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        <h1><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><i><a href="../../index.html">loonygames</a><br>
          <font size="1">a <a href="http://www.bluesnews.com">blue's news</a> 
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<p>&nbsp;</p>Vol. 
                2, Issue 14<br>
                February 29, 2000<br>
                </b>
              <b> 
                </b>
              
                <b><i>Birth 

                  of a Gamer:</i></b></p>
                <b><i> 
                  Creatures 3:<br>
                  I'm Hooked!</i></b></p>
                by 
                  Heather &quot;elki&quot; 
                  Haselkorn</p>
              
              

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               At 
                this point in my gaming career, I’m looking for the perfect game.  
                One that holds my attention for more than an hour, allows me to 
                think yet isn’t too difficult, and above all, is fun.  So far 
                the closest I’ve gotten is <b>Creatures 3</b>.  In fact, I think 
                I’m developing a little problem here.  Normally I play a game 
                for just long enough to be able to write a column on it.  I usually 
                don’t give it a second glance afterward.  This time around, I 
                was torn between writing my column and playing with Norns.  The 
                game just turns me into a sappy fool and I can’t break away.  
                Now, I should warn you:  if you don’t like drippy columns about 
                cute fuzzy animals, you should probably stop reading right here.  
                </p>
              If you’re 
                not familiar with the game, the idea is to hatch two little creatures 
                called Norns, teach them to talk, keep them healthy and safe from 
                evil Grendels, and eventually breed future generations.  Sounds 
                simple?  Maybe not.  At least, not unless you know what you’re 
                doing.</p>
              You begin 
                by naming your world.  Profound student of literature that I am, 
                I named my world Messina, the setting for <i>Much Ado about Nothing</i>.  
                Actually, I started with Arden, but my first batch of Norns all 
                died before they could reproduce, so I restarted the game.  Anyway, 
                to populate Messina, I chose the option of hatching two Norns.  
                Having learned from my previous mistake, I realized I had to lay 
                down some Grendel defenses before my eggs hatched.  I set a Sludge 
                Gun and a Creature Detector near a door, and then went about my 
                work of becoming a mommy.  I put one egg in the incubator to hatch 
                right away, and left the other egg to hatch on its own a little 
                later.  My first creature was a cute, fuzzy little thing that 
                looked sort of like a cat with curly hair.  I named her Beatrice.  
                I took Beatrice to the training room and taught her a few words.  
                Then, as the tutorial I had printed out off the <b>Creatures </b>home 
                page directed, I took her to Grendel territory to find the Stone 
                of Knowledge.  After that, Beatrice, or “beatwice,” as she liked 
                to call herself, had an almost full vocabulary.  By the time I 
                led her back to safety, Benedick was already hatched and eating 
                cheese.  Benedick was really cute…he looked sort of like Tigger.</p>
              I was 
                all set to go.  Except for one thing:  I had set my defenses up 
                at one door, but there was at least one other door that I knew 
                of.  I hadn’t seen a Grendel yet, but I noticed a few Ettins.  
                Ettins don’t beat up Norns the way that Grendels do, but they 
                can be a major pain.  Sort of like freeloading holiday guests 
                who pick your fridge clean.  Ettins like to pick things up and 
                carry them away.  Creature Detectors, for instance.  So now Grendels 
                were walking right past my Sludge Gun and beating up my Norns.</p>
              Good mommy 
                that I am, I led my Norns to temporary safety.  Beatrice and Benedick 
                were adults, and ready to breed.  The way they breed is neat.  
                They just tickle each other and suddenly there’s an egg.  First 
                there was Hero.  And then Claudio.  Then Juliet.  And how can 
                I forget the very short-lived Romeo?  The eggs were hatching before 
                I could even find them!  And of course, with no time to finish 
                laying down defenses, a few were slaughtered before I even knew 
                they were there.</p>
              Meanwhile, 
                while I’m worrying about how to protect my creations, they’re 
                in perfect bliss, talking and playing.  Hero, seeing Benedick 
                nearby, says, “Hewo likes Benedick.”  When a Grendel shows up 
                they tell me they’re scared, or they run away saying something 
                like “Juliet dislikes Ung.”  The best is when they talk to each 
                other, though.  The conversation can go something like this:</p>
              <b>BEATRICE:</b>  
                Beatrice very hungry for starch.<br>
                <br>
                <b>BENEDICK:  </b>Maybe eat seeds Beatrice?</p>
              </p>
               </p>
              </p>
              </p>
              </p>
              <br>

