One of the nicest things about running a tiny independent game studio these days is that, more and more, people work remotely. My wife, Carla, and I, who make up the core of the team, are no exception. While we are based in San Francisco, Carla is originally from Italy, and so we migrate over to the 'old country' every year for a couple of months in the fall. Working from here is not much different in terms of communication, since almost everyone we work with is part of our 'virtual office' anyway, and we all keep in touch using instant messenger, email and phone. One thing, however, changes a lot--our environment.

A Change in Landscape

Just as our little villagers from Virtual Villagers: A New Home need a change in environment, so do we. And one can certainly inspire the other. We find that our changed surroundings here in Italy give us inspiration and ideas that we would never have thought of. Even the name of the island, Isola, is taken from the Italian word for--guess what?--"Island."

In the past we had taken inspiration from the flowers and plants of these regions, and brought them into our games. This time we have been getting ideas from historic buildings and ruins here, and we will bring some new surprises in VV2 that we are having way too much fun with. We won't give too much away just yet, but while we are here in the land of fashion, here's a sneak peek at some of the hottest new 'looks' on the island:

We are leaving many of everyone's favorite original villagers in the next chapter, but we are introducing even more skins and villager combinations. We plan to increase the total number of possible unique villagers from almost 800 to 1800, so it will be less likely to see identical villagers in your tribe (unless someone had twins or triplets, of course!).

Making a Sequel

The original design of Virtual Villagers was done largely in Italy. Now as we are here again and working on Chapter 2, we are pondering the epic age-old question: What makes a sequel good? In my opinion, and judging from the abundance of failed movie sequels, it is a slippery question. It always comes back to this: What was fun about the original, and can you recreate that without just repeating the same thing you did before? We are not really trying to understand what was fun about the original Virtual Villagers. Instead, what we are trying to do is this: we are continuing to develop the story of Isola, which we are excited about and cannot wait to share with everyone. Secondly, we are adding new mechanics and enhancements to the gameplay rather than changing or removing existing ones. First a quick review of the story...

The Story So Far...

Virtual Villagers: A New Home began with a small group of villagers who fled their island home when it was destroyed by a volcano. They landed on this new island, which was almost a perfect paradise and a great chance for them to start a new life. As they established themselves, however, they found many signs of a past village there, as well as hints at a magical presence on the island. The game concludes with them finding additional evidence that they were not the first culture to establish itself on this stretch of beach. Chapter Two of Virtual Villagers will pick up where this one left off, with even more conclusive evidence of this other civilization, and some hints of a troubling history on the island. Where is this other tribe? Why did they disappear or flee? Is Isola not the sanctuary that it appears to be for the small lost tribe? What is the source of the magic of the island?

Back to the Sandbox

I always enjoy adding new features and mechanics to the game, and the next chapter of Virtual Villagers will go beyond just continuing the story. First, we are adding some features that have been widely requested by players. Unofficially, the top 5 requested features have probably been:

1) A more satisfying ending
2) Ancestry info (who begot who)
3) Some mechanism to change the villagers' clothes
4) More things to do during the slow moments
5) Dynamic/moving water, and other graphics improvements

We have already implemented changes that address each of those issues, and by all means if you are inspired, feel free to tell us what else you would like to see changed/added in the next Virtual Villagers. Just post here because we read everything (and we take notes!).

Apart from these improvements we are adding 'more toys to the sandbox,' yet again. We do not want to drastically change the way the game can be played, so we are being careful to make theses new toys available, fun, hopefully engaging, but never mandatory! In VV1 if you liked to micro-manage your villagers, or if you like to hunt for mushrooms, you were free to do so, but never required...you could just check in from time to time. In VV2 we are extending this philosophy in the same way... adding things to do, but never forcing the player to do anything that they do not want to. Incidentally, the mushroom-gathering was also inspired by our surroundings here in Italy... on the weekends you will find the forests full of locals and farmers searching for the expensive and coveted porcini mushrooms, running through the hills like so many little villagers...

Arthur Humphrey is the founder and lead designer of Last Day of Work. He has developed numerous best-selling games on several platforms, including Fish Tycoon, Plant Tycoon and Virtual Villagers. Arthur, together with his wife and partner Carla, lovingly craft games that try to be innovative, engaging, and broadly accessible. Arthur can be contacted by commenting here, or directly at ahumphrey@ldw.com.

Developer Diary 1

Arthur, I do not think you could have put it better. To anyone reading this who has not played Virtual Villagers, I cannot say enough good things about it. There are even more aspects involved than what he mentioned above. This really is one of the greatest PC games I've played, and believe me, I've played em all.

i am so glad vv2 is so improved!!!! i really can't wait for when it comes out!!! i'm sure i'll love it! just one question: in vv1, did you know that you can change the villagers clothes by pressing F6? did you do it on purpose? anyway, love the game!!!!!!

Good tips! but How I can change back into their original clothes. I can't change back.

I THINK IT WOULD BE SO COOL IF VILLAGERS COULD GET MARRIED!WHAT DO U THINK???????????????

When will Virtual Villagers 2 be coming out? And actually I have 1 quick question about Virtual Villagers it says on the school house you can convert it a second time how do you do that?

P.S. I Love Virtual Villagers I play it at work all of the time LOL

hklim, sorry! you can't change the clothes back.

Jen, vv2 is coming out in winter, before christmas! also, you can't convert the school again, even though it says you can.

I enjoyed many things about virtual villagers. It would be nice if it was a randomized game. That way there could be different combinations of puzzles. It would make it a game that could have many lives, as it is; once it's solved that's pretty much it. I would also like to see a more satisfying ending. That could be randomised also.?? Thankyou for your hard work and the fun. All the best to you and yours.

how do u know its comin out in winter b4 christmas

is it true that vv2 is goin 2 be free 2 ppl who already own vv1

liam your biggest fan, i'm not 100% sure. i just heard it from other people, who say they heard it from the maker's website. :)

also, what will the system requirements for vv2? i have an old computer and i want to be able to play vv2. please answer!

what a great game !!!! love it !!! any idea what date the release of vv2 is? we cant wait:-)

rachel and darren mason, it is coming out in winter, before Christmas!

i have all the pieces of the puzzle and i would just like to know if once you get in2 the cave, is that it for vv1? or am i missing something?
The game seems to only half end? please tell me if i am missing something.

cool game but time go's by slow can you make it so you can go into the forest? and can you make it so there are slide showes of the guy hiding in the cave making a plan to? i l love the game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!@@@@@@@!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

your not missing anything it seemed to half end on mine to. i now that the game keepes going on even if you found out all the puzzuls!

Can anyone tell me if you can play the same game(tribe) on more than one PC. I have the game on my home PC and would like to put that tribe on my work PC but have been unsuccessful.

you said that you can have 800 little members of the tribe. my puzzle is complete but i can only get 90 people. what did i not do? please someone give me an answer.

I really liked the game. But like others has mentioned once you get the golden child and enter the game that is it. It is kinda of short. I still check on my people everyday. Sometimes they will find a new crate on the shore or a bottle of liquid. Which is neat but after playing you learn what to open what to drink and what to leave alone. I hope on VV2 that there is more of a challenge. More stuff to find and more stuff to contruct.

I would like to see the ancestrol history as well and also I would like to be notified before/when someone dies, not just open up my game and find dead remains and have to click on them to see which one of my people died. Marriage or being able to pair two together permanently would be nice as well. And adding more to do in the slow times is a nice edition as well. I would also like to see the mothers being able to do something when they have the babies beside nurse.. real villagers lives don't stop because they have kids... say maybe just do research or forage for berries or something... this truly is an awesome, addictive game.. I was so sad when I solved all the puzzles.. and I truly got involved with my people... it was bad when I got up in my population because at first it is easy to keep track of who you have but later it is almost impossible.

tony, it is in vv2 that you can have 800 people. for now, you can still only have 90 people.

What he said above was, "We plan to increase the total number of possible unique villagers from almost 800 to 1800, so it will be less likely to see identical villagers in your tribe (unless someone had twins or triplets, of course!)."

