Software:Black & White: Creature Isle

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Black & White: Creature Isle
North American cover art
Developer(s)Lionhead Studios
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Feral Interactive (Mac OS X)
Platform(s)Windows PC, Macintosh
ReleaseWindows
  • NA: 23 January 2002[1]
  • EU: 8 February 2002
Mac OS X
  • NA: 18 December 2002
Genre(s)Real-time strategy, God game
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

Black & White: Creature Isle (known in Europe as Black & White: Creature Isles) is an expansion pack for the PC game Black & White by Lionhead Studios. It was released for Windows in January 2002 and for Mac OS X in December 2002. This expansion pack focuses on the creature and there are no levels as there were in the original game.

Gameplay

The new creatures are Crocodile, Chicken, and Rhinoceros.

Tyke is given to the player early in the game. Tyke will learn from the player's creature. It will treat it as a father. It will ask for food, attention, and playtime. The player can put Tyke into a daycare, relieving the creature of his fatherly duties. But if it is kept in there for too long, the advisers will complain, and Tyke will get angry. During the trial in which the player raises Tyke, they are encouraged to teach it. The advisers will tell the player when they are ignoring Tyke. Tyke can learn miracles also, which adds more impressiveness. It will also learn and try to mimic what the creature does. It will try to have a similar personality, too. After beating the game, Tyke will turn into an AI around the isle, and whatever creature the player beats the game with will become a new tyke. So if the player beats the game as the chimp, the new Tyke will become a chimp. Players can also have an identical model creature, but different ones. (Ex. Polar bear as a tyke, brown bear as creature) The new Tyke will know all the spells and lesson of the old tyke.

Tyke's learning system is also the same as your creatures. It will learn spells if they're cast. It will watch your creatures' actions instead of yours. The creature also praises and scolds Tyke for things he dislikes. So if a player has taught the creature not to eat villagers, and tyke does so, the creature will scold it. Tyke can also be used in multiplayer and skirmish. Tyke can also interact with the creature during fights, serving as a battle aid.

Players should also note that Tyke can suffer neglect. If left in daycare, ignored, or even hurt by your creature, they may become more hateful. Tyke may not turn out how the player wants them to. They may soon ignore you, or possibly defy your creature's teachings.

Plot

The story of this game involves the player controlling his or her creature (either a new one or the creature they used in Black & White) and completing missions, which are given to the player by members of a Brotherhood. The members are all creatures that are not controlled by a god, and they all wear bracelets to show their membership in this Brotherhood. Once the player completes a mission, they can then fight the creature that gave them the mission or choose to fight that creature again or use that creature at will. Once the player has successfully completed all the missions and won all the fights, they will be able to see Eve and have a baby pet for their creature. The player's pet will then have a pet, which can help both the creature and the player. Also, there is the speed miracle, though no skirmishes included in the game carry it. It can be used to get past various trials more easily. If the player does not have a creature of certain height, the creature will be enlarged. It will also automatically know the three basic spells (food, water, and wood). The default creature for newly created profiles in Creature Isle is the Ape.

Development

Development of Black & White: Creature Isle began as a response to feedback on the original Black & White. The team did research on what people enjoyed the most about the first game, with fans either enjoying the creature-based gameplay, while the other enjoyed the strategy gameplay the most. They ultimately chose to focus on the creature side with Creature Isle and also wanted to do a strategy game, but chose not to do so as they wanted to focus on developing Black & White 2. There were some aspects of Black & White that didn't get into the game that they wanted to realize, and they found Creature Isle an ideal vehicle for them. Director Peter Molyneux stated that the AI was improved by working out issues found in the first game. An element that was requested in the first game and added with this one was breeding.[2] Black & White: Creature Isle went gold on 8 January 2002.[3]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic72/100[4]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGameStarStarStarStarHalf star[5]
CGWStarHalf star[6]
Game Informer8.25/10[7]
GameSpot8/10[8]
GameSpy83%[9]
GameZone8.7/10[10]
IGN7.9/10[11]
PC Gamer (UK)80%[12]
PC Gamer (US)68%[13]
X-PlayStarStarStarStar[14]

Creature Isle received "average" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "GameSpot: PC News: Black & White: Creature Isle ships". 2002-01-30. http://gamespot.com/gamespot/stories/news/0,10870,2841695,00.html. 
  2. ↑ Blevins, Tal (September 21, 2001). "Black & White: Creature Isle Interview". IGN. https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/09/21/black-white-creature-isle-interview. Retrieved May 14, 2023. 
  3. ↑ Walker, Trey (8 January 2002). "Black & White: Creature Isle goes gold". CBS Interactive. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/black-and-white-creature-isle-goes-gold/1100-2837239/. Retrieved 9 July 2019. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Black & White: Creature Isle". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/black-and-white-creature-isle/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. Retrieved 23 January 2016. 
  5. ↑ House, Michael L.. "Black & White: Creature Isle Expansion Pack - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on 17 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141117020346/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=36670&tab=review. Retrieved 23 January 2016. 
  6. ↑ McDonald, Thomas L. (May 2002). "Black & White: Creature Isle". Computer Gaming World (214): 89. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_214.pdf. Retrieved 23 January 2016. 
  7. ↑ Brogger, Kristian (March 2002). "Black & White: Creature Isle Expansion [sic"]. Game Informer (107): 88. Archived from the original on 10 May 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050510104522/http://www.gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200203/R03.0801.1009.45397.htm. Retrieved 23 January 2016. 
  8. ↑ Kasavin, Greg (22 January 2002). "Black & White: Creature Isle Review". http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/black-and-white-creature-isle-review/1900-2841299/. Retrieved 23 January 2016. 
  9. ↑ Wessel, Craig (5 February 2002). "Black & White: Creature Isle". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 9 February 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050209002805/http://archive.gamespy.com/reviews/february02/bwcreatureisle/. Retrieved 23 January 2016. 
  10. ↑ Watkins, Rob (8 February 2002). "Black & White: Creature Isle Review - PC". GameZone. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081005123233/http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r19270.htm. Retrieved 23 January 2016. 
  11. ↑ Butts, Steve (22 January 2002). "Black & White: Creature Isle". http://www.ign.com/articles/2002/01/22/black-white-creature-isle. Retrieved 23 January 2016. 
  12. ↑ "Black & White: Creature Isles". PC Gamer UK. 2002. 
  13. ↑ Chan, Norman (March 2002). "Black & White: Creature Isle". PC Gamer: 56. Archived from the original on 15 March 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20060315132525/http://www.pcgamer.com/archives/2005/06/black_white_cre.html. Retrieved 23 January 2016. 
  14. ↑ Rubenstein, Glenn (8 February 2002). "'Black & White: Creature Isle' (PC) Review". X-Play. Archived from the original on 12 February 2002. https://web.archive.org/web/20020212063217/http://www.techtv.com/extendedplay/reviews/story/0%2C24330%2C3370752%2C00.html. Retrieved 23 January 2016. 
  • Official EA site
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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