The New Albia and a Unique Norn
Written onHalvor was the very first creature to enjoy the brand new Albia! He seemed very impressed, and quickly made his way from the incubator area to the jungle. It was nice to listen to him and know what he was talking about: I still missed the occasional “get flabber Halvor,” though! He seemed to be headed off to the desert island, where most Grendels in Creatures 1 seem to travel to. Fortunately, I had spread a good amount of food on the island, along with some toys for entertainment. Halvor would not be the only creature for very long!
From the gentle warmth of the incubator, the first second generation egg soon cracked open to reveal its contents! This is Arnes, the son of Eydis and Arik! He clearly takes after his father in every physical way. No White Haired Pixie Norn here! His little smile was adorable, and I was excited to teach him all about Albia. However, before our journey could begin, I decided to examine his mutations. I plan on doing this for each Norn, so that we can get to know them from different perspectives. It also gives me a reason to delve deeper into the Genetics Kit! Hopefully the following will offer both a genetic analysis, as well as an actual working example. Arnes certainly was an interesting little Norn to begin with! He had my heart with his first tiny smile.
Lobes
Brain lobes include important information about how the different parts of the brain work, from how concepts are learned to how a Norn goes through the decision process. These genes can greatly affect the learning process.
121 Emb B MutDup Lobe #= 7 at X=44 Y=30 is 5 neurons wide and 8 neurons high. Perflags=0.
This mutation looks deceptively simple. The only difference resides in the perflags, which is set at 1 in the standard Norn genome. No big deal, right? Definitely not! This controls whether or not the information is copied into the perception lobe. This lobe is the attention lobe, which corresponds to whatever a creature is focused on, which is whatever he or she is looking at. The perception lobe is almost like a catchall lobe, where concepts can be learned based on information from various brain lobes. Arnes lacks the connection between the attention lobe and the perception lobe: He is able to focus on an object, but he is unable to formulate any concepts about it.
Receptors
Chemical receptors define parameters for a certain chemical. When these parameters are met, an element in the Creature is affected. These genes can increase drives, define life stages, control fertility, and more.
127 Emb B MutDupCut Brain, Decision i/ps, Chemical 1, chem=decASH1, thresh=0, nom=16, gain=255, features=Inverted Analogue
This receptor is related to decASH1, which stands for decision layer atrophy suppressing hormone emitted from loose decision dendrites of type 0. Wait: Don’t run away quite yet! It sounds like a crazy concept, and I still have to master it. This is one of a few learning chemicals in Creatures. Dendrites are the links between different neurons and lobes, and there are a fixed number of them in the brain. DecASH1 keeps type 0 decision dendrites from atrophying, or losing their effectiveness, over time. In essence, this allows creatures to learn new concepts over time, rather than losing the ability to learn over time. DecASH1 keeps a certain number of unallocated dendrites at any one time so that new associations can be made. Arnes has a receptor that links this receptor to chemical 1, whereas the standard Norn genome links this to chemical 2. From my understanding, chemical 2 corresponds with conASH. Wait for it: This is the concept layer atrophy suppressing hormone. Long name, but it is very similar to decASH1! The only difference is that it is related to concepts, rather than decisions. Concepts are learned behaviors and memories, while decisions correspond to specific actions.
Here is an excellent description from The Creatures Developer Resource: “The type 0 dendrites linked from decision lobe cells to the 128 concept lobe cells indicate that the particular decision is good if those particular concepts are active. This means that if the concepts become active then the Norn will be more likely to choose that decision over other decisions. The type 1 dendrites linked from decision lobe cells to the 128 concept lobe cells indicate that the particular decision is bad if those particular concepts are active. This means that if the concepts become active then the Norn will be less likely to choose that decision over other decisions.”
In the end, Arnes will have trouble being able to make new associations related to decisions, and even concepts. Coupled with the mutation in his attention lobe, it looks like he will have some very serious learning disabilities.
Half-Lives
Chemical half-lives define the decay rate of each chemical. In the absence of any reactions, a half-life defines how long a chemical will remain. Half-lives can range from fractions of a second to an entire lifetime.
1 Emb B MutDup <016> 249
Goodness me: Such a huge mutation! The half-life for this chemical is normally 248, whereas Arnes has a half-life of 249. Chemical 016 is also an unused drive chemical. In other words, this mutation means absolutely nothing!