This means that the possible hair/skin/clothes/etc. combinations of the villagers was 800 in VV1, while in VV2, there will be more possible combinations of different-looking villagers. It doesn't mean that you can have 800 villagers in your village at one time.

Hope that answers your question, someone!

I really like this game do they sell it in stores as a cd-rom

As far as I understand it the max pop is 90 but those 90 people can be any of almost 800 unique models of villagers.

morbiDreamscape, thanx a lot! got mixed up there! :)

Greywolf210, i guess you're right! :)

Will VV2 be a free upgrade for ppl who own VV1? If not, how much will the download be?

It would really cool if, through the cave, you could go to the other side of the island. Also, it would be awesome if there were little tiny islands near Isola, and the villagers could build bridges and canoes. The space to establish youres
lage would be huge, but you would unlock a little at a time.

My husband and I both would like to see a way to search through your villagers. Especially when you get up to 90 villagers, and you're looking for that one villager X, it's a pain to arrow through all of your villagers. Much handier if you could search by who is sick, or search for a villager that is a certain age, or by name, or by skills...

I wish it would rain sometime. Villagers do a rain dance but no rain.

obie, yeah! i also hear thunder but it never rains!

When can I play virtual villagers 2?cause' I really really am obsessed wit virtual villagers even if all I play is the demos since I am broke.

Hmmm....still no answer to whether VV2 will be free or not....

I was hoping to see rain on VV2 as well. Is that thunder we hear at time while scrolling through the village?

Hurry and get VV2 out! I've played VV1 to death! How will we know when it has been released?

Stephanie, it's coming out in winter, before winter!

crystal, i just guessing but i don't think it's goin' to be free for people who bought the first one. just think, how would they make any money? so many people have bought the first virtual villagers! :)

i loved the first game i heard about it from my sister and we where both sad at the ending when nothing really happend i'm sill play even thoue i beat the game to see every thing that happens i chek on it like 2 times a week and i hope you make this one longer and me and my sister both really want to know when the second one is comeing out so plez post the progres it some where or somthing. thaks ps I LOVE YOUR GAMES

I just started the game online 3 days ago and yesterday all my villagers died except 2. I started over again but think I am missing something.

Wow, I saw this post now, so im al little late but never mind...
Oh my Good, i cannot wait for VV2 to come out!!!!

hi
i love the first vv but i found that it was to hard and took to long to get enough reaserch done to be able to update things so is it possible to find either another easier way to get the updates or maybe have the updates cost less reasearch it really was kinda a pain to have all my villagers focus on reaserch just to be able to get all lvls of farming and building etc just a thought thanx

Thanks for all the feedback, as always, everyone!

Of the above comments, I have to say I keep thinking about allowing the player to sort villagers by age, health, etc. I'm looking into that.

Also, "Virtual Villagers: A New Home" is available in Best Buy stores everywhere now, in case you have been waiting for it to come out on CD!

Arthur

Personally I think the Golden Child is the worst feature, especially when he continuously distracts you by holding endless meetings and dancing in the centre of the village. And his "quick fix" solving of the last puzzles takes much of the fun out of the problem solving. Perhaps VV2 could involve a popular uprising to drown him...!?

Arthur Humphrey, NNNOOO!!!! don't leave yet, you still haven't answered many of our questions!!!!!! (but glad you read them!) :)

Please, don't anyone think I'm ignorant, but I read above that VV2 can now be purchased at Best Buy if we're waiting for the CD. My question is: Does that mean the CD can be played on my computer? Someone please answer!

Gracipie,

I think Arthur was saying that Virtual Villagers 1: A New Home (current game that is out) is now available at Best Buy: You can go to any Best Buy store to purchase or purchase at at their online store.

If you purchase the game on CD, it should play on your PC.

VV2 is not out yet but will be in the near future. Be sure to come back to read future Developer Diary entries to learn more about the upcoming game.

Thanks,
Joel

I cannot wait, I cannot wait, I CANNOT WAIT!!!!! :))

Joel, thank you so much for your help. I guess I'm a little impatient waiting for VV2 and got the two mixed up. I was honestly ready to head to our nearest Best Buy today, which is about 25 miles from here! Good thing I checked this weblog first! Thank you again!

Some questions/ideas for VV2: I agree with all of the changes mentioned so far. Here are some thoughts:
(1) Realty/Land Ownership: How come nobody is trying to escape from the island or break free from the colony? Looking for new islands &/or buying/owning land on different parts of the island?
(2)Infrastructural Development: Maybe they could learn how to build fires, build different boats, windmills/watermills (for energy to run primitive mountain lifts), Raw material buildings, food processing stations, clothes manufacturer, or even BBQ huts (cooked food). For example, take the "wild beast" to the BBQ Shack & they will make meat or take the "wild beast" to the tailor (processing station) & he will make different clothes.
(3) Wildlife: If they are in a jungle paradise, where are all of the wild animals? How about having pets, wild animals for hunting/foood, or different plant combinations to make herbal medicines from. Then researchers can learn new cures by mixing plants that they find on different parts of the island or different islands. If there were certain plants or animal skins, they could make different types of clothes from them. (That could incorporate new challenges to the game even after you have solved it). You can use the research station to help set up new industries so that if you keep playing the game forever you may uncover more possibilites. Also, when a crate washes up on shore, maybe there could be an option to research the items in the crate & use it for more creative possibilities (that will inspire people to keep playing even after they have solved the mystery)
(4) Hygiene: How come nobody takes a bath, but everybody looks so clean? Yet people on the island still do laundry. How do 90 people live in 3 huts? More huts for VV2. I think that the more people in a hut, the more likely there should be a disease outbreak. There should be some type of sanitation device in the next game; a medical breakthrough --> "Outhouse". Maybe some technology that Doctors/Researchers they learned from the natives.
(5) The New Island: I assume there will be a new species &/or race of people in VV2 that will talk a different language. So a challenge could be to have teachers/interpretors learn the native language of the island & then teach the tribe. This will take up time learning & teaching both cultures. I think we need to add "Teachers" to the list of functions that we can assign village people to do. Once the village learns the language, then they can unlock a mystery as to why the original inhabitants fled in the first place & blocked the cave. The Teachers can also teach the children something in school too. Also, how about more functions for the Doctors(learn the native medicines; family planning; check up on elderly patients & weakened patients; have an outdoor clinic), Researchers (go find the plants to make medicines;not just standing at a desk all day/all night; maybe setup remote research stations), & less functions for the Potent Breeders (I get vexed when I come back to the computer & see how my population jumped overnight. How about new names for the data bank or being able to name the child before it is born?
(6) Nursing Mothers: If the mother is not in the center of the village when she stops nursing,her child appears in the center village (regardless of where she is), then you can't see what her child looks like. If you have 8 mothers in the center, all bred at the same time, then at least 8 children pop up on the screen at the same time in random locations. Also,why are these mothers in the center of the village doing nothing? I agree with previous ideas for giving pregnant mothers something more to do.
Those are all of my thoughts for now.

sher, you have some pretty good ideas! love em'!!!!

First, I'd like to say that I love your game. I
have some suggestions for the next one.

It would be great to have different areas of the
island they can go to, instead of always being in
the same place.

Also, I agree with one of the other postings that
it would be nice to have different combinations of
puzzles or something so the game could have more
lives.

Those were the 2 things I didn't like the most about the game - nowhere different to go & then it just ends & there's nothing else to do. I would love for it to not really have an end but have more continuous play.

Also, being able to build homes for each family & set them up in homes would be great. Maybe have
more talents for them & things they can create.

It would also be neat to have more choices - not just washed up crates & bottles of liquid - lots of random choices that would really make some things happen would be great.

One more thing, I kept thinking something would come of the eyes blinking in the cave - how about expanding on that? Maybe have some dangerous creature that comes out once in a while & can reek havoc & some way they need to protect themselves or something.

I'm hoping a lot more can be incorporated into the new game. Looking forward to it!!

