Coming later this year from Will Wright, the creator of the Sim City and The Sims series, is the critically acclaimed new genre-bending game: Spore. The hard part about previewing this game is that it does not fit in any particular genre. Instead, Spore is so far classified in a genre of its own, possessing a rich content filled environment where limitations are only bound by players’ imaginations. Creator Will Wright draws on different influences across multiple instances of popular pc games to produce what is up to now the only game of its kind. To give readers some clue on what Spore is all about, think of Pacman meets Diablo 2 meets The Sims meets Civilization. Yes, it is literally a hodgepodge of content derived from some of the most favored pc games in history.

Single Cell Phase

Players start out as a single-celled organism in a drop of water scrounging for bits of algae and running from larger organisms looking for a quick bite. At this stage of the game, Spore is much like Pac-Man. In the later stages of the single-cellular phase, players will be able to modify their organism pretty much any way they like. Some modifications include weapon attachments, faster modes of movement, more limbs, and body shape, but the limits to customizing your own micro-animal are almost boundless. When the cell has eaten enough, it will lay an egg, which opens the door to the next level of evolution: a water creature. This stage of the game is much like the cellular stage. Players will gain food and customizations as the organism eats until it is able to lay another egg, which will launch the next stage of the game.

Exploration Adventure Phase

The next stage of the game involves either continual evolution under water, or if players like, attaching legs onto their organism to move onto land. This part of the game is comparable to Diablo 2 because creatures will be fighting smaller monsters for food and to upgrade weapons, armor, and speed. Currency is also introduced in this phase as players gain more and more kills and experience, allowing them to purchase new body modifications. In the end of this Diablo-like adventure, the creature will be able to emit a “mating call” and mate with another organism to produce the next egg.

Real Time Strategy/Build Phase

The third part of the game involves a very RTS type of feel much like Starcraft. Instead of a single animal, you are now in charge of managing a group of animals. Structures are also introduced and can be used to upgrade new technologies and weaponry. Much like the animals, the structures are fully customizable to your liking. Wright showed how some players can design a city based on “Dr. Seuss” architecture, or construct a whole city on metallic and futuristic décor. This then evolves into another SimCity-like approach where players are placed in control of cities of these animals, and will act as a sort of governor to them. Other cities in the same world will attack or reach agreements on trade, alliances, or cultural ties. Diplomacy plays a major role here.

Colonization Phase

Upon advancing further in the game, players will be able to spawn a UFO for outer space exploration. This little flying saucer explores and actually colonizes other planets in the solar system, and then the entire galaxy. This is much like Civilization or Age of Empires but on a more interstellar basis. Some of the options that are bundled with the UFO include the “Genesis Device” which ultimately hurls Volcanoes and storm clouds onto an uninhabitable planet and creates an atmosphere for its future residents. From here, players will conquer the entire galaxy of infinite planets. As Wright says in his seminar, game developers are having problems creating new content for the ever-growing mass of gamers looking for something new and innovative to keep them glued to screens. Spore will be a game that is customizable from the very skeletal systems of organisms to the technologies of the empires players will acquire-making each gaming experience unique. Content will be drawn from other players online, so that there are infinite combinations possible. The game will not be geared towards a very PvP online experience, but more on a “borrowing” of ideas from other players connected on the network to enhance the various latitudes and longitudes of your own universe. Spore won the E3 2005 award for game of the year, and also for most innovative design. For more information on Spore and Will Wright’s seminar, please go to GDCE at:

The 2005 Game Developers Conference