
Key items in the story are gold and silver scrolls. 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. The player takes on the role of a god ruling over several islands populated by various tribes.

An expansion, Black & White: Creature Isle, and sequel, Black & White 2, followed.Ī Norse village at the beginning. Later re-reviews of the game considered it to have been overrated at the time. 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. Versions for games consoles were in development, but were cancelled.īlack & White received universal acclaim on release reviewers praised the artificial intelligence, uniqueness, and depth, although the system requirements and bugs were criticised. Black & White was written from scratch, and the intention was to have the main user interface free of icons, buttons, and panels. Peter Molyneux led the three-year development of the highly anticipated game, originally to feature wizards instead of gods. Multiplayer is supported over a local network or online.


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. A primary theme is the concept of good and evil, with the atmosphere being affected by the player's moral choices. The player acts as a god whose goal is to defeat Nemesis, another god who wants to take over the world. Black & White combines elements of artificial life and strategy.

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.
