It is based on the programming by demonstration concept, where rules are created by giving examples of what actions should take place in a given situation.
[1] The software known as Creator originally started as a project by Allen Cypher and David Canfield Smith in Apple's Advanced Technology Group (ATG) known as KidSim.
There were three releases: When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, he began dismantling a number of non-productive departments.
Larry Tesler, Cypher, and Smith, left to form Stagecast Software after retaining the rights to the Cocoa system.
To make the simulation interactive, the "automatic movement" rules can be removed, and replaced by ones that move only when the cursor keys are held down, and jump only if the user presses space.
These include the introduction of 'jars' as a means of object classification, a new z-variable that allows Creator to simulate a 3-D space (as a stack of 2-D sheets), the ability to control more than one character at a time, and the option to redraw the screen only after all moves in a turn have been made.
In order to ensure Creator's cross-platform compatibility, the entire system was ported to the Java programming language.