Spore Hype Roundup

So the media blitz seems to mostly be over. There are a few articles trickling in most are just recaps and rehashes. So what's the verdict? Has the hype held up or has it fallen flat?

If anything I would say that the haters hate more and the Maxis fans continue to foam at the mouth. Now I promptly fall in the Maxis camp but even still I want to try and give an slightly unbiased look at what kind of game spore seems to actually be and if it holds up to the hype.

Spore has been called a lot of things from vapor ware to the game to end all games. Vapor wear always seemed to be an extreme critique. Will Wright site on top of franchises like SimCity and The Sims. Clearly he knows how to ship games and spore was going to come out. It did have delays but in no way was the game "plagued" by them. If anything the delays will end up being a windfall for the game. They will bear our a game with deep roots in the social web that will not only better help payers interact but simultaneously advertise the game. It's not hard to see that Youtube will be flooded with thousands of videos with in days of the games release.

Nor will it be the game to end all games. Will has also said that he would be really sad if he had no other ideas for games. The reason people seem to think this is because they don't seem to understand what makes a simulation game a game. I always feel people's minds go to flight simulators where the plane's dashboard are exact replicas of the real thing. That a simulator is analogous to real life. But any one who has played on of Will's games know that is not what he is talking about when he builds a Sim game.

Sim games are simply models of the real world. They are to teach concepts and ideas. Not to focus on small details and minutia. There is a reason we don't require mayors to be experts in SimCity. It's not a real world substitute. And yet there is so much to learn. To watch industries come and go, revitalization of slums and the effect of high taxes. These concepts are good to know and for many people might have encouraged them to learn more about different areas of government and urban planning. I have yet to hear a mayor reference being inspired by SimCity but I don't doubt that day is coming.

It is at these two cross roads where they hype exists. It's also why most of the questions Will gets ask ends up pissing me off. Spore will not be a live simulation of the universe. Gravity, Evolution, Genetics and Galactic War will not be accurately portrayed. They will only be examples of the ideas they represent.

I for one an excited to learn about the types of stars and other objects in space exist and learn what is good and bad about them. Will has mentioned that the galaxy does have a terrain and you need to sat away from stars about to go super nova. I can't wait to build in those star systems and watch that system explode. I can only image in the same vein stars will appear out of clouds of gas.

Will has really been focusing on the creature and other editors. He really wants to let people see how free you can be. I certainly look forward to that as I have every intention of pushing the limit. I've read on of the staff has already made creatures for the whole alphabet and I look forward to seeing these sad creatures.

The game industry does not seem to be having any of that though. Most reviews seem fairly unconvinced that the editor is really the focus of the game. The ask question about how advance the simulations are or will tons of missions and objectives. In video interviews with Will you can see his face drop when they ask these questions.

After years of paying Sim game from Will Wright I know exactly what Spore will be. The simulations will be simple but have many unintended consequences and moments of serendipity. Sim games have never been about complexity but simple simulations that work more like a seesaw. Remember SimCity? Too much residential and you would have abandon residents and property value would fall. Not enough highways and public transportation and it was hard to get your population really high. Not schools and high tech industries would not appear but too many school could quickly bankrupt you.

On the game side of Spore this is what it will be. A balancing act of solving problems with aggression, religion and economics.

So what about the hype? It almost seems in the wrong place. It will not be a hard core game and probably be "beat" in a couple hours. I would guess some where around 10 hours or less. But the point is not to win. The people who enjoy Spore will be the explores who want to see every planet and species or the Builder who will want to have their creations attack, befriend, and get downloaded buy the most people.

The place that the hype should be probably does not even know the game is coming because they do not follow the gaming sites and might not have ever heard of Will Wright. That is who he's trying to make the game for.

I can't wait to explore the universe and challenge my friends to make weirder and weirder animal and plants. I want every Spore player to get my creatures because they will be so highly rated. These aspects is what will make this game so much fun. And if the Sims is any indication there will be tons of expansion packs to keep fresh ways off adding content to the game. Because if all the Sims expansions were just new content then Spore expansions will have to be new ways of creating content. From odd looking galaxies to new creature parts and functionality.

EA may charge for Spore Access

"In addition to dropping hints about new platforms, Gibeau also hinted that Spore might not be entirely free of charge. He told analysts that the online mode of the game could be an "opportunity" for an "expanded digital revenue stream." He did not elaborate if said stream entailed microtransactions, in-game advertising, subscription fees, or any combination of the three." (via)

Ugg... really? One of the questions to Will in one of the interviews was about selling creatures. He did not seem to have a good answer but seemed a bit baffled by the idea.

I have a hard time believing that the basics of downloading content and having a user profile will be something to charge people for. This is really a large draw of the game. What I'm hoping EA means is that they could sell other games or games related items. I know every one looks to Steam these day and wants ways to sell more games online.

Hopefully this is not something to be worried over.

Epic Creatures

Okay. This video has a great mention of what an Epic Creature is. Epic-ing is a high level space ability. It's mentioned in a way that you should be excited if another user epics your creature.

So it seems that epic will be an expensive skill to use and will mostly take a lot of "spice points" or what have you.

Other wise it's a bad video with the interviewer asking really dumb questions.