Spore

[Tigranes]

Also. Anybody know if every single being within your current species must look the same, or there can be different 'sub-races/breeds' within that species? E.g. Female have a stinging tail, type A has a larger beak, whatever. I just thought that it looked a little monotonous and contrived when you have 60-70 of those things running around looking exactly the same.

[Darque]

Because it looks simplistic.

 

I can build a star destroyer out of legos (well, not really, but it can be done) but it's still using simple toys to do it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In the game using conventional content (pre-rendered/pre-modelled/manually animated) you can't even do this. There is a difference between simplistic look and simplistic substance.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Lego critters is a simple game

 

Lego single cell organism to lego critter to lego tribe to lego town to lego planet... same concept, only the playing pieces change.

 

As far as I can tell it's a simple game.

 

Just because you change art style per "era" doesn't mean the game gets more complex... I'll have to see a lot more before I'm sold

[alanschu]

You can abstract any game to look simplistic though. SMAC = build bases, research tech, build units.

 

I bet the game is not very hard to play, but it will be exceptionally elegant, intuitive, and just plain fun.

 

 

I mean, SimCity isn't a particularly complex game, but it still has you making tons of decisions. I'd be surprised if this one was any different.

Edited March 3, 2006 by alanschu

[Darque]

Time will tell, but the video didn't :D

[metadigital]

You're a hard marker, young Darque. I am pleased to see how MUCH Mr Wright has done so far. He has basically created a new gaming genre (a sort of post-modern amalgamation of lots of others).

 

Anyway, this is just the sort of fillip that the game industry needs!

[Gabrielle]

Strange....

[Ginthaeriel]

Hmmm... that seems a lot like The Sims. You can only really get as much from the game as you put in.

 

I mean, I think The Sims is revolutionary in game design. But I couldn't play it for very long because I just didn't have the heart to set up the intense soap dramas between the characters. I played it much like an RPG... trying to get the best job, etc. And once I realized the absolute futility of that, I just stopped in less than a month.

The interior decoration and creativity factor involved with the Sims is great, and I think it can definitely be expanded upon in Spore. But not everyone has the talent, time nor the will to put the effort in arranging all that stuff.

I would think the game would be amazing on the first playthrough. It would be decidedly awesome to be able to go from being a single celled organism into conquering the known universe. It would definitely give the player a lot of connection with the species they create. But I couldn't see MYSELF playing around in the sandbox much more afterwards though, given the massive undertaking of the game.

It seems the game would play very similar eventually, and the most fun you can get ouft of it is from the sandbox style insanity that would although be incredibly freeform and flexible, require a LOT of orchestration on the player's part. It's cool that the player can basically create their own narrative with so many procedural variables in play, but I don't think many people would find playing through their own story fun, since you'd already know the ending.

 

I mean, that's why Sims 2 has a "photogallery storybook mode". All the hardcore players like to use the game almost as a Machinima style engine for their own dramatic soap opera narratives, which they share on the web.

[mkreku]

My girlfriend was unimpressed by the video too! "It looks boring", was all she said after 35 minutes! I don't understand girls.

[BattleCookiee]

So, in short, Ginthaeriel, you think it will become like MW?

 

Alot to do, alot of options, a large world, a good looking enviroment...?

 

But just extremely boring...?

[metadigital]

It must be a GOD game, not a GODDESS game.

[Gabrielle]

It must be a GOD game, not a GODDESS game.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That sounds very flawed. <_<

[Darque]

It must be a GOD game, not a GODDESS game.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That sounds very flawed. <_<

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

ayup

[Gabrielle]

[Craigboy2]

Spore

 

I really hope they pull this off...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This looks like a must buy...I will have to get a new computer for it though.

[Bokishi]

Can't we all say that for next-gen games?

[Ginthaeriel]

So, in short, Ginthaeriel, you think it will become like MW?

 

Alot to do, alot of options, a large world, a good looking enviroment...?

