Black and white
BackYou can play as God
| Black & White | |
|---|---|
 PC "black" cover | |
| Developer(s) | Lionhead Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts Feral Interactive (Mac) |
| Director(s) | Steve Jackson |
| Designer(s) | Peter Molyneux |
| Programmer(s) | Peter Molyneux Mark Webley Jonty Barnes |
| Artist(s) | Paul McLaughlin Mark Healey Andy Bass Christian Bravery |
| Writer(s) | James Leach |
| Composer(s) | Russell Shaw |
| Platform(s) | Mac OS, Microsoft Windows |
| Release | Windows
|
| Genre(s) | Simulation, god game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Black & White is a god video game developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows in 2001 and by Feral Interactive in 2002 for Mac OS. Black & White combines elements of artificial life and strategy. The player acts as a god whose goal is to defeat Nemesis, another god who wants to take over the world. A primary theme is the concept of good and evil, with the atmosphere being affected by the player's moral choices. The core gameplay mechanic of Black & White is the interaction between the player and an avatar creature, who carries out the players instructions and whose personality and behaviour change in reaction to how they are treated. Multiplayer is supported over a local network or online.
Peter Molyneux led the three-year development of the highly anticipated game, originally to feature wizards instead of gods. Black & White was written from scratch, and the intention was to have the main user interface free of icons, buttons, and panels. Versions for games consoles were in development, but were cancelled.
Black & White received universal acclaim on release; reviewers praised the artificial intelligence, uniqueness, and depth, although the system requirements and bugs were criticised. Black & White won awards from several organisations, including the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the Guinness World Record for the complexity of the artificial intelligence, selling over two million copies. Later re-reviews of the game considered it to have been overrated at the time, but was nevertheless considered one of the greatest games of all time. An expansion, Black & White: Creature Isle, and sequel, Black & White 2, followed.
Gameplay[edit]
The player takes on the role of a god ruling over several islands populated by various tribes. The player interacts with the environment via an animated, on-screen hand, that is used to throw people and objects, tap houses to wake their occupants, cast miracles, and perform other actions.[1] Key items in the story are gold and silver scrolls. Gold scrolls initiate a significant event (including the main story), and silver ones a minor task to perform for a reward.[2]
Nearly every action (or lack thereof) affects how the player is judged by their followers: the player may be seen as a good god, an evil one, or in-between the two. The land, interface (including the hand), and music change according to that alignment. A good god's temple is brightly coloured, while an evil god's is designed to look intimidating.[3][4] It is not necessary to consistently perform acts of either alignment and a mixture of the two can be used to stay neutral. The player has two advisors, one good and the other evil, who try to persuade the player to do things according to their alignment.[5][6]
An important task is expanding the villages, by constructing buildings and increasing the number of villagers. Important buildings include houses, the Village Centre (which displays the god who controls the village and the available miracles), and the Village Store (which stores resources and displays the villagers' desires). Buildings are created in the Workshop after obtaining blueprints.[7] Wonders are special buildings granting a specific benefit. Villagers belong to one of eight tribes, such as Norse, Celtic, or Japanese, each having a different Wonder.[8] Villagers can be assigned to perform a specific task such as fishing or starting a family.[9] If the Temple is destroyed, the game is lost.[10] When attacked, Temples transfer damage to their god's buildings and followers in defence; only Temples whose god has no followers are vulnerable.[11]
The Temple is surrounded by sites where villagers worship, generating the power needed to cast miracles. Villagers require feeding, healing or rest to worship. How many villagers worship is controlled at the Village Centre, and which miracles are available depends on those available at the player's villages.[12] Miracles include providing food or wood, healing people, and providing shields to protect an area.[13] Miracles can also be cast by using Miracle Dispensers, a common reward for completing Silver Reward Scrolls. These allow the casting of a miracle without worship.[14] Miracles can only be cast, and most other actions performed, within the player's area of influence, which can be extended by expanding the population of villages owned, or by taking over others.[15] Miracles can be selected at the Temple or Village Centre, or by performing certain gestures with the Hand.[16] Power can also be produced by sacrificing living beings at the altar.[17]
The general goal of a level is to gain control over every village on an island, accomplished through acts that persuade the villagers to believe in the player. Villagers can be swayed by everything from assistance with day-to-day tasks to being terrorised by fireballs and lightning storms.[18] Artefacts (special objects that glow in their owner's colour) and missionary disciples can be used to impress villagers.[19] Villagers become bored with repetitive attempts to impress them. For example, if boulders fly overhead too frequently, their effect is lost. This forces the player to use multiple methods to convert a village.[20]
The game features a skirmish mode, where other gods are battled for control of an island, a multiplayer mode over a local area network (LAN) or an online service, and The God's Playground, where gameplay aspects can be practised. In multiplayer mode, deathmatch and cooperative modes are available.[21][22] In cooperative mode, players share a creature.[23] Black & White includes a feature enabling the import of real weather.[24]