Hi i'd like to develop a virtual world for a college project where a creature can grow, live, interact (few basic objects to interact with e.g. ball, tree etc) much like a trimmed down version of black and white. I havent much experience in this field and would appriciate some pointers as to what areas to research into, and any other info e.g. tools websites etc. Thanks :)

Start with reading "Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach" if you haven't done so already and you're new to AI. It will give you a general understanding of the tools at your disposal. After that you can go on to more specific areas.