 

But just extremely boring...?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No. I don't think it would be like Morrowind at all. Because I loathe Morrowind with an unbridled passion.

 

Rather, I would think Spore would be very similar to The Sims.

Which is not really saying anything at all. Hmm.

[alanschu]

Which means at the very least, it will serve as a gateway game into the industry, making it more popular.

[metadigital]

I think a great gift to the (bedroom coding / modding) community is the procedural animations based on the core attributes of the graphical object. That will surely

[Tigranes]

Think of the potential for implementing it to RPG combat. Throw in some very basic physics, too... instead of mo-capping random obscure martial arts masters for supraerobic feats.

[alanschu]

I think a great gift to the (bedroom coding / modding) community is the procedural animations based on the core attributes of the graphical object. That will surely

[metadigital]

Yeah, I'm drooling (metaphorically speaking, of course) at the possibilities in a couple of (game design) generations' time ...

[Kaftan Barlast]

Back in the early-mid ninties there was a team of scientists who experimented with creating randomly generated AI lifeforms which would move through a 3D space using whatever means of locomotion they had evovled

 

 

Its seems very much like Wright took that and made a game out of it.

 

 

But I find myself asking the same question as people did when The Sims came out; ok this is a cool set of features but where is the game? Hopefully, Spore will prove us wrong again.

[metadigital]

I wouldn't play Sims if you had a large calibre rifle point-blank at my temple. Spore, on the other hand, looks quite fun.

 

While I take Ms Darque's point, that it might end up being a lot of mouth and no trousers (lots of bits of other games without the depth), I would also counter-point that there are significantly less gains to be had with increasing complexity (diminishing returns). After all, once you have worked out the optimum city improvement regime, adding artic and tropical variations may add to the complexity of the build process, but is it proportionately as much an increase in fun?

 

Also, probably why grrrrls don'tlike the game is because they already can manipulate the universe around them to create whatever world they wish. Boys need to feel that power because they don't have it. :D

[Ginthaeriel]

Think of the potential for implementing it to RPG combat. Throw in some very basic physics, too... instead of mo-capping random obscure martial arts masters for supraerobic feats.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Hmm... if you're talking about using the Spore Engine for a seperate RPG game, then I'm intrigued... An RPG about alien mutation, ala Bioshock, perhaps? You're a failed clone, a mass of genetic material, that has to slowly absorb genetic material from the bodies of the creatures you've slain to morph your way into a veritable killing machine, all the while attempting to escape the horrid laboratory where you've been trapped.

 

The single cellular version of the game could be worked into a weapon, where your monster could kill from afar using mentally controlled nano-viruses, or perhaps a minigame in which you need to "capture" DNA after slaying enemies, and you can actually invest points into your little DNA capturer to evolve it so it can capture rarer and more powerful genes.

 

Perhaps have a human consciousness trapped in this grotesque creature ala "The Metamorphosis"? That would definitely be an original theme to work with in an RPG. You could work all sorts of crazy themes and motifs into that framework. The alienation of modern man, confronting inner evil when you have to resort to survival, etc. etc. Imagine having to try and communicate to your pre-mutation girlfriend in your current state. The evil path could be to kill humans so that you can absorb their dna, so that you can quickly evolve into a more humanlike creature. Perhaps turning "fully human" could be the objective of the game.

[Craigboy2]

So, in short, Ginthaeriel, you think it will become like MW?

 

Alot to do, alot of options, a large world, a good looking enviroment...?

 

But just extremely boring...?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No. I don't think it would be like Morrowind at all. Because I loathe Morrowind with an unbridled passion.

 

Rather, I would think Spore would be very similar to The Sims.

Which is not really saying anything at all. Hmm.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Good thing I like Morrowind, anyway it would probably move faster but it'll take a while to be able to blow up a planet.

 

What I don't understand is when you make something like a Care Bear, not using any of the pre-made legs/arms how does the game know where you want your skeleton to be?

Edited March 4, 2006 by Craigboy2