I can't wait for the new VV2 to come out. I agree with the posting about it takes forever just to get to the next level of research for one of the Techs. and If the Golden Child is going to be in the next one maybe he can do more things other than holding parties all the time. He was helpful at restoring crops though

How about some weather. Rain could damage houses (work for builders) and wash away crops (work for farmers). Sunny weather could improve growth of crops and plants. Lightning could cause all sort of magical things to happen.

how about more things for the kids to do other than finding mushrooms and going to school? they could help the adults with somethings. and when I was looking at the map on VV1 I noticed a clearing on the left side...can we go to that part of the island on VV1? Just a wonderin'

One more question: How will we know when VV2 is out and ready to purchase...and WHERE will it be sold? Anyone know?

Make a link between VV1 and VV2. And researchers find a boy incased in crystal,get him out created a robotic suit put him in it then discover his name is Calvin J. Ake

Awesome, I think I'll actually get VV2 this time :)

One or two ideas - loved VV1 but needs more surprises in the next one.
How about livestock, hens, goats/sheep? some of the farmers could learn to keep the livestock and get extra food, or in the case of the goats or sheep get wool/skins which other villagers could learn to make into clothes or rugs/cloth. so they could learn a new trade as WEAVERS.

they could meet other inhabitants of the island and excess food/clothing could be traded for other things like medicine, timber for houses, weapons against wild beasts or tools.

As the village grows there may be disputes. Could there be a leader or leaders to settle disputes?

Could the builders learn to make boats to travel to other parts of the island, or other islands, and encounter surprises there, more food, medicine, disease or artifacts, tools, crates, bottles, magical items?

I also like the idea of a warrior class, to defend the children, elderly and livestock against wild beasts.

Anyway, as VV2 seems to be almost here these ideas may be a bit late in the day, but as I undrstand VV is supposed to be a series, maybe they could come in for VV3

everyone has wonderful ideas! love em' all! :)

In vv2 if there is going to be a golden child who has every skill it would be great to have them grow up so it could be useful. It would also be nice if the golden child could be a girl. They should die of old age as well as an island event. Then the golden child could randomly be born every few generations. It would be nice if there could be a pair or triplets of golden children. The graveyard should be changed to a wall of remembrance so after the first 50 villagers die you can have a record of all tribes people who passed with their pictures. It would also be nice to have more than 90 people if your computer can handle it.

So Iv finished the game but all of a sudden my vilagers are seeing something unusual right near the treasure. is there anything im missing?

Arthur, I thoroughly enjoy your game Virtual Village 1 and eagerly looking forward to Virtual Village 2. In reading your dairy, Virtual Village 2 sounds promisingly engaging.

As a Human Development major and an interest in sociology, the features of the game are appealing for me. I am not a “gamer,” spending tremendous amounts of time playing PC games; however, Virtual Village offers me an enjoyable reprieve from my busy schedule. In this regard I favor that the game, once started and the puzzles solved, can be left to itself. Often I am pleasantly surprised when I return to see how my little villagers are doing.

I would like to give a few suggestions on Virtual Village 2:

1) Although, VW 2 will have an ending, please consider expanding the game by having Isola explored in piecemeal, perhaps having a VW 3 and 4. Thus dividing the island into quarters.
2) Adding the feature of more then one ending and/or create several variations in puzzle-solving would certainly generate a more interesting gameplay.
3) Increased community involvement in the children’s socialization process. Perhaps having teachers educating small groups of children in plants, herbs, farming, building and the like.
4) Please do add an extensive gemology with patriarchs and/or matriarchs. Perhaps giving players an option of which type of society. Undoubtedly this would be appealing to female players.
5) As the villager’s advances, incorporating a tribal leader (a villager that masters all the skills) along with a group of village elders/counsel-persons (male and female) that the leader would confer with. This could be made as one of the puzzles.

Hopefully my suggestions are not too late. If not in Virtual Village 2, then perhaps you may wish to give consideration to these in Virtual Village 3. Thanks for creating a very unique game.

the game is very expensive and you finish it in a short time please please make vv2 longer or an ending where its not boring to keep play like dont have a max popluation and more puzzles and more than three level of tech point or more than 6 tech chooses
and i think if you have the first one you should get a discount on the second i think this would push people to buy both rather than just numberr 2
Please listen to my comments and use them
Thanks
Tia Curry

Jeanine, yeah, i've got it happen to me too. maybe a clue for vv2???? :)

arthur wen is it coming out will it be in time for christmas can i put it on my chirstmas list plzplzplz reply

I think it should have something that says when youve won. In vv1 icompleted all the puzzles and never got an ending or anything. You should be able to gather coconuts.

I haven't heard about that and the game is said to end after the cave is opened even if they keep on going on

After the rock is moved will they be able to go through the cave to another part of the island. That seems to make more sense. It would be like a continueation. Start it the normal way as with the 1st one. Sugestion: Have all 6 villagers move the rock and walk through the cave to the other side of the island. There they will start there journey. I also think you should start with 8 people instead of 6. I know when I fist played the game you had 7 people I dont know where I lost one. Everytime I start the game it starts with 6. I love this game and wish you all would hurry up with #2. We need more games like this I think they are the best out there.

I HAD A GREAT IDEA, HOW ABOUT THE KIDS HAVE DIFFERENT SKILL THAT THEY SLOWLY LOSE GROWING UP (BECIDES MUSHROOM PICKING) OR MABEY LIKE A CAVE THAT ONLY CHILDREN CAN FIT INTO THAT YOU HAV AS A PUZZLE, AND IN THERE IS AN ABUNDENCE OF FOOD BUT ONLY SMALL CHILDREN CAN FIT

wHAT IF THE KIDS CAME IF DIFFERANT SIZES WHEN THEY WERE BORN WITH NATRUAL ABILITYS, LIKE BUILDERS BIG AND STRING, SCINTESTS WIT BIG HEADS, PERRENT WITH A NEVER ENDING SMILE, ETC.
AND THEY GREW INTO SOMETHIONG AS THEY TRAINED IN IT, LIKE SOMEONE WHO WAS A NATRAUL BUILDER AND BECOME A MASTER SCIENTEST WOULD GROW INTO A BIGGER HEAD AS LIFE WENT BY
p.s. THE SECCOND ONE WAS ESTOMATED TO BE OUT 2 WEEKS AGO AND PEOPLE ARE GETTIN MAD, (JUST A HEADS UP

everyone!!! i know you all want the game to be out right now but give the makers some time! they're trying to make a wonderful game for us and everyone is rushing them! life is like virtual villagers, you need to have patience! :)

I have pateince I'm just bidding my time doing other things on the computer and looking at the other games

athur say something

yeah, where are you athur?

Hello everyone,

It's Joel (from Gamezebo), not Arthur (big sigh of disappointment).

Just to let you know a new developer diary entry will be coming out soon. . .

Happy Thanksgiving,
Joel

joel, another one? do you know what it's about? because we already have one for vv2, what else is there to talk about? can't wait to read it though! :)

joel or arthur can u give me a month 4 wen vv2 is coming out and a probalbe cost

hey! i found out the high score for the population in ldw.com
the highest popualtion anyon has ever gotton is 96 villagers!! wow!

I think that they should add a tool where yoiu design the area of the island where your village is. Also your villagers can have pet monkeys!

Really enjoyed the game. Had trouble avoiding incest - which only makes sense given the island's limited population. So, I look forward to the ancestral records, although I'm sure the same problem will occur.
In regard to graphics, I really disliked the receding or grey hair on the young children. I was wondering if those things could gradually happen to "age" the characters.
With #2, will you need to have completed Game #1 in order to play? I hope so - would make one feel as though you've earned it. Could you also keep your characters as you move into #2? Just something I would enjoy, as I worked hard to name my villagers.
My friend found that he had many villagers sharing the same voice. That would be something to try and avoid.
Anyhow - can't wait to see the next one!

