Wright rocks the Enterprise in Spore video

by Justin McElroy { Oct 15th 2007 at 10:50AM }

We don't know if we're alone in this, but Spore videos have ceased to be game previews to us. They're more like transmissions from some sort of alternate dimension where the word "game" has taken on a whole other meaning. It's a world where arguments of a game's superiority are less about polygon counts than how many millions of different species are available at retail. Rather than debate weapon strength, they debate the aesthetic values of entire species.

Unfortunately, it also seems to be a world where development cycles aren't spoken of in terms of months but rather in decades. This new video, which shows Will Wright creating a non-flying bird and zipping around in what appears to be the U.S.S. Enterprise, certainly doesn't help make waiting any easier. Luckily, if human evolution has taught us anything, it's that we're good at waiting.

[Via GameStooge]

Tags: maxis, spore, willwright

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Oct 15th 2007 10:56AM

I was really really hyped about this game... 6 months ago. Same with rock band, sadly. These 2 games have blown all their hype for me, and now it like "yeah, thats nice, is it coming out or not".

Here's hoping spore isn't the new Duke Nukem Forever.

blooh (CDF - Nipple Ring) @ Oct 15th 2007 10:57AM

i remember seeing a video for this over a year ago

i'm trying to forget about the game, so if/when it comes out i'll be able to be excited

Konny @ Oct 15th 2007 10:59AM

Typical Joystiq responses to game delays or previews...

Delays in NintendoLand = Awesomes.. gives them time to polish the game up

Delays everywhere else = Bad

Delays for PS3 = teh DoomZ for tehm!!!!111!

FOXHOUND @ Oct 15th 2007 11:01AM

Well, when the default icon for comments is MARIO...

blooh (CDF - Nipple Ring) @ Oct 15th 2007 11:02AM

generalizations are never fully true.

they called the merc 2 delay a good delay, and it's for 360/ps3 iirc

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Oct 15th 2007 11:06AM

They first showed a video of Spore at E32005, Konny. a 6 month slip for Zelda or an 8 months slip for metroid is different than a 2 year slip. This was supposed to come out at the end of last year, and here we are at the end of this year, and we still don't have a solid date.

And to be perfectly honest, its obvious spore is getting delayed to add polish. Blatantly obvious. This game looks almost nothing like what they first showed. But its a game thats suffering from overhype.

Typical Sony fanboy response though.

FOXHOUND @ Oct 15th 2007 11:09AM

I guess it got cut off in the earlier reply, but I can't say I'm as hyped for SPORE as I was previously. If it wasn't for WW running the show for it, I would've figured it to be vaporware.

Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Oct 15th 2007 11:01PM

Everybody (but EA) delays games to have extra time to polish them up. I love all delays. I want better games. I think people are just knocking on PS3 delays because it's having a slow start in the must-have titles department.

Colin @ Oct 15th 2007 11:08AM

Dude needs to get this out and start making money...then spend his first $10 on a freaking haircut.

Psstt...where is SPORE for DS?

Will Wright was cool when I owned a Commodore 64.

Jerk Face @ Oct 15th 2007 1:34PM

LOL

B1gC72 @ Oct 15th 2007 3:43PM

lol funniest comment so far this week.

AlexP @ Oct 15th 2007 11:11AM

It's nice to know he's running this on an XPS laptop and not a 7K Mac Pro.

So yay, I won't have to buy a new PC to play this.

Kael @ Oct 15th 2007 11:14AM

Spore is becoming more of a myth every day.

I'm curious as to where Will is showing Spore and to whom these days. All of the video game trade shows and events are spore-less, but Spore shows up at weird, low-profile gatherings of the scientific community every time there is one, and a video of it becomes available. Either they're no longer trying to market Spore as a game, or they're... no, that's all I can think of. If they were trying to save the hype for when it was really coming out, they wouldn't be hyping it to anyone at all.

EternityInBlack @ Oct 15th 2007 11:26AM

God, release the freaking game already!

