All righty. I know it's 2016, and that Creatures blogging, and Creatures itself, are things of the past for the majority of people who'd ever heard of them at all. But, to borrow a cliche'd yet still relevant quote - frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. To me, Creatures is a very current fascination, even though my interest in the series began many years ago when the first game was still relatively new, way back in the mid to late '90s, and even though I lost track of the games for several years. I lost my own CDs in my mid to late teens, probably, and I was never able to afford to get Creatures 3 at the time. And as the years went by and I became an adult, I assumed (foolishly, as it turns out) that the Creatures franchise was a series lost to time. That, even if I did still have install files or discs for the games, they probably would not run on modern Windows.
Then, a month or two ago, I discovered GOG.com.
No exaggeration, within seconds of discovering that Creatures - all three games of it! - was still available, I bought both Albian Years and Exodus and was downloading them. I'm not rich, and I often have little or no spare cash. But this was more than worth it. It was like getting a piece of my childhood back in my early 30s, a time by which people tend to wistfully conclude that childhood is gone, never to return. And I've been playing with them obsessively ever since. Mostly C3/DS since I never got to buy C3 back in the day and only had very brief experiences with undocked free DS. But also plenty of nostalgic time with my beloved C1, and time spent getting to know C2 better without the scourge of One Hour Stupidity Syndrome that had ruined C2 for me back in the day.
And I have to say, as delighted and amazed as I was by these games as a child, they are ten times as fascinating for me as an adult. Back then, these games sparked my interest in genetics and nurtured my pre-existing interest in science generally. Now, with an adult's education and years' worth of personal study on real life genetics under my belt, not to mention a much better understanding of how real brains and bodies work, I'm that much more impressed by Creatures and its systems and engines. I visit CreaturesCaves.com every day now and I'm constantly working on Creatures-related projects. I suppose I'll burn out on it for the moment eventually. But Creatures will always be part of my life to greater and lesser degrees, as long as I own a computer that will run it. And while CC.com is a friendly place, I have, several times, browsed other Creatures blogs and felt a need for one myself, as a place to ramble about and verbally work out my projects and experiences playing the games.
Despite the name of the blog, it won't all be about CAOS or agent making. That will certainly be part of it, as learning CAOS is a major goal of mine right now, and I'm hoping to make at least a few agents in my time. I'm also very interested in making at least one full breed and a metaroom or two. I've already made two genetic breeds, although one of them is still very much a work in progress. There will also be plenty of gameplay posts in which I discuss currently running Norns and Grendels (I don't like Ettins much so I don't usually bother with them except as bait or training objects for aggressive Norns and Grendels - call me an Ettin torturer if you like. :p)
I don't really expect anyone to read this. Creatures is a dead franchise to most of the world, after all. And within the remaining community, I don't have a lot to offer, as do the other remaining active bloggers, with their years' worth of CAOS and art skills. I've got the art skills, but not the agenting abilities - not yet. And my genetics knowledge for Creatures is inferior to that of people like Evolnemesis or Dragoler. I'm writing to write more than to be read. But anyone who does come along and decides to peruse my ramblings is more than welcome to leave any feedback that may come to mind. In fact, please do! I can't improve without feedback. :)
So. On to the show.
Then, a month or two ago, I discovered GOG.com.
No exaggeration, within seconds of discovering that Creatures - all three games of it! - was still available, I bought both Albian Years and Exodus and was downloading them. I'm not rich, and I often have little or no spare cash. But this was more than worth it. It was like getting a piece of my childhood back in my early 30s, a time by which people tend to wistfully conclude that childhood is gone, never to return. And I've been playing with them obsessively ever since. Mostly C3/DS since I never got to buy C3 back in the day and only had very brief experiences with undocked free DS. But also plenty of nostalgic time with my beloved C1, and time spent getting to know C2 better without the scourge of One Hour Stupidity Syndrome that had ruined C2 for me back in the day.
And I have to say, as delighted and amazed as I was by these games as a child, they are ten times as fascinating for me as an adult. Back then, these games sparked my interest in genetics and nurtured my pre-existing interest in science generally. Now, with an adult's education and years' worth of personal study on real life genetics under my belt, not to mention a much better understanding of how real brains and bodies work, I'm that much more impressed by Creatures and its systems and engines. I visit CreaturesCaves.com every day now and I'm constantly working on Creatures-related projects. I suppose I'll burn out on it for the moment eventually. But Creatures will always be part of my life to greater and lesser degrees, as long as I own a computer that will run it. And while CC.com is a friendly place, I have, several times, browsed other Creatures blogs and felt a need for one myself, as a place to ramble about and verbally work out my projects and experiences playing the games.
Despite the name of the blog, it won't all be about CAOS or agent making. That will certainly be part of it, as learning CAOS is a major goal of mine right now, and I'm hoping to make at least a few agents in my time. I'm also very interested in making at least one full breed and a metaroom or two. I've already made two genetic breeds, although one of them is still very much a work in progress. There will also be plenty of gameplay posts in which I discuss currently running Norns and Grendels (I don't like Ettins much so I don't usually bother with them except as bait or training objects for aggressive Norns and Grendels - call me an Ettin torturer if you like. :p)
I don't really expect anyone to read this. Creatures is a dead franchise to most of the world, after all. And within the remaining community, I don't have a lot to offer, as do the other remaining active bloggers, with their years' worth of CAOS and art skills. I've got the art skills, but not the agenting abilities - not yet. And my genetics knowledge for Creatures is inferior to that of people like Evolnemesis or Dragoler. I'm writing to write more than to be read. But anyone who does come along and decides to peruse my ramblings is more than welcome to leave any feedback that may come to mind. In fact, please do! I can't improve without feedback. :)
So. On to the show.
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