Leanne, good idea about the voices!

how did some1 get 96 poulation?

tia, yeah, i don't know how anyone could get 96 population!

for that person up there or i gess peoplethats not thunder its the sound of bolders .im not sure what its for i gess its just a sound.unless you havnt bilt the temple ,stone henge lookin thing ,or your not clearing the creek yet.then i dont know.

but I think the villagers shgould all find that path that your villager disapers into when you have them read that book.or about the people in the cave
.or the face in the bushes my villager saw that she didnt tell any one about.and i want to be able to change thelikes and disslikes.

FOR ANY ONE THAT THINKS THAT YOU CANT CHANGE CLOTHS,YOU CAN,IF YOU CLICK ON A VILLAGER AND PRESS F6 (WHICH IS AT YHE TOP OF YOUR KEY BOARD)THEN YOU CAN GO THROUGH CLOTHS.BUT ONCE YOU GET TO THE LAST OUT FIT YOUR STUCK WITH IT !

I just finished the last puzzle and really loved the game. I am looking forward to the sequel. In the next one I would love to be able to transform the landscape more. For instance, I really wanted to fill in the gully on the left of the village with water from the lagoon. I also wanted to make fishing lines or nets.
I thought though that exploration should be a little more dangerous. In some instances, overly brave villagers should be able to die-for instance by falling off the waterfall or in a cave-in.
I am hoping that in the sequel the cave has a tunnel to a new part of the island perhaps a more mountainous terrain?
Also why frustrating at times, I liked that the game was in "real time".

Nancy

becca u click f6 then what to change there clothges

how do i move the rock to get into the cave

I love VV1, I had solved all the puzzles and kept playing it to see what comes next after the cave had been discovered. One thing I noticed though, it seems that the "Golden Child" does not grow old (stays at 5 years old), but he can produce food, heal the sick, etc.

I believe it will be nice if you will add hunting as well (for birds, or wild animal for food), you might as well add cooking in villagers' chores (you have laundry in VV1). Man does not live by berries or fish alone, early people hunted for wildlife for food. Henceforth you can add tool production like spears, bow and arrow (for hunting).

rebeca, i found out the noise! my villager was lifting rocks by the garden! cool! i like keeping the likes and dislikes.

noel, you need the golen child born. to have the golden child born, you meed level 3 in fertility, the lagoon, the idol built and a nursing mother. just drop the mother in the lagoon. the golden child will remove the rock when he is ready, you can't force him.

also, to add to reipph's comment, laundry should have benifited the villagers. laundry doesn't give you any skill or anything like that, what's the use of it then?????? :O

I can't wait for VV2! When will it be available?

tanja, it will come out before christmas! yay!

YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE LIVESTOCK!!!!!!

I think you should put like animal pens on a part of the island were wandering animals can walk into. Well i suppose its more a trap but like once you come back on say after a day it could say. WHILE WALKING TO FORAGE FOR FOOD, ONI SAW A WILD BOAR STUCK IN THE ANIMAL PENS. and then later on in the game you could eat eat or breed it and you can get other animals like horses and sheep and maybe to incrase game speed you could ride the horses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

livestock girl, nice idea! never heard it before! livestock rocks! lol. ;)

hey people i loved VV1 and i cant wait for VV2 to come out already!If you read my name it says 1213 as in December 13 and i hope it will be out by then in time for my bday!!!!!
ps im not trying to rush you guys to finish it by then:D

Defo should have had a better ending for VV1, thought something exciting would happen after id solved all the puzzles, bit of a anti-climax really!!!
Can't wait for VV2, my pc went bonkers and I had to wipe it, couldn't save my VV1 so ive lost it and not payin for it again!!!

A few suggestions for the game, many of these probably have been said, but it would take to long to read them all and exclude the ones said

More Classes
-Tool maker for ex. so farmers can farm and people build
More Tech levels or schooling needed
tech 1 berry picking tech 2 fruit picking tech 3 farm land(corn w/e) tech 4 grow veggies tech 5 grow wheat(unlocks mill, which unlocks bakery which unlocks harvest festival)

Almost Free Build
5-10 spots that are pre-planned for building but the user can choose the option of it becoming a house, mill, tool shop, ect

Daycare so nursing mothers can leave children and do laundry or sumthing for a short time, this could also allow tool maker to make toys for children.

there are probably hundreds more ideas from others and myself, but hey everything helps

Tia ,when you do that it should change theyr close.if it doesnt i dont know why.but make sure you have selected them.and also it wont work if your on the details screen.

you can make one much room into a bunch if you drop a bunch of kids on the mushroom,all the kids that you set down befor the first kid picked the muchroom will also get a mushrom.you can also pause (space bar) the game and get all your kids on the mush room,and then unpause (space bar)and all your kids will have muchrooms!but go quickly because it can still "wither in the sun",or disapear when the game is paused.

lovescarissa,ya it does kinda end theres just some berrys and pictures on the wall.but if you wanna see your self you can buy all of your fertality you can dunk a pregnent woman in the pond thing she will have a gold child he can make more food and stuff and also push the bolder then drag an adult into the cave,it helps to drag the golden child around there are other tasks he can do.

Jane has great ideas also livestock girl and Mike.Arthur can you please answer our questions ???I can't wait for VV2!!!!!!!!!

1213, yeah! arthur, please post something! :)

BTW, great ideas everyone! wish i could come up with such good ideas! :)

it would be cool if there was a hospital and pets and churchs and shops

Alan, it would be cool, but then it wouldn't be "Virtual Villagers" anymore, would it? It'd be more like Sim City. I like the fact that VV1 was smaller than something like Sim City, and a lot easier to deal with. However, I wouldn't mind if in VV2 it slowly evolved into larger communities with more developments in technology. Looking forward to the next "chapter"!

hey joel what do you mean with "soon" ?

i think it would be very very very very very awesome if the villagers could get married, and from time to time go get together with thier familys and hang out ya know? or when a villager walks past thier spouse, they give them a kiss. and sisters and brothers cant have babies together would make the game more life like. it would also be cool, if one of the island events, was coming across an animal , that the villager gets to keep as a pet! i think that would be so much fun!!! if would also be cool, if it would rain every once in a while, watering the crops! and if night would come , there could be another job openeing, as SECURITY GUARDS!!!! to guard the huts, and food! the other job could be Minister, ya know a guy who marries people! that would make the game ALOT better. and then the villagers, can only breed with whoever thier married to. awesomee. well theres my two cents. oh and if the cemetary could be bigger, and the island could support a bigger populaton. well thats all for now! byebye!

when is the next chapter of the preview of VV2 going to come out??

true! i agree!

JOEL,WEN IS THE NEW DEVELOPERS DIARY COMING OUT?????????????????????????/

more jobs!!!!! and pets, and marriges, and decendants would go visit thier loved ones who have passed every once in a while.

yeah! when is it coming out? please answer!!

Hi Arthur, I just want to say I have really enjoyed myself playing vv. I look forward to the sequal!! I would like to see more mysterious eyes around the village, of those that may have inhabited the island. Will we find out who they are? Real life situations are what I would like to see. Harvest animals as well as vegetation! Cook it over a fire. Take baths in an ocean that actually has waves and a tide coming in. Just my thoughts for now.

Christmas is coming....can I count on VV2 being available to purchase as a gift? Also want one for myself!!

Sitting on pins and needles!

I'm working on a new dev diary! I have to work on VV2 sometimes, too, right? :)

We are really pushing now and trying to get the game in shape. We will try to get something up here on Gamezebo within a week or so.

Keep those wonderful ideas and comments coming...it really helps us to understand what is important to everyone.

A couple more weeks in Italy, then we'll be finishing things up from San Francisco...no firm release date is set yet, but as soon as we have a reasonable estimate we will announce it here!

Arthur

thanks arthur!
looking forward to it

I really want the VV2 to have more puzzles to solve, so that my brother will not scream at me.

Thanks Arthur!

I agree Jetbuster! More puzzles!! The more challenging, the better. I wonder if there will be snakes and other critters roaming around the island for them to avoid getting hurt. Will the villagers actually get attacked by anything?? Hmmm....

thanks so much Arthur!
so many good ideas! love em'!