Joe P @ Oct 15th 2007 11:28AM

I think spore will soon stop being a game and just be a series of presentations that Will Wright uses to explain the universe.

arrrgh @ Oct 15th 2007 4:32PM

comment award winner :)

Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Oct 15th 2007 11:04PM

I'd actually love it just as much if that were the case. I'd love to see/hear him explain the universe.

Psaakyrn @ Oct 15th 2007 11:29AM

What I'm worried about this is that:
a) The game is intinsically limited to the type of options available: even if they do make a large number of options, our own perception of life is inherently limited to jointed limb segments and other classical defaults. I don't see any non-traditional forms of body structure, like what you might find in more mechanical constructs, even if they could be available by a stretch of imaignation. (e.g. I only see 2-gender biotypes, no wheels or "jets".) (There are creatures which travels in a "jet form", even if it's under-water. Given a suitably dense environment, this form of travel should not be limited to just water-based environments.)
b) Even given a larger option choice, most people aren't inherently "out-of-this-world" creative. There's likely to be some duplication of options. And when that does occur, who owns the IP of said constructs?

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Oct 15th 2007 11:41AM

EA does. You make it with their tool, I'm sure part of the EULA spells out that EA becomes the owner of any designs made in spore.

Joe P @ Oct 15th 2007 11:43AM

As to your first point, I have two words: Expansion packs

And regardless of that the editors do seem incredibly customizable. I feel we shall see when (if) the game finally launches.

Psaakyrn @ Oct 15th 2007 11:56AM

The editors are customizable, but so far, only in the add body part A to body part B sense. And so far, we've only seen mostly traditional body parts. Which granted forms most of the lifeforms that we know of (other than insects, which often have extremely specialized body parts), but I don't just want traditional lifeforms.

E.g. You can't create a hive mind with this set of tools, no matter how hard you try, because the toolset intrinsically only allows individual singular life forms. It's also unlikely that the toolset would allow non-traditional reproduction, like asexuality or hermaphite creatures. And insects has some obscure specilizations ranging from wing-cover carapace to steam-sprating eye glands.

Maybe I choose my words wrong. I'm thinking more towards sapience and physiology than direct cause-and-effect body structures. (I want to create body parts with a specific purpose, instead of creating body parts, then seeing what purpose it would play out)

And if EA does owns all creations, don't mind me if I boycott this game. I was leaning towards this game following the SL formula.

Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Oct 15th 2007 11:08PM

Psaakyrn's just worried he won't be able to make Zerglings with jetpacks for legs.

Chyld989 @ Oct 15th 2007 11:43AM

Holy balls I'm excited for this game.

Jerk Face @ Oct 15th 2007 1:38PM

Best Response Ever.

All these guys are going on and on about specialized body parts and intelligent shades of blue, and you drop a "holy balls." I haven't laughed so hard in a few days at least.

arrrgh @ Oct 15th 2007 4:35PM

truth, psaak.

I want me some limbs tethered with electric impulses and wireless optics! (floating eyes) i know what you mean, and i think given the delay time, they could have thrown in some really amazing possibilities

Carrie @ Oct 15th 2007 11:48AM

Yes! I can add wings! Gimme gimme gimme this game!!!

Lemmiwinks @ Oct 15th 2007 12:31PM

Apathy: The best way to generate hype!

Lurker28 @ Oct 15th 2007 12:34PM

The game is highly customizable from what we have seen from all the presentations. There are a plethora of different morph handles and other ways to stretch and bend your clay like shape.

Even if only 10% of the creatures created or worth a look that still means thousands upon thousands of outstanding looking/unique creature models. Most of the inherent limitations are going to be user based. If you sit down for a few seconds and think about it, look at all the wake and crazy ideas people have come up with for Mii’s, one of the most basic customizable features we have ever seen. However, people are still able to create some very similar Mii’s based on real people or characters from your favorite shows/cartoons/movies.

