Biosphere

## Description

_Biosphere_ can be seen as some sort of precursor to the more known Maxis
game SimLife. The player assumes the role of captain and ecologist on the
starship Arkworld, the task is the survival of a colony of (randomized) alien
lifeforms on a newly discovered planet. To fulfill it, animals and plants from
the Arkworld’s cargo hold can be added, with the goal to create a functioning,
self-supporting ecosystem.

By using the icon-driven interface, the environment as well as traits of the
native colony and the species on board the ship can be examined. Various
factors, such as the atmospheric elements that are expelled/inhaled and food
habits play a role. The Arkworld contains two hundred species of animals and
plants of randomized quantity, and there is also a limited option of genetic
engineering, that may not necessarily produce the desired characteristics. To
make the simulation run it’s course, the integrated time-control is locked
into hypertime mode. The game will then run until all native animals are
perished or the stability of the created ecology is proven for sixty-five
thousand days. A save option is included.

Biosphere