Editing SimLife

{{Short description|1992 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
|title = SimLife: The Genetic Playground
|image = SimLifeCover.jpg
|caption = Cover art featuring different hybrid creatures
|developer = [[Maxis]]
|publisher = Maxis
|producer = Jim Siefert
|designer = Ken Karakotsios
|programmer = Daniel Goldman<br>Rodney Lai
|artist = Jenny Martin<br>Bonnie Borucki
|composer = [[Russell Lieblich]]
|engine = 
|series = ''[[List of Sim video games|Sim]]''
|released = 1992<br>1993 (Amiga)
|genre = [[Life simulation game|Life simulation]]
|modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]]
|platforms = [[Macintosh]], [[MS-DOS]], [[Windows 3.1x|Windows 3.x]], [[Amiga]]
}}
'''''SimLife: The Genetic Playground''''' is a [[video game]] produced by [[Maxis]] in 1992.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mobygames.com/game/simlife |title=SimLife: The Genetic Playground At MobyGames |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717175416/http://www.mobygames.com/game/simlife |archivedate=2014-07-17 }}</ref> The concept of the game is to simulate an [[ecosystem]]; players may modify the [[genetics]] of the plants and animals that inhabit the [[virtual world]]. The point of this game is to experiment and create a self-sustaining ecosystem. ''SimLife'' was re-released in 1993 as part of the ''SimClassics Volume 1'' compilation, alongside ''[[SimCity (1989 video game)|SimCity Classic]]'' and ''[[SimAnt]]'' for PC, Mac and Amiga.<ref>{{cite magazine|title = SimClassics Volume 1 Compilation Advertisement|date = August 1994|url = https://archive.org/details/theone-magazine-70/page/n115|magazine = The One|publisher = emap Images|issue = 70|page = 116}}</ref>

==Development==
[[Image:SimLife.PNG|thumb|200px|right|''SimLife'' running on [[Windows Vista]]]]
The producers of ''SimLife'' refer to it as "The Genetic Playground". The game allows users to explore the interaction of life-forms and environments. Users can manipulate the genetics of both plants and animals to determine whether these new species could survive in the Earth's various environments. Players can also create new worlds with distinctive environments to see how certain species (earth's species or their own) fare within them.

''SimLife'' gives players the power to:

* Create and modify worlds.
* Create and modify plants and animals at the genetic level. Exclusive animals appearing in this game are the Killer Penguin, the Monkeyphant, and the Orgot.
* Design environments and ecosystems.
* Study genetics in action.
* Simulate and control evolution.
* Change the physics of the universe in your computer.

==Reception==
''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' in 1993 praised ''SimLife'', stating that "By neatly bridging the gap between entertainment and education, ''SL'' brings the engrossing science of genetics within reach of any interested person".<ref name="eden199304">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=105 |title=Last one in the gene pool is a... |magazine=Computer Gaming World |date=April 1993 |accessdate=6 July 2014 |author=Eden, Maxwell |pages=56 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702235842/http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=105 |archivedate=2 July 2014 }}</ref> 
Games Finder gave ''SimLife'' a score of 7 out of 10.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gameslikefinder.com/simlife-genetic-playground/ |title=Simlife Genetic Playground Review - Games Finder |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625021919/http://gameslikefinder.com/simlife-genetic-playground |archivedate=2014-06-25 }}</ref>

In 1993, ''SimLife'' received a [[Software and Information Industry Association#CODiE Awards|Codie award]] from the [[Software Publishers Association]] for Best Simulation.<ref name="cgw199305">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=106 |title=Awards - Thy Name Is Controversy |magazine=Computer Gaming World |date=May 1993 |accessdate=7 July 2014 |pages=146 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702235910/http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=106 |archivedate=2 July 2014 }}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[Spore (2008 video game)|Spore]]''
* ''[[Impossible Creatures]]''
* ''[[L.O.L.: Lack of Love]]''
* ''[[Evolution: The Game of Intelligent Life]]''
* ''[[E.V.O.: Search for Eden]]''
* ''[[Creatures (artificial life program)|Creatures]]''
* ''[[SimEarth]]''
* ''[[Unnatural Selection (video game)]]''

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{moby game|id=/simlife|name=''SimLife''}}
* [https://archive.org/details/msdos_SimLife_1992 SimLife : Maxis] at the [[Internet Archive]]
* [https://www.lemonamiga.com/games/docs.php?id=1455 Manual]

{{Sim series|sim-misc=yes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simlife}}
[[Category:1992 video games]]
[[Category:Amiga games]]
[[Category:Amiga 1200 games]]
[[Category:Classic Mac OS games]]
[[Category:DOS games]]
[[Category:God games]]
[[Category:Biological simulation video games]]
[[Category:Maxis Sim games]]
[[Category:Video games about evolution]]
[[Category:Video games about genetic engineering]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
[[Category:Video games scored by Mark Knight]]
[[Category:Video games scored by Russell Lieblich]]
[[Category:Windows games]]
[[Category:Single-player video games]]