<s>
Creatures	B-Application
2	I-Application
is	O
the	O
second	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
Creatures	B-Application
artificial	O
life	O
game	O
series	O
made	O
by	O
Creature	O
Labs	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
sequel	O
to	O
1996	O
game	O
Creatures	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
features	O
three	O
species	O
:	O
the	O
cute	O
,	O
dependent	O
Norns	B-Application
,	O
the	O
cantankerous	O
Grendels	O
and	O
the	O
industrious	O
Ettins	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
interacts	O
with	O
the	O
world	O
using	O
a	O
hand-shaped	O
cursor	O
,	O
and	O
tries	O
to	O
encourage	O
the	O
creatures	B-Application
 '	O
development	O
by	O
manipulating	O
various	O
objects	O
around	O
the	O
world	O
,	O
guiding	O
the	O
creatures	B-Application
using	O
the	O
cursor	O
and	O
encouraging	O
the	O
creatures	B-Application
to	O
speak	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
new	O
gameplay	O
features	O
included	O
in	O
Creatures	B-Application
2	I-Application
not	O
present	O
in	O
the	O
original	O
game	O
include	O
a	O
new	O
physics	O
model	O
and	O
a	O
global	O
weather	O
system	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
brand	O
new	O
applets	O
and	O
a	O
world	O
twice	O
the	O
size	O
of	O
the	O
Creatures	B-Application
1	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
executable	B-Application
file	I-Application
for	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
in	O
fact	O
an	O
interpreter	B-Application
for	O
its	O
scripting	O
language	O
,	O
thus	O
allowing	O
users	O
to	O
make	O
total	O
conversions	O
or	O
derivative	O
works	O
from	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
the	O
other	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
series	O
,	O
Creatures	B-Application
2	I-Application
is	O
mostly	O
open-ended	O
,	O
with	O
no	O
predetermined	O
goals	O
,	O
allowing	O
the	O
player	O
to	O
raise	O
Norns	B-Application
at	O
their	O
own	O
pace	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Norns	B-Application
may	O
also	O
be	O
downloaded	O
from	O
the	O
internet	O
and	O
imported	O
in	O
to	O
use	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Once	O
Norns	B-Application
reach	O
adolescence	O
at	O
around	O
an	O
hour	O
old	O
,	O
they	O
are	O
ready	O
to	O
breed	O
,	O
and	O
female	O
Norns	B-Application
will	O
begin	O
an	O
oestrogen	O
cycle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
Norns	B-Application
mate	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
long	O
kissing	O
sound	O
with	O
a	O
pop	O
at	O
the	O
end	O
–	O
known	O
as	O
a	O
kisspop	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
their	O
Norns	B-Application
explore	O
the	O
world	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
more	O
areas	O
will	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
be	O
visited	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Albia	O
,	O
the	O
world	O
in	O
which	O
Creatures	B-Application
2	I-Application
is	O
set	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
vast	O
disc-world	O
filled	O
with	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
flora	O
,	O
ranging	O
from	O
the	O
Cacti	O
that	O
inhabit	O
the	O
desert	O
to	O
the	O
exclusive	O
mushroom-like	O
Gelsemium	O
plant	O
that	O
can	O
only	O
be	O
found	O
in	O
a	O
single	O
cavern	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Albia	O
is	O
also	O
home	O
to	O
a	O
substantial	O
amount	O
of	O
animal	O
life	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
bees	O
which	O
pollinate	O
flowers	O
and	O
create	O
honey	O
,	O
and	O
Zander	O
fish	O
,	O
which	O
provide	O
a	O
food	O
source	O
for	O
creatures	B-Application
near	O
the	O
oceans	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Creatures	B-Application
2	I-Application
's	O
release	O
was	O
widely	O
anticipated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
likely	O
that	O
around	O
450,000	O
copies	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
Creatures	B-Application
had	O
been	O
sold	O
by	O
the	O
time	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
released	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
huge	O
following	O
had	O
developed	O
behind	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
Early	O
Adoption	O
Program	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
promotion	O
where	O
250	O
copies	O
of	O
Creatures	B-Application
2	I-Application
were	O
given	O
away	O
prior	O
to	O
its	O
official	O
release	O
in	O
September	O
1998	O
,	O
was	O
scheduled	O
to	O
begin	O
in	O
July	O
1998	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
pushed	O
back	O
as	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
not	O
close	O
to	O
release	O
quality	O
at	O
the	O
point	O
at	O
which	O
the	O
EAP	O
was	O
scheduled	O
to	O
start	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
creatures	B-Application
themselves	O
had	O
been	O
provided	O
with	O
"	O
considerably	O
more	O
sensory	O
input	O
,	O
more	O
actions	O
they	O
can	O
take	O
,	O
and	O
improved	O
brain	O
dynamics	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
release	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
suffered	O
from	O
numerous	O
flaws	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
deficient	O
Norn	O
genome	O
that	O
lead	O
to	O
a	O
condition	O
dubbed	O
"	O
One	O
Hour	O
Stupidity	O
Syndrome	O
(	O
OHSS	O
)	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
caused	O
Norns	B-Application
to	O
forget	O
basic	O
survival	O
skills	O
such	O
as	O
eating	O
and	O
sleeping	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
task	O
of	O
creating	O
the	O
new	O
Norn	O
genome	O
was	O
given	O
to	O
Sandra	O
Linkletter	O
(	O
Slink	O
)	O
,	O
who	O
was	O
also	O
a	O
member	O
of	O
the	O
Creatures	B-Application
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
development	O
,	O
many	O
problems	O
emerged	O
,	O
most	O
likely	O
due	O
to	O
disagreements	O
between	O
Slink	O
and	O
the	O
Creatures	B-Application
2	I-Application
team	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
200,000	O
copies	O
of	O
Creatures	B-Application
2	I-Application
were	O
immediately	O
shipped	O
upon	O
its	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Creatures	B-Application
2	I-Application
was	O
considered	O
"	O
much	O
more	O
difficult	O
"	O
than	O
C1	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
new	O
,	O
more	O
challenging	O
environment	O
and	O
norn	O
biology	O
was	O
described	O
as	O
frustrating	O
,	O
but	O
that	O
after	O
installing	O
a	O
new	O
genome	O
and	O
going	O
through	O
successive	O
generations	O
,	O
the	O
Norns	B-Application
seemed	O
smarter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nick	O
Walkland	O
described	O
the	O
gameplay	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
labour	O
of	O
love	O
"	O
,	O
noting	O
that	O
the	O
challenge	O
was	O
to	O
sustain	O
your	O
Norns	B-Application
 '	O
lives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sid	O
Fisk	O
of	O
Gamezilla	O
criticized	O
the	O
audio	O
for	O
Creatures	B-Application
2	I-Application
for	O
not	O
alerting	O
him	O
when	O
his	O
creature	O
was	O
near-death	O
,	O
but	O
playing	O
a	O
"	O
funeral	O
dirge	O
"	O
as	O
the	O
body	O
left	O
the	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
