geNorNics

An Introduction to Norn Genetics

Overview

Ok, the first thing to remember is that genetics in Creatures^tm is /not/ like genetics in real life.

In people, animals, plants, etc. in our world, chromosomes are complex collections of base pairs defining tons of individual genes, each of which codes a specific protein used in the development and life processes of the organism.

In Creatures^tm, there is a single 'chromosome' bearing around 320-350 'genes' that are basically sequences of computer instructions defined to mimic this development and these life processes.

That said, there's still an awful lot of interesting stuff to be learned about Norn genetics.

Gene Types and Subtypes

In Creatures^tm, there are three main groups, or types, of genes. Each of these groups has one or more subtypes of genes as well, for a total of thirteen separate sets of genes.

Brain genes define the workings of the creatures' brains. There is a single subtype ('lobe'), but it is the most complex gene type.
Biochemistry genes describe the way that the various chemicals are produced by and used within a creature during its lifetime. There are five subtypes of biochemistry genes.
Creature genes define the way the creature looks, moves, and responds to its environment. There are seven subtypes.

A brief description of each gene subtype is given in the following table:

Gene Type	Gene Subtype	Gene Description
Brain Genes	Lobe	Lobe genes store information about the number of neurones and their individual dynamics, including the neurone 'state rule,' which is used to calculate the changing state of every neurone. Each lobe has two classes of dendrites, and separate growth and dynamic parameters can be set for each.
Biochemistry Genes	Receptor	A receptor binds to a named location and 'fires' when a given chemical reaches a certain threshold. This named location can be anywhere within a creature's system.
"	Emitter	An emitter binds to a named location (generally in the brain) and emits an amount of a specified chemical. The concentration emitted depends on the neurone to which the emitter is attached.
"	Reaction	A reaction gene specifies a chemical reaction, including the reactants, products, the amounts of each involved, and the reaction rate.
"	Half-Lives	The single half-life gene specifies the approximate time it takes for each chemical to decay to half of its full concentration.
"	Initial Concentration	One of these genes can specify how much of a certain chemical should be present in a creature at birth.
Creature Genes	Stimulus	A stimulus gene defines a stimulus (encountered by the creature in the world, or within itself) and specifies the amount of up to four chemicals that should be emitted when it occurs.
"	Genus	The single genus gene specifies the species of the creature (norn or grendel) and also includes the parents' monikers.
"	Appearance	Four appearance genes are used to describe which of the graphic sets (sprites) should be used to represent the creature.
"	Pose	Pose genes describe the graphic location information for a creature to get into any given 'pose.'
"	Gait	Gait genes specify a series of poses that should be used to represent a type of walking sequence.
"	Instinct	Instinct genes define a certain situation, an action to take in response, and a reward or punishment to give to a creature who completes the specified action in the given situation.
"	Pigment	Pigment genes define the amount of red, green, and blue to add to the base coloring of the graphic sets (sprites).

Gene Files and Breeding

Unlike real-life animals, each creature (norn or grendel) has a genotype consisting of a single, haploid chromosome. When two creatures breed successfully, the following sequence occurs:

The two genome files (one from the mother, one from the father) are lined up for comparison.
One or the other version of each gene is randomly selected from the two files.
Errors such as mutations, duplications, or deletions may occur (depending on the gene - some gene types do not allow any errors).
The resulting genome ('gen' file) is named with a new moniker (e.g. 456K.gen) and placed in the genetics subfolder on your computer. The moniker can be read from the genetics subpage in the Science Kit.
When the creature hatches, the contents of its 'gen' file and additional information about it is added to the world.sfc file, which contains information on the current state of your Albia and all the objects and creatures within it.
If the creature is ever exported, an 'exp' file is created from the information in the world.sfc file pertinent to that creature and saved to your hard drive.

And that's the end of Lesson 1! Hopefully, you now understand the following terms and concepts, as they related to genetics within Creatures:

gene type
gene subtype
moniker
'gen' file
'world.sfc' file
'exp' file

Some references for further reading:

Creatures^tm Official Strategies & Secrets - by Toby Simpson [ISBN 0-7821-2202-7]
Genetics Preview Kit Reference Guide
GK Help File - 'How Creatures Works' sections from the Genetics Kit Help File.
[Be sure to read the entire help file if you own the GK.]
Peruse the other Creatures^TM genetics facilities listed in the White Pages.

[ Lobby ]
[ Administration ] [ Training Dept. ]
[ Genetics Lab ] [ Resource Center ]
[ Index ]

"Cyberlife is a registered trademark and the CyberLife, Creatures Lab, Creatures and Creatures 2 logos are trademarks of Cyberlife Technology Ltd in the United Kingdom and other countries. Cyberlife, Digital DNA, Creatures, Albia, and Norn are also trademarks of Cyberlife Technology Ltd which may be registered in other countries."

Any use of copyrighted material or trademarks on this internet site should not be viewed as a challenge to those copyrights or trademarks.

Last updated on 05-Jan-99.
email: elemkay@mindspring.com