This page applies to:
Virtual Animals |
|
This page applies to: Virtual Animals |
Home Page and Table of Contents - List of Web Games
This website is a work-in-progress that is sandwiched between a full-time college class load and my real pets, so please be patient with me! :)
What is artificial life?
Artificial life is technology that mimics a living animal in some way. It is not the same as artificial intelligence, which tries to simulate the mind's remarkable abilities.
Creating artificial pets with technology has fascinated mankind for centuries (examples - clockwork automata, puppets, stuffed animals, taxidermy... pages coming soon) and creating life from raw materials haunts myths and legends from Pygmailian to Pinnochio.
Artificial pets make popular toys. The stuffed animal has fascinated children for decades; today it is joined by the Furby, MicroPets, and other interactive artificial pets made possible by computer chips.
Computer simulations have made it possible to mimic biological processes in great detail, and entertainment applications were fast on the heels of scientific software. Today many software applications are available that let you adopt and interact with a pet on your home computer. Many other virtual pet games are websites that can be accessed from any point in the world.
Clockwork Automata
Real Animal Information
This is the only part of the site that applies to REAL
ANIMALS! The rest are imaginary! :)
Artificial pets appeal to dreamers who can't get the critter of their dreams... but sometimes it helps to know what real systems the game is based on.
Purebreds
Selective Breeding
Introduction to Genetics:
Dominant and Recessive GenesThe City Kid's Guide to Beef Cattle
Coming Soon: Similar guides about showing cats, horses, rats, and dogs...
Artificial Life Website Games
Which games are here? I hope to assemble a fairly complete list of browser-based artificial life games. For now, I have started to list my favorites. Games will only be listed if they use a server to run shows and breeding (games maintained by a single moderator or where players keep their own records do not work well on a large scale). Games assembled using a widely-available commercial script (for example, all of the games hosted on Operation Pet Game) will be dealt with as a group. Why? I am interested in the combination of Computer Science and Biology behind these games more than anything else.
Browser-Based Games
This is a growing list of the best artificial life games on the web with profiles, playing guides, and reviews. Find the virtual pet game that's perfect for you today!General Advice and Strategies
These tips can be applied to nearly every game. Avoid scams, find a picture for your pet, and get ahead of rest of the crowd who just joined!Advice for New (and Old) Players
The "n00b" can be cured!
Information for Game Developers
Artificial Life games can be a great project; a small team (or a
single person) can
do
a lot and acquire many loyal fans. I'll include as much information as I can
to help with game design and technical problems.
Other Stuff
Babyz and WinXP (clearing ALL the registry settings)
Coming in the near future:
Home Page and Table of Contents - List of Web Games
All content is © Catherine Covington 2004 except for where the rights of coauthors, website owners, or trademark owners supersedes. Content may be reproduced freely for personal or educational use but may not be redistributed in electronic format or for profit without permission.
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