I was very curious to see how Arnes would interact with the world. I was able to bring him over to the learning computer, where he seemed to learn the vocabulary quite well. However, it became obvious that he had a learning problem when he began to continuously walk away from the computer and ignore it, even while his attention was focused on it. Young Norns sometimes walk away once or twice in their zest for new knowledge, but Arnes could barely sit still long enough to learn all of the words. His mind was playing tricks on him, and he had no control over it.
My heart sank soon after we began learning about the nouns. When a piece of food enters the picture for the first time, I always have to race to speak the word “food” before it gets gobbled up! Luckily, this usually means a plentiful first meal. Arnes, on the other hand, learned the word and simply stared at the carrot.
Bless his little heart! Even with many of his needs at high levels, Arnes managed to share a huge smile with me. I told him to “get food” and “push food” to no avail. He seemed unable to even pick up the food, even though it was right there in front of him. He even walked right past the carrot on multiple occasions. One of the biggest issues seemed to be his attention span: Arnes quickly moved from one object to another, yet he had no way of making a decision related to what he was looking at. It looked like he was going to lead a very short life, and this made me rather bitter.
Just as I was about ready to give up hope on Arnes, he picked up the carrot and took a juicy bite! I was absolutely amazed, and quickly brought several more to his open hands. My theory is that it was his instinct to eat that brought him to eat the carrots: I stopped saying anything for some time, since I thought it might just be confusing him. After his first bite, though, I tentatively asked him to “push food” when I brought another carrot, and he willingly obeyed! I was beyond thrilled to know that he could actually eat! It seemed like a small step, yet it was a very promising development in his unique life.
Arnes seemed to be on the right path: He traveled through the teleporter after I asked him to push the button, and he even went over to play with the spinning top after he learned what it was! It was very clear that he had a learning disability, yet with a little patience and a lot of hard work, it looked like he could lead a healthy life in Albia. It was a very pleasant surprise, although I knew that it would take a little extra time to ensure that Arnes was completely settled. He might never be “normal,” but I loved him just as he was.
Most of the upcoming second generation Norns do not have in-depth mutations as Arnes does, so the descriptions will most likely be a bit shorter! However, he has quickly become a very special Norn and I’m glad that he gave me a little glimpse into the wonderful world of Norn genetics. Eat those carrots, Arnes!
Arnes is adorable! From the first moment he hatched from the incubator with that adorable smile I knew I would like him! I was sad to read that he has such a learning disability though.
Interesting! I wonder how he’ll develop as he grows up.
Some interesting mutations there. It’s very good to learn about them, as I think I’ve had Norns with similar mutations and I’ve never known what they do. Although it’s sad to see Arnes has them it’s incredibly useful to know. I’m pleased to see he can still manage to survive, even if it will require a little more effort than usual.
Kittie: I fell in love with him right away, too! The learning disability is a shame, but Arnes seems to have adjusted relatively well.
Tarlia: I have a feeling that his disability might get worse with age, since decASH1 and conASH might be involved. He probably will have trouble learning anything new as he grows up… That’s part of the reason why I’m trying to teach him well right from the start!
ArchDragon: I probably had mutated Norns back in the day that I didn’t even understand! Norn genetics can be difficult and complex, yet I probably would have been punishing Arnes if I didn’t know any better. I’ll put in the extra time to make sure that he does well: He’s been OK thus far!
I know that one of the main goals of Creatures is selective breeding and making the population stronger. However, I’m playing this world slightly differently, in that every Norn will have a chance to pass along their genes. Arnes has some mutations that are undesirable, yet that’s what makes it challenging and interesting for me. There are many, many different ways to enjoy the game! And it’s nearly impossible to get the same mutations in different worlds. I still plan on having a world focused more on selective breeding, but no one will be left out in this case!
Arnes is very cute. Quick (slightly controversial) question, not that I’m saying there’s anything wrong with it, but from the mutated genes and the description… Does this mean Anres is autistic?
Good question! I don’t think it’s easy to link human disorders with Creatures, though it is possible. From my understanding of autism, I don’t think Arnes demonstrates all of the symptoms. He definitely was different, but like many with neurological disorders, he managed to adapt and lead a pretty happy life. It might not have been perfect, yet he did have some positive social interactions and became a father! Sadly, his only child had an unrelated genetic mutation that made him a stillborn. Arnes never left a lasting genetic imprint in the population, but even though this happened years ago, I still remember him!