All across the globe, hardcore and casual gamers alike are clamoring to get their hands on Spore, a “multi-genre ’single-player online game’” in which the player helps a single unicellular organism evolve into a species of scientifically advanced creatures across five stages of gameplay. Although the game’s been delayed once or twice already, it looks like a final release date is pretty solidly slated for September 7. Players eager to dive into the Spore universe before then, though, are about to have a brand new tool at their disposal: the Spore Creature Creator, being released at 12:00 CDT June 18.
What is Spore?
Although I haven’t followed Spore’s evolution too closely until a few days ago, I can remember hearing about the game over a year ago through Leo Laporte’s This Week in Tech Podcasts. Fortunately for all of us, the game’s come a long way since then and we’ve got a pretty clear picture of what the play experience is going to be like. Says the main site:
With Spore you can nurture your creature through five stages of evolution: Cell, Creature, Tribe, Civilization, and Space. Or if you prefer, spend as much time as you like making creatures, vehicles, buildings and spaceships with Spore’s unique Creator tools.
The friends and foes that inhabit the lands of Spore are all created by other players, hence the ’single-player online game’ moniker. As players explore, content is procedurally generated by the universe, ensuring a new and unique play experience every time an individual logs in. Coupled with a soundtrack by Brian Eno, a community-based network, and customizable swag and apparel from e-stores, Spore is bound to be an enormous hit.
What is the Creature Creator?
Like I mentioned earlier, as players explore the world of Spore, they encounter inhabitants created by other Spore players. To seed the September world with a host of exciting content, and to get players psyched about the game if they haven’t already, the Spore Creature Creator is the primary vehicle through which players design their creatures. To kick-start the Creature Creator excitement, the software was provided a few weeks ago to celebrities from the internet and beyond to see who could create the best critter. Soon afterwards, the demo version was leaked, too, but in just a few hours, the full version of the Creature Creator will be available for $10 at the EA Store.
The Creature Creator features three main modes: Build, Paint, and Test Drive. A player building a Spore critter can select from any number of mouths, eyes, arms, legs, and other features, each providing their own contribution to the creature’s performance in-game, then paint the creation with a wide variety of textures, colors, and special features. The Test Drive mode allows players to see their creature perform in a small enclosed space, perfect for taking snapshots or videos through in-game tools (the latter of which can be uploaded directly to YouTube– cool).
First impressions
The Spore Creature Creator is pretty amazing, and it isn’t even the full game. I’ve already preordered my copy from the EA Store, which should be downloading in about four hours; I can’t wait to get started! It’s already proved itself to be addictive, yet simple– I let my younger sister create a creature herself with the demo only a few hours ago and she’s already asking if she can build another on my machine. I’m inclined to install it on her computer, which brings me to Spore’s last selling point for me: although graphics are detailed and attractive, the game is designed to be friendly on older computers. It won’t be one of those games you’ll need a top-of-the-line graphics card for to enjoy, and I can already hear my PC breathing a sigh of relief.
I can’t wait to share my favorite Spore Creatures over the next few weeks. Hopefully, if you decide to purchase the software, you’ll do the same, and hopefully share them here!