              
              How cute 
                is that?  But wait a second.  Cute?  Video games?  That’s sort 
                of an oxymoron, isn’t it?  The bright colors, the cute little 
                animals.  It sounds like a game for children.  But it’s really 
                not.  It’s actually a strategy game:  How can you keep your little 
                community growing in spite of the dangers all around it?  I found 
                myself having to make major decisions.  Do I deal with the Ettin 
                who’s dismantling my defenses, or do I rescue a baby Norn who 
                wandered into the Grendel habitat?  Should I hatch another pair 
                of Norns or wait for the adults to start breeding?  Do I have 
                time to wander around and look at the other environments?  </p>
              I also 
                realized I had to watch what I say to my Norns.  In an early, 
                failed attempt, one Norn complained that he was hungry.  I typed 
                the simple command:  “eat.”  Unfortunately he took that a little 
                too seriously and ate his sister who was standing innocently nearby.  
                After that I made sure I was more specific.  And in trying to 
                get Beatrice and Benedick to breed, I typed, “Benedick play with 
                Beatrice.”  Either that was too complex of a command or he just 
                chose to ignore me.  And when I asked Benedick to teach one of 
                the babies to talk, he merely took the little one to the training 
                room.  I guess it was a good try, though. </p>
              <b>Creatures 
                3 </b>isn’t all cute and cuddly.  The game can be unnecessarily 
                complex at times.  To get all of your machinery working, you have 
                to get powerups.  This requires dragging a Norn around to find 
                the powerups and activate them.  To make full use of my defenses, 
                I had to replicate them in a Creator.  My first problem was finding 
                the Creator machine.  My second problem was that I couldn’t find 
                enough powerups to get it working to its fullest, so I wasn’t 
                able to replicate my defense equipment.  So there I am, helplessly 
                pulling my hair out while Grendels are beating the crap out of 
                my baby Norns and I can’t get the darned Creator to work.  The 
                Norns themselves aren’t always cooperative.  Sometimes they’d 
                fall asleep while I was teaching them to talk, or refuse to go 
                through a door when I was leading them around.  There are sad 
                points in the game, too.  I took it really hard when my first 
                baby Norn died.  And then there was the death of Beatrice.  </p>
              It’s absolutely 
                amazing how this silly game got me so involved that I actually 
                mourned the loss of an imaginary animal.  That’s a testament to 
                how well the game is designed, though.  The Norns act seemingly 
                on their own.  They walk around, eat, sleep, talk to each other, 
                breed, et cetera.  They interact with themselves and their environment, 
                independent of their “mommy” or “daddy.”  In turn, you teach them 
                right and wrong.  You keep them safe and happy.  It’s so close 
                to real that it’s almost scary.  It’s not a drippy little kid 
                game; it requires more thought than most children handle until 
                they reach a certain age.  And it’s very addictive.  I thought 
                I was impervious and that I’d never find a game that I really 
                like.  But now I think I’ve found one I like a little too much.</p>
              
              </p>
              
              </p>
              <p></p>
              <p></p>
              <i>-Heather 
                &quot;elki&quot; Haselkorn 
                actually enjoys this.</i> </p>
             
              </p><br><p>&nbsp;</p> 
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<p><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2">Credits: Print CGI is 
  &copy; 2000 <a href="http://www.square8.com">Square Eight</a>. Used with permission. 
  Article is &copy; 2000 its original author. All other content is &copy; 2000 
  loonyboi productions. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited. You got that??</font></i></p>
 