Could we have a garden for the kids to learn to grow herbs and flowers?
and how about a play area kids should be kids lol

love the game cant wait for vv2

yh something for the children to do your learn like goiung into the school and learning

How about weather changes like rain and thunder? Maybe they can have a night once and a while too, when all the villagers can sleep.

Just a thought!!

hey! i just got a pop-up that said "your villager is dreaming and he sees 2 caves. the right cave has something that looks like gold. in the left cave, there seems to be something growling. which cave do you choose?" i choose the left one. it said that there was no animal inside and on the walls, there is a picture of a temple with gold to the left of it. it told me where the tresure is! cool!

i'm so excited for the vv2... when will it exactly come out? can't wait.... the best game ever... what's taking you guys so long?!
all i wanna say is cool... really cool game....
please release it ASAP!!! can't wait!!!

How do I find book.

How do I change the villager's clothes? I select them and then push F6, but nothing happens. Thanks for you help.
Great game!!!

ronald, you don't actually find the book. the book is one of those pop-ups that give you 2 choices and you have to choose the right one.

Savana, it should work but there is a point when you can't change the clothes anymore. all the girls end up wearing greeen dresses and the guys end up wearing a white shirt and black pants. maybe you've already reached that point?

savana dont click details just click the person so the white ring is around them then click f6

I think its an awesome game is the second one going to last longer

what u r doin wit de new virtuial villagers is great please hurry up and send it out i am beggin PPPPPPPPPPPLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

it should be getting really close to its completion by now. It is almost Christmas

Yo im back after like forever.......So.....Has Arthur answered yet???Geuss not....My birthday is in 2 days!!!!....Well back to VV2.....I wish i had some ideas........Um....How about people saying other things then "Hey" or "Hi" when you pick them up???And maybe some one that can lead the tribe or a group of workers(a leader for farmers or a leader for healers). Well that's all for now!!!See you all later!!!

Can you make it so that you don`t need so much tech points to buy the next level of tech and make reserch like a minigame which you could play and whatever score you get thats how many tech points you get. Make that like an option so you don`t have to do it if don`t want to.

Livestock!

HoHoHo

The Elves are wrapping up the last of the gifts, Christmas is nearly here. Am i gonna have 1000's of disappointed kids this year? Or is this game really going to be out before Christmas?

hey, i know i've been telling everyone the game's gonna be out before Christmas. but that's only what i heard. so don't get mad @ me if it's not out yet. lol. ;)

the villagers should have some form of shelter or something like that and you should be able to upgrade it with points and when you upgrade it to its last stage another home should be able to build but there should be a village were the houses are instead of it cluttering up the island but you only start with one house and wait untill its got all the upgrades and then another house is ready to get built . that would be good but since theres so many villagers you might hav to make buildings which hold allot of villagers instead of induvidual homes because it would probably run out of space

i got another weird pop-up. well, i told my golden child to drink this blue liquid and it said that he remembers something from when he was little. he remembers the yummy porrage (dunno how to spell). then it said something like: he will eat it again!
then nothing happened. wow...........;)
besides, how can he remember anything from the past when he's only 5 years old???!!!

1234567, yeah! we always have the same old huts in vv1! we need something new! upgrade!

I'd like to say I sure did love your game. You have done a swell job. Please do keep up the great work. I do have one question though. When you look at the game by the map view, I have noticed that there is an area that might could have a way to get to it. When in game play, down on the beach on left side (while facing pc)looks like there could be a trail that goes between the palm trees to get to that area. Will that be available in the next version in VV2? Silly me! I kept trying to find a way over there.

I noticed that too,Patti.

So it's like December 15th, 2006... and Christmas is right around the corner... When will VV2 be here?? I keep checking everyday... and haven't seen any results. My hopes for getting this game before Christmas is slowly withering... sorry for rushing you.

Like everyone else my son and I our on the edge of our seats for VV2! When are we gone to know something?

My concern is where the game will be sold. Best Buy? And how will we know when it's out? They better stock a LOT because I'll REALLY be ticked if it gets sold out before I can get it purchased. I think this site should alert everyone FIRST so we can get to the store before the general public.

Please e-mail me when VV 2 is out! I can't wait!

i would really like to play the second game i found this one kinda slow but i still kept playing ive been playing for nearly a week you should make it a little easier to earn tech points it takes a redicoulsy long time to gain them i also noticed that once they have learned everything they get lazy it was a fun but fustrating game even got my boyfriend to play cant wit for the new game

ARTHUR,is the game going to be out before christmas or not?

I saw on a website that had a percentage of how much was complete it was a few days ago max of 5 and it said only 70% was done i can't find the site now though it sux! Unforantely it looks like the game will NOT be out by christmas. :(( i'm depressed. but i shall persevere with my lil virtual villagers one, and we shall hold on until vv2 comes.

yes! please tell us! i want to know if i have been telling everyone the right info!

I would love the game to come out before christmas, because it sounds really good, that is if they take everyones advise. I was really disappointed with the ending of vv1 because I actually thought that once the cave opened then the village would get bigger and my population would grow. Sort of like finding a new land. I just hope that vv2 comes out soon, because I can't wait to play it.

You excplain about what things will be new on the next chapter but you don't say when this is due out. Is there a date whe it will be out? I love the game I neve get enough of it.

hi everyone
i hav seen a few of you wanting to be alerted when vv2 comes out and when it will be done. if you go onto the vv website (www.virtualvillagers.com.au) and follow the links you can type in your email address and have an email sent to you when the game is coming out. also there is a little meter that says what % of completion the game is at! at the moment it is 70%. Arthur really love vv1 and can't wait for vv2

go on to this site it tells u how much of the game is completed http://www.ldw.com/previews/index.html

Stary and liam your biggest fan, thanx for the websites! i was looking all over for it! i didn't know virtual villagers had their own website. :O

wat the difference between village sim and vv1

tia, villager sim is the same, only it's for your cell phone.

o ok thanks someone

tia, oh! sorry! i meant it is for your palm os. i just looked at the screenshots and i thought was for your cell phone. sorry about that. :o

Hello Everyone,

Arthur Humphrey's Developer Diary for Virtual Villagers: The Lost Children (the official name of the next Virtual Villagers as mentioned here first on Gamezebo) is now up.

Click here to read LDW Developer Diary #3

In it is an update on when the game will be released. It's not Christmas (sorry) but its soon...when it's out, we'll be sure to tell you as soon as we know.

Best,
Joel
Chief Gamezebo

Is it true that VV2 Going to be free for those who have VV1.

anyone here noticed we need Blesyngs here?

I have a few thoughts, if not for VV2, then for VV3:

1) CRAFTS: new tech area should be CRAFTS -- that would accomodate nets for fishing, spinning/weaving/knitting, whatever for clothing (how do you wash clothes when you haven't learned to make any new ones?) this could accomodate a lot of people's ideas.

2) Either use diverse skin colors for the villiagers or make the bodies a medium brown color...they are tropical island people afterall. The faces could still vary, which is very cool.

3) Keep the game playable for all ages. I play with my daughters and their friends. It's great that the breeding isn't graphic and there isn't any graphic violence (no monkey wars please).

4) I like the idea of more tech levels that someone said.

5) Can't wait to explore more of the island...will new settlements be included? Will trade ensue?

6) don't make the villagers too western...with strucutres that are like europe and the u.s. If you add leadership, make it a council of elders as someone suggested, if you add religion, make it a collage of indigenous practices.

My daughers and I love this game! They say it's AWESOME!!

