Will Wright
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David Perry posits 70 Million player massive game
David Perry, a gent who used to be synonymous with the quirky developer Shiny Entertainment, is now best known for his work in the Massive games industry. He recently did an interview with the website videogame247, where he essentially said that World of Warcraft is still too niche for the potential MMOs represent. In fact, he could see a game someday existing that nets '70 million players'. As he puts it, "we haven't got anyone that's thinking down the Will Wright path."Perry is looking to outfits like Club Penguin or MapleStory as harbingers of the future. He posits that if World of Warcraft were to go free-to-play, it would be looking at a 25 million-strong playerbase instead of 'only' 10 million. He himself is very familiar with the free-to-play model, as several of the Acclaim online titles he's imported to the country of late are based on that paradigm. How successful do you think a free-to-play WoW would be? Will we ever get to a 70 million player game, or is that 'the crazy talk'?[Via RPS]
Will Wright: Mac users will love Spore
Well, who won't, right? If you haven't read a single gaming blog this week (you serious worker bee, you), then you may not have heard the big news: Will Wright's rumored-to-be-a-masterpiece Spore has gotten a release date. It's hitting stores (for both PC and Mac simultaneously-- now that's what I like to hear) on September 7, 2008. Which means that later this year, PC and Mac users alike will be playing God, and creating creatures that virtually evolve from amoeba form all the way up to space travel.Mac|Life got a chance to sit down with Will Wright himself, and not only did he reveal some fun news about the game, but he thinks it will especially appeal to Mac users-- they expect the creative creature creator to do great things with Mac minds. Unfortunately, the game is a Cider port, and it's being released by Aspyr (that's right, I'm breaking my informal press boycott on them to talk about Spore-- don't disappoint me, Aspyr *see update below) but Wright sounds like he's expecting quality from this release, so I guess we should, too.And just like all the other great developers out there, he's very interested to see what happens with the iPhone SDK -- Wright is apparently an iPhone owner, and would love to get Spore on there. Believe me, Will -- I'd love to play it.[Via IMG]*Update: Aspyr has contacted us to say that they are not publishing the game. And at first I was confused, because Lucy Bradshaw specifically mentions Aspyr in the interview. However, after reading it a few times, it seems that Bradshaw is actually giving reasons for why they decided not to go with Aspyr-- their native ports come out too late, and EA wanted to release Spore simultaneously on all platforms.Aspyr also notes to us that they only do native ports, not Cider ports. So I guess my informal boycott against Aspyr is still on, but we're still not guaranteed to get a good game out of this: Madden '08 was created using Transgaming's Cider, and that didn't turn out so well. Wait and see.
Joystiq gets their hands dirty with Spore Creatures
For many of you, yesterday's news meant that life would have to take a break on September 7th of this year. Friends will be lost and your job will likely alter to one of playing God instead of filing paperwork like you currently do. Yup, it should be a very good year.That is, until we read up on Joystiq's impressions with the DS version of Will Wright's game. First of all, it's being developed by Foundation 9 and not Maxis. Although Maxis did say they're handling "design" internally, we're not all too pleased to know that another developer is making this game and it won't be under the scrutinizing eye of Will Wright day and night.Second, this game is going to be very different from Spore on the PC. In Spore Creatures, you're abducted by aliens, along with a pal of yours, and you must go on a long quest to save your friend. You'll make other friends, evolve and fight to survive. But, the focus is clearly on collecting items and maintaining one creature, rather than all of the awesome stuff one can do in the PC game.That isn't to say that Spore: Creatures is a completely lost cause. The game will allow players to trade creatures over Wi-Fi Connect, so we're glad to see that. Also, the creature creation system sounds robust, from what Joystiq found. And, also the game will benefit from a good stylus-driven control scheme. %Gallery-15944%
Spore media blowout: impressions, images and more!
Four Spore and just over seven years ago (hah! we're punny), Will Wright set about his extremely ambitious "Sim Everything" project. Now that we have a confirmed release date of September 7, 2008 (and some parts even sooner), it's time to recap all the Spore news from the last 14 hours: Spore finally evolves to retail Sept 7, 2008 Can't wait for September 7? Creature-only Spore to launch sooner Will Wright talks Spore on Wii, delays, procedural music DS, mobile version of Spore titled 'Spore Creatures' A peak into Will Wright's office Today's most retrospective video: Spore's GDC 2005 unveiling Hands-on impressions: Joystiq impressions: Spore (PC/Mac) Joystiq Impressions: Spore Creatures (Mobile) Joystiq impressions: Spore Creatures (DS) Exhaustive galleries found after the break!
