It is hard to say exactly what one thing makes this genome different, because I rebuilt almost all of it! For example, these Norns have properly balanced biochemistry. You may have observed that Chichi Norns often have an excess of adipose tissue in their body, and even if they have plenty of carbohydrates in their body, they are always hungry for them. This has been fixed in the Gizmo genome.

In addition, these Norns can not become super breeders as easily as a Chichi, that means overpopulation of excess eggs is less likely to occur. This is because in the past a single gene mutation could create a Norn that could reproduce without any time spent recovering from a successful mating. Also, the reproductive system has been improved with more stable make up in other areas. While all these changes make for a more realistic reproductive system, this genome also contains a self limiting gene that when present can hold the original pregnancy until adulthood, this is intended to help slow down crossbreeds that may still contain unnatural reproductive abilities.

Gizmo Norns have a modified life span. These norns live about 5 hours, but when out crossed they may grow fairly fast with a shorter then normal life, or they may grow very slowly and have a longer then normal life. Either way, reproduction is limited by this new factor. Of course, having variable life spans also adds a bit of diversity to your population which was the real goal of this project.

The biochemical changes were done to encourage more variation in evolution and more realistic genetic mutations. Chichi Norns have instincts designed to make them easy to raise, Gizmo Norns have instincts to give their brain the general idea of what to do with something, rather then preprogramming them with everything they will ever need to know. Because of this fundamental change in basic brain programming, Gizmo Norns posses different likes and dislikes based on their life experiences, and are more open to natural selection. The downside, however, is that some baby Gizmo will not live to adulthood do to poor choices, such as eating weeds on a regular basis.

Perhaps the most notable change in these norns is their habit of picking up eggs and dropping them off at the norn home. This is accomplished through the combination of mild instincts and modified stimuli.

Besides adding a few new instincts, other instincts have been reduce in potency, some impractical ones have been removed completely (such as push button when bored) and some newer ones have been added to balance things out (such as eat leaf). In general, the instincts no longer favor any one behavior but encourage norns to try sampling eatables and explore their surroundings. Because of this new harmony in instincts (based on instincts found in real animals) these norns tend to develop their own unique personalities, and what you may think is part of their genetics, turns out to in fact be more a result of their environment. This genome is leading the way in what I hope to be a new era in creatures, were balance in body and mind can be met to encourage further growth of not only the individual, but the species as well. Expect more things to push on these dreams at this web site in the future.