Creatures: Neural Networks in the Nineties

In 1996, Steve Grand and Cyberlife released their virtual life simulation game Creatures. Rather than using a rules-based system to govern the behavior of the game’s titular creatures, Cyberlife made the unusual decision to take a bottom-up approach, simulating genetics, brain activity and biochemistry in a way that mirrored real life biological processes and that has defined all major games in the series since.