Docking Station is a completely FREE artificial life game for both Windows and Linux, developed by Creature Labs - the creators of the Creatures series of Artificial Life simulation games.
The Story
After years of working in isolation, and only straying from the task for tea and biscuits, the device was completed! The others had all laughed at his plan. Literally jump across dimensions and to a spherical world without leaving the comfort of Albia? Preposterous! He had persisted and those long nights of twiddling with DNA had paid off. Finally a device that would allow the Shee to explore the rest of their universe with ease, and it was all his own work. He couldn't wait to see the look on the others faces.
But that was where the problems started. Albia seemed to be deserted - not a trace of a single Shee anywhere. Norns, Grendels and Ettins were still running around the place but there was no sign of proper life forms. It appeared that a gigantic space ship had been constructed at some point and the planet evacuated.
Just how long had he been working? He knew that when he was sometimes hard to get through to, but surely someone would have come and told him that everyone was leaving! By the amount of dust it looked like they'd been gone for years. Hurrumph. Any fool could make a spaceship but only he had the vision to create holes in space -- or was it time? He wasn't entirely sure what the device did exactly. He'd even travelled through himself on many occasions. Come to think of it, he wasn't entirely sure that the here he was in now was the here he'd started in but he didn't consider that a great problem.
So he'd begun growing a ship for the voyage. It would be a long voyage, and he would need to take some distractions with him -- something to work on -- something to improve -- something to keep him occupied. A quick pop to the surface to grab a Norn or two would be okay.
The launch day was pretty spectacular and using the old dormant volcano to provide the initial thrust for his space ship was a work of genius, even if he said so himself. Of course there were a few small side effects, (the whole top layer of Albia was ripped apart by the explosion and tonnes of ash and molten rock wiped out nearly every life form on the surface) but he was sure it would recover with time. Still, it was fantastic launch method and -- he couldn't wait to tell the others! That was two great pieces of thinking now, he might even be able to get chocolate biscuits for this!
Features :
Creatures Docking Station is a fully self-contained world with four large rooms and contains all you need to raise and train families of Norns - cuddly virtual creatures that grow, learn and behave just like real living animals. There are food sources, toys and loads of plants and animals in a working eco-system.
Muco the Egg-layer allows you to hatch Norns at any time. Choose the gender you want and hatch a baby Norn. Go online and buy new breeds to add to the gene pool. Each creature is completely unique with its own personality!
The Norn Meso contains everything you need for successful Norn breeding, including a HoverDoc that allows you to monitor the health of your Norns and find out what their most pressing need is. A holistic learning machine will allow you to quickly teach your Norns to communicate with you and with your other Norns!
The Comms Room allows you to go online and chat to other Creatures users and send them messages. Manage your contact list and find new objects to add to your world. You can also access the Docking Station Central website and see if your creatures are top-of-the-league travelers!
The Workshop is where you can configure portals to other players' worlds. A containment chamber ensures that any Norn you receive is healthy and happy enough to enter your world. Check their health, their fertility levels and give them an antibacterial spritz if they need it!