Oh dear god. I am actually quite literally obsessed with this game. As its CHRISTMAS TOMMORROW!! YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY, i dont know which ill be exited about, the fact that theres a bunch of presents under our tree waiting for me to rip open, or the joys of going on virtual villagers and finding the suprises that wait for me.
I vair vair like the ideas about the livestock and the teachers,DAYCARES and the weather.
I think you should create like, family trees so you know which kids belong to which adults as it can be quite frustrating when you go on it and you have five new kids running around and you dont know if they belong to your favourite villager or not. O_o

Crimbo fun anywho. =]]]]

bang the boom, blessyngs never posted anything here! she only posted on games2download.com. why are you saying that we need her? besides, i don't think anyone here knows her. :/

insight spinner, love your ideas! you have so many ideas that haven't been mentioned! such as the skin color! :D

hey everyone! MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
oh, and have an awesome Boxing Day! i know i will! ;)

Well I'd like there to be more tech things.Not just farming,healing,ect.
Also,I'd like if there was more space and more puzzles.Mabey you could make it harder,because A New Home was too easy.Also,make the population bigger.Oh,1 more thing.It would be neat if we could build more buildings.

-Kirby

OK um don't make the game TOO advanced.That would take ALL the fun away.

VV1 should be longer but i love the game. make VV2 free for me !

Better ending plz

hey i love this game i am always checking in with it cant wait till vv2 comes out.

there should be bigger houses and the players should be allowed to explore the houses and who lives in it.there should also be more animals and the island should be a bit bigger.also ships!!..there should be ships .
hmm...EEEKKK I'M SO EXCITED.i just finished solving the 16 puzzles.

VV1 is truly a great game I have enjoyed every minute of it. I did find it a bit sad that once the cave was opened the game is "virtually" finished. That was a bit of a disspointment. I am looking forward to VV2. I have read some of the comments and some great ideas. Looking forward to a new adventure.

Firstly, I LOVE your game my hubby lost me for about a week or so while I was playing it. Which leads me into my next thought that as most everyone saiud, it was way too short. But I think that you should also make the school more useful, I mean if the go to school, shouldn't they learn something like farming or building? That way when they are grown up they can actually do the job you assign them with out them stopping to shake their head at you saying "Nope"!

Getting antsy waiting for the next generation!!! Please HURRY!!

Please hurry and get VV2 released. I've been checking back everyday with the 1st VV and i'm so bored because I solved the 16 puzzles 3 months ago and there isn't anything left to do but train new villagers as they turn 14. Hurry hurry.

i 4got about my peeps 4 like a week and they all die exept the golden child so i had to start again i can get them to make a grave yard i 4got how i did it b4 hoiw ya do it?

tia, you need level 2 in spirituality and a dea villager. just drag a villager to the top right space.

I luv the game :) good job. I never get them to make babies tho. On version 1. So my village is ver empty. :(

I would really love, if not for VV2, then maybe a next one...?
BIGGER POPULATION it is really getting annoying only having 90 people. If you can't continue the game at least allow us some breeding rights. Not trying to sound mean just frustrated. Love the game can't wait for VV2 and the meter says 95% done, so I am really excited.

erin, here's a trick. you only need to have one MALE parent in your village. doesn't matter if he's only a trainee. he will spend all his time embracing girls! your population is sure to go up. :)

Meagan, it's 95% done?! really?! thanx so much for the update!!!! :D

ok you know what i thought was annoying that
when a villager got a baby you couldnt see if it
was a girl or a boy until it was like two. and thier moms
wont even do anything.it would be nice if thier dad just toke care of them for a bit and i think it would be nicer if they had houses and it wouldnt be daytime all the
time

vv2 is 95% woo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

what was fun ? hmm. music, ideeas, life in paradise of nature.
Please, do this: mariage, church, family tree, DNA health, more islands, wild animals.

Keeping our fingers crossed for VV2! Hope to see it soon.

First thing is "Neat Game". If you could have day and nighttimes. Where while most are sleeping, some have guard watch, then they sleep during the day. Like lookouts.. You could have a high tower for them. Need more huts closer together. I like the idea for the graveyard, those skeleton remains were gross. I like the baby-making breeding thing. Because you don't have to go into deep complex reasoning. Need to have fires for heat and cooking. Need bakers, weavers, clothes makers, elders need to be sitting infront of homes telling stories to young ones.Masters need to have teenagers following behind them learning trades. You could find sunken ship with lots of goodies, and whiled diving, fishing or swimming you could find, crates of plates, or bottles of wine, or juice, telescope, ect. Let your mind go... I am 44 and my kids and I have alot of fun with your game. We start new ones over again. Keep us posted.

Back to the "making babies" thing, It seems that until you actually drag two eligible villagers together for the first time (whether male or female) they won't start breeding at all. This is even if you tick their breeding box. This means that every few days you have to go back into the game and forcably teach a new generation the facts of life! As I'm off on holiday soon for a fortnight it looks like I'll have to use the "suspend game" option otherwise I'll return to find them all dead due to lack of sex education (as well as any other type of education) in the school!!

I love this game, though I'm only playing on demos at the moment, I think I'm addicted!!!
Does any one know where I can buy the game in shops in the London U.K area PLEASE!!!

Hi everyone!

FYI, we are probably going to start testing VV2 next week, so it shouldn't be much longer now...

Thanks for everyone's enthusiasm, and please don't forget to vote for VV in the Zeeby Awards here at Gamezebo (the link is up on the top of the page). We want to win a Zeeby!!

Arthur

My son got me started on VV1 and it has been so much fun! We now have 3 different games going. His Mine and Ours! My DIL & Grandaughter have been helping with the third game we started. Now there are 4 generations in our own family playing!
I have a couple of questions or statements! I did manage to get 91 villagers at one time and on my sons game his Golden Child seemed to get sick at one point! This has been so much fun!
One more Comment my two sons are 1/2 Italian. We like the idea there are blondes since Grandm is from northern Italy and grandpa sicilywe get strange looks because most of the grandchildren are blond headed and blue eyed! LOL
DO You Need Testers! We want to help!
Melinda, Nancy, William & Jessica

just thought i might let you know, vv2 is 97% done!!! :D

I have a question this is the first time i have tried virtual villiagers... my question would be is there any way to change like the clothes or the hair color???

aj, yo can change the clothes by selecting the villager and pressing f6. but be careful, because you can't change the clothes back and your guys end up wearing a white shirt and black pants while your girls have a green dress. the only way a villager can change their hair is if they drink one of those liquids. or, are you talking about vv2?? :)

You can't change their hair color, but you can change their clothes by pressing F6.

how can i download this? because its like good two play............

It seems that the older the person you can get more changes of clothes/ OR AM i just imagining this?
Melinda

angel, dowload it from MSN. at the end of the installation, it will ask you if you want to play the game right away, don't. delete the desktop icon of the game and open it from where you installed it. if you open it there, it will not be counting how many minutes you have left. that means you get the whole game for free!

Melinda, it depends on what clothes they were wearing to begin with. i don't think it matters what age they are.

Well Somebody Wateva Thats Not True About Max 90 People Cos I Have Had 98 People So Get Ya Facts Straight

Beckiie

I had a maximum of 99 people.
But it's because most of my villagers are breeders. The reason everyone says 90 is the max is because if you try to make babies when there is 90 villagers it won't work.

Sofiya, thank you. it is true, the game sometimes creates extra villagers when you open the game. but if you try to make babies, it won't work. oh, and good job on getting such a high population!

Beckiie, the names "someone". why don't you get your facts straight? as you can see, a population of 98 doesn't surprise me.

oh, and i say the max population is 90 is because that's how the game was designed. of course you can go over 90, but that's if you get lucky and get twins or triplets. here is a quote from the Director of QA and Testing:

"It's not uncommon to have a population that high without an Island Event or multiple births causing it. If you have a look at the leaderboard, you'll see quite a few. When the game is left off for awhile, the "extra" villagers can be created at game launch. I guess the computer can make babies quickly enough to get around the population limit. When the game is running, we're just not fast enough to pull it off!"

I think my f6 is broken i can not seem to change the clothes but i do have a few in like green striped stuff now.... :(

Angelique, really? are you sure you have selected the villager then press f6? it should work. :/

yep i selected them in the window and out in the playing field.... neither worked :(

Sometimes that happens. Last week I was at my friend's house, and the same thing happened to her. She couldn't change their clothes. She tried to reboot it and it worked the second time. Try doing that, if it doesn't work maybe your F6 button is broken.

