''Niche: A Genetics Survival Game'' is a simulation video game developed and published by Stray Fawn Studio. It entered

early access Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release Software release life cycle, developm ...

for

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OS X macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

, and

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

-based systems in September 2016 after a successful

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

crowd-funding campaign and was released in September 2017. Its main aim is to breed certain traits or genes into a group of canine or feline creatures to make the pack genetically perfect for its environment.

Gameplay

The game starts off with the player choosing story mode, a quick how-to tutorial or sandbox mode, where the player chooses their animals and terrain for their tribes and environment and a short cut-scene of a tribe of nichelings living on an island. A large bird takes a child niche and tries to fly off with him but he falls onto a random island. This starts off the game by playing as a nicheling named Adam and the tutorial level. Game play and turns are organized into "days" which gives each animal a few actions of play each day. Niche's game mechanics were inspired by

population genetics Population genetics is a subfield of genetics that deals with genetic differences within and among populations, and is a part of evolutionary biology. Studies in this branch of biology examine such phenomena as Adaptation (biology), adaptation, s ...

and effectively provide what is considered a fairly realistic genetic gaming experience. Animals can perish due to illness, injury, and even old age, so learning what will help them thrive with consideration to their living environment is key to not only building a solid tribe, but winning the game as well. Niche simulates over 100 genes, houses 4 different biomes with each having their very own predators, plants, and prey. Within the 100 available genes, there are characteristic options which a player can choose in order to realistically develop their own animal species, some of which detail physical characteristics, disease immunity, fertility, and overall dexterity. There are additional genetic options available as the player unlocks and utilizes new environments and events in-game.

Development

''Niche'' was crowdfunded on

. It was inspired by ''Creatures'', ''

Spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual reproduction, sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for biological dispersal, dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores fo ...

'', and ''

Don't Starve ''Don't Starve'' is a 2013 survival game developed and published by Klei Entertainment. The game was initially released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux on April 23, 2013. A PlayStation 4 port, renamed ''Don't Starve: Giant Edition'', ...

''. It entered

in 2016. Stray Fawn did not advertise ''Niche'' during early access and charged a higher price than at release. Stray Fawn reasoned that this would build a dedicated and engaged community. The world and all the animals are procedurally generated. It was released on 21 September 2017. In 2019, ''Niche'' was made free for educational use in schools.

Reception

Zachary Miller, an associate editor at ''Nintendo World Report'', states that the game seems geared more towards science and learning than about gaming. Miller likens this genetics driven game to North Star Games' ''

Evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

'' tabletop game, and wonders where the creative charm is, and notes that the format is clearly developed for PC play and not handheld action because of the many "mouse over" prompts that are filtered into the menu. Miller found the game to be generic in totality and fairly uninteresting.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://niche-game.com/ 2017 video games Indie games Kickstarter-funded video games Linux games MacOS games Biological simulation video games Video games about evolution Video games developed in Switzerland Windows games