Biosphere

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.