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Life simulation game
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Life simulation game
Life simulation games form a subgenre of simulation video games in which the player lives or controls one or more virtual characters (human or otherwise). Such a game can revolve around "individuals and relationships, or it could be a simulation of an ecosystem". Other terms include artificial life game and simulated life game (SLG).
Life simulation games are about "maintaining and growing a virtual life", where players are given the power to control the lives of autonomous people or creatures. Artificial life games are related to computer science research in artificial life. But "because they're intended for entertainment rather than research, commercial A-life games implement only a subset of what A-life research investigates." This broad genre includes god games which focus on managing tribal worshipers, as well as artificial pets that focus on one or several animals. It also includes genetic artificial life games, where players manage populations of creatures over several generations.
Artificial life games and life simulations find their origins in artificial life research, including Conway's Game of Life from 1970. But one of the first commercially viable artificial life games was Little Computer People in 1985, a Commodore 64 game that allowed players to type requests to characters living in a virtual house. The game is cited as a little-known forerunner of virtual-life simulator games to follow. One of the earliest dating sims, Tenshitachi no gogo, was released for the 16-bit NEC PC-9801 computer that same year, though dating sim elements can be found in Sega's earlier Girl's Garden in 1984.
In the mid-1990s, virtual pets such as Petz and Tamagotchi began to appear. Around the same time, Creatures became "the first full-blown commercial entertainment application of Artificial Life and genetic algorithms". By 2000, The Sims refined the formula seen in Little Computer People and became the most successful artificial life game created to date.
In 2008, the game Spore was released, being a notable example of innovative gameplay in a life simulation game, borrowing elements from different game genres. Spore, in which the player develops an alien species of their own liking and control them through different life stages, featured different gameplay styles depending on said stage: from the microbial tide pool level (cell stage) that is depicted as a simple action game, until the final stage where they can build an interstellar empire (space stage), featuring loose elements from the strategy game genre.
In 2013, the first playable version of Thrive was released. The idea of Thrive is designed as a more “scientifically accurate" view on the idea of Spore, which uses a more "cute" and simplified approach. Similar to Spore, Thrive is divided into stages, of which only the first is finished, while the other 9 stages are currently in development.
Digital pets are a subgenre of artificial life game where players train, maintain, and watch a simulated animal. The pets can be simulations of real animals, or fantasy pets. Unlike genetic artificial life games that focus on larger populations of organisms, digital pet games usually allow players to interact with one or a few pets at once. In contrast to artificial life games, digital pets do not usually reproduce or die, although there are exceptions where pets will run away if ignored or mistreated.
Digital pets are usually designed to be cute, and act out a range of emotions and behaviors that tell the player how to influence the pet. "This quality of rich intelligence distinguishes artificial pets from other kinds of A-life, in which individuals have simple rules but the population as a whole develops emergent properties". Players are able to tease, groom, and teach the pet, and so they must be able to learn behaviors from the player. However, these behaviors are typically "preprogrammed and are not truly emergent".
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Life simulation game AI simulator
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Life simulation game
Life simulation games form a subgenre of simulation video games in which the player lives or controls one or more virtual characters (human or otherwise). Such a game can revolve around "individuals and relationships, or it could be a simulation of an ecosystem". Other terms include artificial life game and simulated life game (SLG).
Life simulation games are about "maintaining and growing a virtual life", where players are given the power to control the lives of autonomous people or creatures. Artificial life games are related to computer science research in artificial life. But "because they're intended for entertainment rather than research, commercial A-life games implement only a subset of what A-life research investigates." This broad genre includes god games which focus on managing tribal worshipers, as well as artificial pets that focus on one or several animals. It also includes genetic artificial life games, where players manage populations of creatures over several generations.
Artificial life games and life simulations find their origins in artificial life research, including Conway's Game of Life from 1970. But one of the first commercially viable artificial life games was Little Computer People in 1985, a Commodore 64 game that allowed players to type requests to characters living in a virtual house. The game is cited as a little-known forerunner of virtual-life simulator games to follow. One of the earliest dating sims, Tenshitachi no gogo, was released for the 16-bit NEC PC-9801 computer that same year, though dating sim elements can be found in Sega's earlier Girl's Garden in 1984.
In the mid-1990s, virtual pets such as Petz and Tamagotchi began to appear. Around the same time, Creatures became "the first full-blown commercial entertainment application of Artificial Life and genetic algorithms". By 2000, The Sims refined the formula seen in Little Computer People and became the most successful artificial life game created to date.
In 2008, the game Spore was released, being a notable example of innovative gameplay in a life simulation game, borrowing elements from different game genres. Spore, in which the player develops an alien species of their own liking and control them through different life stages, featured different gameplay styles depending on said stage: from the microbial tide pool level (cell stage) that is depicted as a simple action game, until the final stage where they can build an interstellar empire (space stage), featuring loose elements from the strategy game genre.
In 2013, the first playable version of Thrive was released. The idea of Thrive is designed as a more “scientifically accurate" view on the idea of Spore, which uses a more "cute" and simplified approach. Similar to Spore, Thrive is divided into stages, of which only the first is finished, while the other 9 stages are currently in development.
Digital pets are a subgenre of artificial life game where players train, maintain, and watch a simulated animal. The pets can be simulations of real animals, or fantasy pets. Unlike genetic artificial life games that focus on larger populations of organisms, digital pet games usually allow players to interact with one or a few pets at once. In contrast to artificial life games, digital pets do not usually reproduce or die, although there are exceptions where pets will run away if ignored or mistreated.
Digital pets are usually designed to be cute, and act out a range of emotions and behaviors that tell the player how to influence the pet. "This quality of rich intelligence distinguishes artificial pets from other kinds of A-life, in which individuals have simple rules but the population as a whole develops emergent properties". Players are able to tease, groom, and teach the pet, and so they must be able to learn behaviors from the player. However, these behaviors are typically "preprogrammed and are not truly emergent".
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