Alien Garden

Alien Garden was one of the first non-game "software toys" released. It was designed in 1982 by Bernie DeKoven and programmed by virtual reality pioneer, Jaron Lanier, and it was designed with an emphasis on the need for experimentation. Gameplay consists of a side-scrolling world covered in 24 different kinds of crystalline flowers resembling gypsum flowers. The player controls an embryonic animal as it grows, survives and reproduces through 20 generations. Difficulty is introduced through the lack of instructions in the game. As such, the player must employ trial and error techniques to determine which flowers are edible, which flowers shrink or grow when you sting them, and which flowers are fatal or explosive when touched. The...