Some Joystiq readers will no doubt be jealous when we remind them of how Joystiq special correspondent Randall Bennett got to play Spore behind closed doors at E3. And again when he got to see Robin Williams crack jokes while making his own creature at that Wired party.
Well, our jealousy was rekindled when, after some months, Randall's friendly neighborhood UPS guy rang his bell to deliver a Spore figurine identical to the character he had designed at E3. They should definitely have a service so consumers can order their own custom figurine. More pics after the break.
(Page 1) Reader Comments
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Tell me you wouldn't pay it though.
Of course... I wouldn't have to.
*ducks*
=)
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I'm joking, of course, I think this is all-around awesome, but I also find it hard to doubt someone with something so personalized would right a bad review.
Game looks like a ton of fun, I'm a bit afraid there isn't enough "game" and it will get tiresome within a few hours, but the tech behind it is great.
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I know, and didn't mean to imply anyone will be swayed, nor that it's Maxis' intent.
I'm just saying that, of all the freebies I've seen, this is the only one that would have tempted me. So damn individualized, making it one of the best I've seen.
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Not enough game? Spore is going to have the biggest replay value of any game I've ever seen! You could play this through ten times and never have it the same!
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Really cool idea, that.
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The full 3d character model already exists in-game, so we'd just need a quick means of one-figure-at-a-time mass production (sic).
"Tea, Earl Grey, Hot."
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http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jul2006/id20060720_289503.htm?campaign_id=bier_innlt0
Relevant excerpt:
"It may not be there in the same form in the final game, but you could also hit a menu item and send your creature to Maxis’ 3D printer, which automatically creates a model of it. It is likely that a model-making service (which will probably require payment) will be available when the game appears."
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Never have it exactly the same, but still somewhat the same.
The creature creation novelty will wear off. After that I'm worried that nothing has enough depth and subtlety to last.
Look at The Sims. No depth nor subtlety. Game got old in a handful of hours.
You can't compare the two, but looking at the movies of Spore I have the same fears. That it will be awesome for the first time or two through, maybe three or four hours, then you'll feel like you've done it all and that nothing you do really matters - you're just rehashing the same ground over and over.
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(http://www.vgcats.com/comics/images/060619.jpg)
P.S. geekinabox: I don't think you understand the proper usage of "[sic]" :: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sic
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Well concidering the "gameplay" in this game/be-God-for-a-day-simulation, what I said could actually be a comment on the...uh..creativity. Yeah, that's good, creativity.
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Thankfully, you're the exception.
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I wonder if they could hook me up with an Alyx figurine...
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Look at The Sims. No depth nor subtlety. Game got old in a handful of hours."
Considering how INSANELY popular and profitable The Sims was (and is) Maxis probably hopes Spore will be similar to it. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy The Sims, MosquitoControl. I didn't either. That doesn't mean that it won't sell like hotcakes, though.
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After initially facing the challanges the game provides, you want to get to the most fun part as soon as possible. In the Sims, that means being able to buy anything you ever wanted and building a fantastic house. In Spore, it'll mean having your completely evolved species rule the entire universe as we know it. (Or so I would assume.)
So, in all, even if the game does get boring after a few plays, I expect people will fix it so we can get to the parts we like, and skip the rest of that nonsense.
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You need to remember that this is a static, unjointed figure. Any kind of articulation would make this gimmick impossible, as it would take a human designer to fit hinges or balls-and-sockets to the shoulders, hips, etc. It shouldn't cost as much as a McFarlane figure simply because it isn't anywhere near as complicated to produce.
When you consider that this is a solid chunk of plastic, modelled by computer from a set library of components, then painted by computer from a set library of patterns, then you can imagine that it would be potentially quite affordable.
How very, very cool. Imagine if they did this for The Sims 2, which uses similar modular modelling technology. They could make a fortune... well, another fortune...
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