Lastly, I can not believe some of you actually have the audacity of using the word vaporware when it comes to Spore and comparing it to a gaming which has not had a demo or living showing since the last 90’s. Spore has been shown at almost ever game show and developer’s conference since its announcement in March of 2005 at GDC. It by no means is vaporware, but is such an ambitious game that there has been issues with there procedural techniques. Many of these issues have of course been resolved, but it has been a long coming. As they have said before the game can be played from start to finish now and in the next 6 months they are going to be working on completely polishing up the game. Expect the game between March-June of 2008.

Psaakyrn @ Oct 15th 2007 1:20PM

You say almost every developer and game conference? I distinctively remember a lack of Spore showings this year.

And being playable from start to finish in this sort of game means nothing since the game has no inherent specialized design elements like stage levels. You could have one single option for all customizable parts and play the game completely. The hard part is getting all the customizable elements to work right, and the first step in doing that is to make it playable.

peeweejd @ Oct 15th 2007 12:54PM

I wonder if this game is gonna be fun?

I guess its neat and all that you can create a character and it interacts and all that, but does that make it fun?

blooh (CDF - Nipple Ring) @ Oct 15th 2007 1:59PM

i dunno. it does sound more fun than simcity though

Josh @ Oct 15th 2007 2:25PM

"generalizations are never fully true."

Stop and think about that statement.

MasterInsan0 @ Oct 15th 2007 3:52PM

A big fancy term for it: self-referentially incoherent.

blooh (CDF - Nipple Ring) @ Oct 15th 2007 5:02PM

exactly :)

Mighty Shockwave @ Oct 15th 2007 2:31PM

Cool, we get to drive around the Enterprise!

Lurker28 @ Oct 15th 2007 2:32PM

Incorrect, spore was at 3 shows this year SIGGRAPH, Liepzig, and GDC...plus about a half a dozen small electronic shows around the world. It was shown all over and often, it is not my fault you do not keep up.

The games components have been done for quite sometime, in terms of the innards of the beast. However there were no transitions from one stage to the next nor was there complete in depth gameplay elements. Now, there is literally a full game with all animations, effects, textures, and procedural coding complete. What they have to work on now is bug fixing, testing for balance and playability, and minor tweaks to there system.

All in all, to me that sounds like a pretty complete game no matter how you look at it. Granted this particular time is the most crucial in the development cycle, because this can either make or break the game in terms of fun. If is is balanced or tweaked wrong it could completely ruin the gameplay experience.

Matt @ Oct 15th 2007 2:43PM

I was originally planning on buying a new computer just to play this game. But the more I've seen of it, the less I actually want it. Is it just me or are those wings not moving at all...ever...?

It's just not looking cool like it used to...

Robotic Earthling @ Oct 18th 2007 4:20PM

That's really strange. In the little preview world for the creature, the wings don't move at all, but once Will puts it into the "real" world, its wings flap every step it takes.

driven2sin @ Oct 15th 2007 2:54PM

when does this become an "Emperor has no clothes" moment?

Nintendo doesn't even have the balls to be this lunatic

BananaBoat @ Oct 15th 2007 4:10PM

The idea of this game is so boring to me, that I can't even imagine why anybody would want to play this. You create idiotic looking monsters, and then you get to watch them interact with the idiotic monsters that other people create...gah.

Why not make a game like this where my world of humans can interact with the worlds of humans that other people have created? They could wage epic space battles and interbreed. Atleast that would be a tiny bit entertaining -_-

ThornedVenom @ Oct 15th 2007 4:11PM

The mindset of videogames being a virtual playset can only be constructive. =)

LaughingTarget @ Oct 15th 2007 4:18PM

It seems the creature editor is pretty much done, so why not just release a demo with just that and let us tinker around with it to pass some of the time?

joystiq @ Oct 17th 2007 1:59PM

That's Will's intent. He's stated in other interviews that they plan to release the creature editor as a standalone toy well in advance of the full game's release. He just hasn't given any specific dates.

See here: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/24967.html