Cell Tune

Cell Tune is a life simulation game. You design creatures on a microscopic level and let them fight with other organisms.

 Building your creatures is easy: There are five different cell types that you can combine in any way you want. But designing an organism that can strive is not quite so simple. You have to consider the level layout and many different construction tradeoffs: Little organisms can reproduce very fast but are also quickly eaten by bigger ones. Aggressive creatures can decimate your enemies, but they are also more likely to digest their own children by accident. And you probably don’t want an organism that just swims against a wall all the time.

The game has a tutorial, 12 levels and a level editor. The level editor can be used for local multiplayer.

FAQ:

Why is there no kick drum like I was promised in the trailer?

Unfortunately, I had to remove the kick drum because it made the music click and pop sometimes. But the good news is that the game will be 50% off, as long as I don't get around to including the kick drum again. Yay!

This makes me sad. Is there a way to turn the kick drum back on?

Rejoice! There is a way to turn it back on. Just install PureData, then go to media/PureData/pd_cellTune_nik2.pd, then go to menuMusic -> drums and connect pd kick with pd submixer drums.

Wait, does this mean I can change up the music system in any way I want?

Yes, it does. The possibilities with this are endless! (the same thing applies to the graphics btw)

Will there be a Steam version?

No plans for that. The game will probably stay an itch.io exclusive. If this game will sell a million copies I might reconsider.

This game made me realize that complex behaviour can emerge from quite simple rules. Can I use this game to build a human creature having a real soul?

Glad you ask. It might be possible. But please consider the ethical implications before you do so!

Do you have other games?

Yes! Please check out my latest game. It's called Wildfox Surfing Paradise and it's a surfing game based on a sophisticated fluid simulation.

Credits:

Niklas Riewald - Game Design + Programming + some Art

Filippo Beck Peccoz - Sound Design + Music

Katri Müller - Art

Special thanks to Thomas Wellmann for his help with the game.

Changelog

03.09.2019: 

• Fixed issue where Linux version was starting in very low resolution
• Bundled java 8 with Linux version to make the manual download of java unnecessary and because the game does not seem to work with newer versions

05.09.2019: 

• Fixed issue where the game crashed on start on some computers