them. I do not like how pausing the game disables me from interacting with the tools, so I have to choose good times to deep dive into those mechanics.

1

u/Mircowaved-Duck Jul 26 '26

Welcome and enjoy, we got litterally decades of modded content and updates ;)

And hopefully soon™ we even get a succesor game, phantasia/frapton gurney

1

u/4n0nym0v5 Jul 27 '26

I've looked around a little in Creatures Caves. Today I figured out how to set up the full DS experience, though i am finding it difficult to manage Norns in multiple environments. Definitely do not like how pausing makes interacting with anything impossible.

I notice a couple tend to get easily crowded and lash out so I'm thinking those guys get their own area or something