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Monster DNA | Building from basic parts | Decoding monster DNA

blueprint of a monster

Monster DNA

Monsters, plants, and even humans have an instruction manual for building and making their bodies work. These instructions use a special code. For living things it is a genetic code. Using a short code, long strings of instructions can be made. We call the molecules that carry the genetic code deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA.

Building from basic parts

dna and a cell

DNA is made up of four basic parts. From these four parts, repeated in different combinations, we are able to get instructions that can build very different things. Plants, worms, birds, and humans all have instructions that use these same four basic parts.

When building Monster DNA, we like to think of these four parts as different colors. When you add combinations of these four colors together in strings of three, you are able to get 64 different coded instructions. Think of these as letters or symbols. Then, by combining these in different orders, you can get very different words or phrases within long strands of DNA. This is how the instructions for the variety of life can be made with four basic parts.

dna and monster parts

Decoding monster DNA

With Monster Maker you use a unique monster code, called a monster genome, to build your own monster. As you decode the pattern of colored dots you will find instructions for different shapes, parts, or looks for your monster. In the game, these will automatically be added to your monster.

For more of the story behind DNA, visit A Monster Story or How to Build a Monster.

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