SimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony is a computer simulation game created by Maxis and released in 1991 . It is the third game in the Sim series after SimCity and SimEarth . The game received an award from the Codie award software association as the best simulator of the year [1] . The game was created in collaboration with Edward Wilson , a famous biologist who studied the social behavior of ants in colonies [2] [3] . The game was released for the IBM PC , Commodore Amiga , Apple Macintosh, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System .
| Simant | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developers | Maxis |
| Publisher | Maxis |
| Date of issue | 1991 |
| Genre | life simulator |
| Creators | |
| Game designer | Will Wright , Justin Mahmormick |
| Technical details | |
| Platforms | Amiga , DOS , SNES , Windows 3.x , Mac OS , NEC PC-9801 |
| Game mode | single user |
| Carriers | cartridge or cd |
| Control | keyboard and mouse |
Will Wright in the process of developing the game first thought about creating a human simulator, which will be implemented in The Sims in the future [4] .
Content
Gameplay
The player controls the yellow ant, which belongs to the black colony of ants, consisting at the beginning of one uterus . A guided ant should look after it and bring food so that the uterus can breed. The main enemy for a lone ant is a spider and predatory insects that can eat an ant at any time; on the other hand, a flock of ants can attack any large insect in order to use it as food, such as caterpillars. If the ant dies, then a new yellow ant, hatched from the cocoon, falls under the control of the player. The main action takes place within the area where the man lives with a cat and a dog, the area is divided into cells, in one of which at the beginning there is an ant colony. The player’s goal is to spread the colony to more cells in the plot and to expel the colony of red ants, which is the main rival for black ants and in parallel will try to extend its influence over the plot. The ultimate goal of the player is to spread the colony throughout the site, including around the house, in order to force his master to leave the house. Thus, the game is different from most games in the Sim series, where the game can continue indefinitely. The game has natural disasters that can destroy a significant part of the location or anthill, namely: an attack of predatory insects, human steps, a lawn mower and rain. The game ends with a loss if the site falls completely under the control of the red ants.
Criticism
Critics of the 178 issue of Dragon magazine rated the game 5 out of 5 [5] . Critics of Computer Gaming World magazine also praised the game, noting its unusual and unpredictable strategy, which will undoubtedly bring a lot of pleasure to players, in particular students [6] .
Notes
- ↑ 1992 Excellence in Software Awards Winners: Best Simulation Program . Date of treatment July 28, 2017. Archived December 11, 2008.
- ↑ Baker, Chris . The Creator (August 2012).
- ↑ Seabrook, John Game Master . The New Yorker . Condé Nast (November 6, 2006). Date of treatment July 29, 2014. Archived July 22, 2014.
- ↑ Will Wright Chat Transcript Archived July 20, 2009. , Jan 8, 2004 - SimCity.com
- ↑ Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk. The Role of Computers (Eng.) // Dragon . - 1992 .-- February ( no. 178 ). - P. 57-64 .
- ↑ Eden, Maxwell . The Game Is Afoot , Computer Gaming World (March 1992), S. 44. Date of treatment November 24, 2013.
Links
- SimAnt on GameFAQs (PC version)