I keep seeing that everyone is commenting on it coming out 'soon'. Does this mean days, weeks, months, what? I am addicted to this game and want to be able to cut down the days if that is possible. This way my OCD can settle down:):):)

jennie, it is 97% done. it is almost going to be out.....well.....we're hoping it's almost going to be out. :)

Hi everyone! I got tired of waiting for this during Christmas holidays and went in search of another game. Found Westward by Sandlot which is awesome, excellent value for money, and you can play it several times and still find new things to do, or ways of doing them, each time. If you haven't been there, it really is worth a try and passes the time while you wait :-)

actually, in my opinion, i didn't like westward. it was very confusing for me and most of the time got quite boring. but i'm sure some of you will enjoy it. :)

VV1 was a great game, but I think adding more interactions between chararcters would be interesting, you know how they randomly argue and tell jokes in VV1 but you can't make them do that if you want. So well, maybe more actions involving two or more characters like playing or arguing that could increase-decrease the level of relationship between them would make this game more realistic and enjoyable.

Is there a release date yet? Still waiting! And, how do you know it's 97% done and where do you fing this info.

Josh and Mom~ there is no release date yet. They're still testing the game. If you go to ldw.com, click on previews and you should see 97% done. :)

Josh and Mom, there is no release date yet. They're still testing the game. If you go to ldw.com, click on previews and you should see 97% done. :)

That's what it says on the virtual villagers
preveiw page. And no, unfortunately there isn't a release date yet. But I think it might be out
early February :)

Josh and Mom-ldw.com is where u find the info.

I love ur VV1 and can't wait for VV2. There's just one thing I would like you to consider. When the population have grown to a large number, the kids a scattered all over the screen. Hope you can make use of the school building for the children to attend lessons for a short while before they grow up to work their specific duties. That way you can make use of the Master Scientist or Master Teacher further. Thanks for creating VV1, one of my favorites.

In an attempt to wait out the new game I started another VV1. I wasn't paying attention and now am down to just 2 men! What are the odds that a crate of toddlers are going to be dropped off! LOL
Melinda

Um.....I dont know if i can post comments about what I'd like to see in VV2 here, but one thing i was disappointed about was the amount of accomplishments we had to reach. I mean, the idol/temple/etc were nice, but it wasnt enough. I was looking forward to more things to do. Like over time, after everything has been completed, maybe u could make a natural disaster happen to destroy the things again or sumthin...i dont know, lol. Also, and I may be the only one complaining about this particular thing, lol, but i would love to see other races in VV2. A few other colors among the villagers would add some flavor to the mix. Overall, I love VV1, and i know VV2 will be even better.

Wouldn't it be cool to have a day-car so nursing moms could work AND see their babies?

Ok,Does anybody no where i can find VV1 (or 2 wen it cums out) near Andalusia,Alabama???PLZ!!!!I luv it! but my demos r 2 short cuz i only get 2min :( my dum compooters busted.

Hi Arthur,

My suggestion would be to have real names for the villagers. Some of the names that are currently in use are just plain weird, i.e. Cheop, Seven,& Keopi. Also, the variety of names could be increased. I find it annoying to have multiple villagers with the same name. I do know that I can change the names of the villagers, but a nice algorhythm for variety would be nice.

Thank you and I am anxiously awaiting the next installment.

Tammy

11yearold, um, well, i'm not sure but try MSN. open the game from whre you installed it, not from the desktop icon. it won't be counting down your 1 hour so you can play the whole game for free! 2 min?! wow, that's almost impossible! :)

yo!! i've been waiting for..EVER!!! im soooooo excited for vv2...can anyone give an estimation as to when it will be out?? february?? march?? april?? 2021???

You know the first one was allot of fun, but for 20 bucks the ending was such a let down, because there was nothing to do afterward! I like the game, but something is missing. The only reason i kelt interest was because i thought the cave would lead me to another part of the island so i could keep playing. I thought it was going to give me another set of puzzles. .....yeah i was wrong...and it almost felt like awaits of time.

hope two is longer....

My guess is that it'll be out from February 1-10^^ And it shouldn't be anywhere after the end of Februaty because on the preview page it said it'l be out in Winter :)

I have vv1 for my computer but im wondering what happens to a villager when he/she dies? do they just stay in the same place for ever, do they rot away OR do they get burried somewhere? And One more thing, what kind of villager dose it have to b to move the big boulder??

I'm pretty mad at the people who made vv1 because i tryed to change one of my villagers clothes and it stped at a green dress, i di not mind it n that vilager but then itryed three more and they seemed to stop at he green dress to!

When someone dies, they decompose. But if you have level 2 in spirituality and you finished "the Graveyard" milestone they get buried. When you have more than 50 burried villagers you can't see their grave because there isn't enough space, but they still get burried. The Golden Child is the one who moves the Boulder. The team that made VV1 is working in a way to let you change the villagers' clothes. But for now you can change their clothes in a different way. You just have to remember the order of the costumes. That info can be found in the virtual villagers folder.
And the last clothe will always be a green dress for girls, and a white shirt wieh green pants for the boys.

meggss, vv2 should come out sometime in the middle of february. that's what Arthur said.

cloe, villagers do get buried. you just need level 2 in spiritualty and a dead villager. drop any vilager on the top right patch.
the golden child will remove the boulder when he wants to, you can't force him to. to get the golden child, you need level 3 in fertility, the lagoon unblocked, the idol built and a nursing mother. drop the mother in the lagoon.

meggss, vv2 should come out sometime in the middle of february. that's what Arthur said.

cloe, villagers do get buried. you just need level 2 in spiritualty and a dead villager. drop any vilager on the top right patch.
the golden child will remove the boulder when he wants to, you can't force him to. to get the golden child, you need level 3 in fertility, the lagoon unblocked, the idol built and a nursing mother. drop the mother in the lagoon.
yes, women's clothes stop at the green dress and men's clothes stop at a white shirt and black pants. :)

Thanks someone.
I have two questions.How much dose the third level of fertility? and what kind of villager do you need to make the idol?

Thank-you someone.
I have thee question's. How much dose the 3rd fertility cost?whatkind of villager (master scientist, golden child, master builder, ect.) do you need to make the idol?

cloe, doesn't it tell you how much it costs when you go to the tech page? if you move your mouse over the fertility section, it should tell you. i never really notice that kind of stuff. ;)
the idol can be built by any villager (any skill). the idol is needed for the golden child to be born. :)

someone, where is the rock that you make into an idol? and there is a rock i've been trying but the villagers action thing just says confused. What do i do?

cloe, the idol is that big, shiny rock you villagers are always so curious about. it's on the west side. :) is the rock your putting your villagers on the big, shiny rock? if it is, you need the temple built and level 3 in spirituality. if it isn't that rock, it is the temple (level 3 in construction).

Someone, i probally know what you are thinking about me, im annoying asking you all these questions, but im really stuck on it! Two more questions. What is the temple? and is it true that the people who have virtual villagers one get virtual villagers two for free and i mean how do they get it free?

cloe, i don't think you're annoying at all! i love helping! :)
all you need for the temple is level 3 in construction.
that, i'm not sure. i doubt it though. though i do wish it was free! :)

YAY! VV is 98% Done!

Hi Arthur!

I loved playing VV. Just finished the puzzles today. I do have a couple of questions and suggestions. My villagers are seeing something unusual by the treasure but not finding anything....is this something else to uncover? I also noticed while playing that some of the adult villagers would "teach" but it doesn't say what. Maybe you could incorporate the teaching into VV2. Have the "masters" actually teach the children in the school house sometimes. How about having the mothers "parent" the children istead of nursing until they are two. They can embrace in VV....maybe use that along with their health. [everybody needs a little love to be happy :)] I also agree with an earlier comment about the golden child and his parties.....maybe have them effect the adult villagers once in a while but be more for the children. I like the idea of weather as well. When the villagers rain dance is it possible to see maybe some rain and have them rejoice? I really look forward to VV2 and all the challenges that it will bring. Your tip for VV1 were very helpful. Thank you for such and enjoyable game!

