Spore: Evolution in Gaming
Spore is the latest creation from Maxis and Sims-creator Will Wright that has players taking a trip through different stages of evolution. This ‘massively single-player online game’ offers an interesting mix of real-time strategy, life simulation, and customization.
The game itself follows the growth and evolution of creatures as they progress through five phases: cell, creature, tribal, civilization, and space. The actual gameplay varies from phase to phase, as each has its own set of objectives and stages to complete.
Maxis and Wright have obviously put a lot of effort into making the game malleable. Editors litter the game throughout the different phases, allowing players to create and customize various aspects of the game. One editor, for instance, gives players the opportunity to make a creature from scratch; while another lets players fully design their own planet. These editors make it easy for players to personalize their own game; and plans are already underway to add more, such as a flora editor.
Where Spore really shines is with its player-based community. The high level of user-created content is easily uploaded and shared with other Spore players. Other players’ creatures, for instance, can be easily downloaded and added to their game. In fact, the in-game ‘Sporepage’ gives players stats on how their downloaded creatures are living in other Spore universes.
To make uploading your Spore experience even easier, Maxis has made it possible to record videos and upload them to YouTube all while playing the game. There is even a YouTube Spore community that will spotlight new and interesting videos uploaded by players. Maxis even allows players to subscribe to RSS feeds of others’ online accounts, making it easy to obtain real-time updates on another players’ uploaded content.
Another channel of uploadable information is through the in-game Sporepedia. This nifty feature keeps a log of virtually every in-game experience. These entries can be uploaded to the online Sporepedia for others to view.
Spore is certainly a revolution in online gaming. Although it lacks true ‘multiplayer’ gameplay, Spore has created an astonishingly intriguing game model that allows for heavy interaction with other players while maintaining a strictly ‘single-player’ game. The different phases of the game let players experience vastly different models of gameplay, which helps buoy the game’s replayability factor. And because players are encouraged to upload and interact with the Spore community, the game has a better chance of staying fresh for players.
Overall the game is a fun and intriguing attempt by Wright and Maxis, and certainly deserves a try. And the future only holds more promise as the inevitable inclusion of more and more content and players will only serve to better the game.
Filed under: Computers & Technology