GET A-LIFE! CREATURES
Creatures was designed by Stephen Grand and developed by Cyberlife Technology. It was published in 1996 by Millennium Interactive and Warner Brothers Interactive.
"I certainly think of them as creatures, not computer code. We could
describe any self-reproducing or metabolic system as alive, and they are
self-reproducing, metabolic systems, so I am happy to call them alive".
"God of the Norns," New Scientist (1 April 2000). Yet
he considered Creatures a "frivolous but popular piece of entertainment
software." Stephen Grand, "Three Observations That Changed My
Life," IEEE Expert (Nov.-Dec. 1997).
Stephen Grand, "Creatures: An Exercise in Creation," IEEE Intelligent Systems 12 (July-Aug. 1997): 19-24.
Norns.
Norns.
"Dogz® and Catz® are virtual Petz™ that live on your computer desktop. From little puppy-Dogz and kitty-Catz, you raise them as they grow, play, and learn together. When they grow up, many will start families of their own." www.petz.com.
PETZ: DOGZ and CATZ
Dogz was published in 1995 and Catz in 1996 by Virgin Interactive. The designers were Adam Frank and Ben Resner of PF Magic. Later versions (now up to version 4) have been published by UbiSoft under the "Petz" as part of "Virtual Life Products" product line.
"They do what a pet does, and people bond with them
in a really cool way. One mother wrote that her disabled daughter's digidog
has changed the girl's life. Whereas she was too ill and clumsy to have
a real Fido, the fake one responds to her perfectly. The PF Magic software
is so lovable that, unlike almost every other category of computer entertainment,
it attracts a mostly female audience." Forbes
(2 Dec. 1996)