Dawn

YAHOO!!!!!!!!!

LOVE THIS GAME my mom didnt want me to buy it but once i have we have not stopped playing it but please make it longer!!!!!! also make a bigger area

yay! 98%! who cares if it's only 1%? it's still 1%!!!

dawn, the "unusual thing" your villagers see by the treasure is actually a glitch. it was supposed to help you find out where the location of the treasure was. but most people don't notice the "unusual thing" until after they have dug out the treasure. :)

Yes as you said a better ending would help. Also maybe their just could be more space and could go into huts. I mean just in that little area was kind of boring. Also, maybe there just could be challenges, like mini games, that'd be fun! THANKS!

i just got finished playin the beta version of the game it is i good sequel to the first one if u want to know anything about feel free to ask

I think another thing u should add to the game is a better screen resolution, so that the player can see the full island while playing :S

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Joel

I definitely think villagers should find things more often in VV2. That's my favorite part of VV1! Maybe there should also be some simple tasks for the children? In a real society like this, kids would be doing small tasks until they are old enough to work as adults. Aside from picking mushrooms, this isn't addressed in VV1. Maybe they could help forage, but only do it once or twice and then go play?

I also agree that pregnant mothers should help more. There's no reason they can't do something simple, like weave cloth, make pottery, or research. I don't think they should be farming or building, but the other stuff, yeah.

Also, while I think making the society more advanced (i.e., owning real estate, making shops, etc.) might be cool, it might also take some of the fun out of it. Maybe, if you do what people are suggesting with that, it could be optional? Also, maybe the game could continue on after it "ends"?

I Love VV1 and I would love to see more events like finding crates or bottles or seeing strange people or things on the island. I think the choices to open a bottle/crate or to approach a strange face or figure in the bushes give the game alot more options that make interacting with our villagers more fun. I enjoy having those choices in my game. I eagerly anticipate the 2nd game. Keep up the good work. This was original and fun.

Hiya,
I was wondering,it would be totally cool,
if in the next Vitural Villagers,
you can catch Strange thing's in the water,
Like Sharks,and squid. Or you could have Pirates invade the village! And you can have,while Villagers are fishing,A shark eat them,or A giant squid carry them out to see.
Just a suggestion ;)

First of all, I LOVE this game. You guys rock at the game making. I too would like a sort of search page where you could click a button and go thro a list of say all your sick villagers, or all your farmers. Breeding animals in like a pen would be an interesting sorce of food, raising different kind of crops that sort of thing. The biggest thing I would like to see is with the mothers. For 2 yrs we have to wait for them to be usable villagers perhaps after the first year of nursing they could wear the babies on there backs in slings similar to real island life, and then maybe they could do some work sort of work you could limit to maybe gathering or something, you could have them at a slower rate or have them stop periodically to nurse still, it would make the game more real. And please, please say we can shake those trees for coconuts!!!! Can't wait for the next installment!!!

Hi, me and my friend love this game we cant wait vv2 to come out can you put in virtual animals?? like dogs in houses like they can have their own houses and you can visit them and the animal can reproduce and be sold throuout the tribe. maybe even like wild animals like lions just roaming around. or monkeys like in the trees just kinda swinging or like you can feed it bananas we cant wait!!!!!!! thanx

tiana and alex!!!!!

what about snow on the ground and changing seasons. im throwin out ideas take a few.once they are married can they live in a hous elike we posted before?? withe their pet ! and only husband like a real game they can get divorced if their not happy.

This game is so addictive - I love it. Change the names of your tribe to make it more personal - this helps me keep track of my new babies and to make sure I assign their tasks. Assign their name in the details screen - backspace thru the name and enter your choice for them. It is cool trying to come up with 90 names.

Does someone know why I can not change clothes for the little dudes - I did before by pressing F6 but it will not work today - I do have 90 of the little guys today and I would like to change them up a little. Thanks

WILL SOMEONE PLEASE EMAIL ME WHEN V.V.#2 COMES OUT

Susie, are your men wearing white shirts and black pants? if they are, you can't change their clothes, in other words, their stuck with a white shirt and black pants until they die! ;)

molly123, go to ldw.com and you will see "previews" at the top. click on it and a page will pop up where you can type in your email and they will send you an email when vv2 comes out. :)

When is Lost Children to be released?
I heard a rumour that it would be released on the 16th of Feb?
Is this correct and who will anyone else beside Big Fish have the game?

HEEELP!!!! I can't find the treasure

Moira, the game should be out mid-feb. well, that is if the testing goes smoothly. i'm sure bigfishgames.com and gamezebo.com will have it out almost right away, but i'm not so sure about the other sites. :/

Kim, it's left of the temple, close to the ocean. if you still can't find it, i can give you a picture of where it is. :)

moira, forget my last post! it is going to be out on feb 16! well, by the time you read this, it probably is already out!!!! :D

ok, mistake again! it's gonna be out feb 15, not feb 16. :D

so u mean its cumin owt 2 moro? YEEESSSS!!! i no i havnt mbeen posting but finised vv1 but youll be hering a lot more of me from now on!!!

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Joel

Hey anyone please help me, since i live in SA we don't use dollars here and i don't have a credit card, can someone pleae give me there e-mail addy and registration code so i can join in the fun of virtual villagers please please...

Right well your all still awaiting VV2, the makers had it on their website for ebta testing a while back this is no longer available though. BUT if you download torrents VV2 is available on torrentspy with a crack so you can play the game entirely free no limit. It has been available since the beginning of January '07.
http://www.torrentspy.com/torrent/1045439/Bigfish_Games_Virtual_Villagers_2_The_Lost_Children_Crack
As for the game what to say, you can now do more with the children by getting them to collect beetles pebbles shells and butterflies, if you collect a duplicate it converts into tech points. Im not gonna spoil you too much with details of what goes on but 2 people go through the cave and find themself on another part of the island. THe puzzles i must say are much much harder then before and it is a bit of a struggle at first to keep all your people from starving, but it can be done. Currently i have only done 8 of the 12 puzzles not sure how to do the others as of yet but awating tech points to get there for them. Anywho a much better game than the first however it could still do with improving.

As for what people have said above there is no rain in the 2nd installment, but maybe they will do it for the 3rd. As for ancestory when you go details now the kids in the background have pictures of their parents. You can now change their outfits as many times as you like with the sewing hut. Breeding has been renamed Parenting which seems slightly more appropriate. You can get Elders for you village but you shall have to work out how to get them for yourself ;) Oh the new tech tree is Farming, Building, Medicine, Culture, Science and Exploration. Oh someone mentioned making it easier to search for a specific person, well you can now search by age, skill and health.
I think thats enough for now if you want to know more leave a message on here and i shall try to get back to it. And for anyone struggling with VV2 i can offer you help with some of the puzzles.

Take care and enjoy the game all ^^^link posted at beginning of post to game^^^ YAY free

Virtual Villagers 2 The Lost Children is available for download at The Diamond Games!

Could you give some details on part to as to how to solve the different puzzles?

Thank You

Lenora, as to how to solve some of the problems well there are a few builder orientated puzzles, one requiring you to use a certain amount of master builders all at once to finish a puzzle, collecting all 4 gong pieces is a puzzle too, its actually 4 puzzles as each quarter of the gong is a puzzle. There is one soon after you start that you have to de-algae the ocean so you can fish in it again. There is one which requires you to build a special hut. Others require you to once again learn all the herbs no biggie there also to build a fire another simple one as the tutorial talks you through that one. Once the fire is built it is paramount to another quest which is to make a special stew. Another quest is to make an elder, once you have mastered a skill the first time playing it tells you how to make an elder, basically get a person to master 3 skills. Another is to create a cutting tool which you need exploration and some scientists for. THere is also a puzzle to get rid of the birds from your field once you have irrigated the land by making a scarecrow with the scientists. If you need more detial on a specific puzzle say and i can see what i can do to help.

PS in my previous post i said 8 of 12 puzzles thats my bad i should have said 12 of 16.