Can't wait for September 7? Creature-only Spore to launch sooner
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Spore_creature_editor_to_launch_before_Spore'; EA is releasing a separate SKU for a creature-editor edition of Spore even earlier than its September 7 game launch. The company confirmed with us that the stand-alone product will let players begin creating crazy creatures, although it won't include other components of Spore's Creature Phase. Those creatures will then be able to be used in the full version of Spore.EA didn't give any more specific details about when the creature-editor-only Spore will be released and its cost. Here's hoping it's a free download available, umm, yesterday. There's time travel in Spore, right?%Gallery-15883% Check out all our extensive coverage of Will Wright's Spore, including impressions of the PC, Mac, DS, and Mobile releases; the teaser trailer; some pics of Will Wright's office; and more!
Joystiq Impressions: Spore (Mobile)
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Hands_on_with_Spore_Creatures_Mobile'; Update: EA let us know that only the DS game will be called "Spore Creatures." The mobile version keeps the simple "Spore" handle.Spore Creatures for mobile phones is launching with the rest of the Spores on September 7. I figured that this Spore had no chance of infecting me. But after recently playing, I was impressed and surprised by its quality. The graphics -- and even its concept -- would be at home on a DS or Game Boy.Like Spore on the DS, the mobile version of the game doesn't even try include everything from the PC version. Spore for phones centers on the Cell Phase of the game. You use the phone's joystick to steer the creature through a slurry of suspended protein and other early life forms, eating objects and avoiding enemies.But like the other versions of Spore, you'll regularly use a creature editor to upgrade the character. While the body part choices are also scaled down, there's enough variety to make the creature your own. Certain parts, like a dangling lure, affect how other organisms behave. That lure attracts food to you, for example. Or you could add a shell for personal defense; hit a button, and hide inside for temporary invulnerability.%Gallery-15904%
A peek into Will Wright's office
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Will_Wright_s_office_It_s_not_a_bug_it_s_a_feature'; While wandering through EA's Maxis office for a recent Spore demo or two (or three), we snapped a few pictures of building art and Will Wright's office. (We've grown unexpectedly fascinated with people's desks.) "It's not a bug, it's a feature" never gets old. And it's a veritable game of spot-the-technology-that-shouldn't-be-here inside Wright's workspace. Well, "shouldn't" for game developers who aren't trying to launch the SimEverything genre. Somehow, we think Wright needs everything in the photo.%Gallery-15885% Check out all our extensive coverage of Will Wright's Spore!
Joystiq impressions: Spore Creatures (DS)
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Hands_on_with_Spore_on_DS'; Like many other multi-platform games, Spore DS Spore Creatures is being developed outside of EA's Maxis office. Foundation 9 -- formerly the Amaze Entertainment studio -- is handling the game. (Maxis says it's doing the "design" internally, for what that's worth.) Spore's immense scope is being cut to fit the DS screen; instead of five different phases, the DS game is more of an adventure story centering on creature creation, exploration, and evolution.After hearing this scope -- "You know... for kids." -- I almost wrote it off outright. After seeing the game, I think it's going to appeal heavily to that young demographic, but it's also going to snag a lot of The Sims fans.%Gallery-15886%
Today's most retrospective video: Spore's GDC 2005 unveiling
Although you might be feeling a Spore overload as of late, we thought it'd be fun to take a moment and look back at Spore from GDC 2005, three years ago, and see how the game looked then. After the break, footage from the unveiling. We've also embedded The Powers of Ten, a 1977 short film documentary that reportedly inspired Will Wright to make the game.
Don't you Spore-get about Wii
If you've been checking some of your favorite game sites, there's a good chance you've already heard about Spore's September release date. Wii owners were kicked to the curb and left out in the cold after the announcement, though, which made no mention of the game's presence on Nintendo's newest home console.We may not have a date, but thanks to N'Gai Croal, Wii owners have some tiny morsel details to nibble on. The good news is that these details make the Wii version sound like the most immersive of any, and not just because of the Wiimote. Okay, it's totally because of the Wiimote.In a Newsweek interview with Will Wright, the Spore creator talks about the benefits of putting the game on the Wii. Apparently, Nintendo's system has a higher bandwith controller than the other consoles (and computers). Because of that, the creatures have the potential for an infinite number of animations. Wright also said that he has spent a lot of time working on even the most subtle aspects of the Wiimote controls, which makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It's nice when the Wii's controller is used to its full potential, and not just as a gimmick.Hopefully the Wii version will be as good as it sounds -- we'd hate to wait an extra long time, only to be disappointed. No pressure there, Mr. Wright ... no pressure at all.
Spore gets dated for September as DS details emerge
Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit. It seems that Spore has finally been given a release date (or at least, the DS, PC, Mac, and mobile phone versions were). The much anticipated game will be gracing our favorite dual-screened portable on September 7th. Yes, that's quite a long way away, but it's better than the "possibly 2009, but who really knows?" window we had before.We're wondering, though -- how many of you potential Spore buyers plan to get Will Wright's game for the DS? While there's been a lot of hype for the game, it's usually not on the handheld front. The lack of excitement might be slightly justified, however. Obviously, the DS and mobile phone games are going to suffer some cutbacks when compared to their computer counterparts.According to a Newsweek interview with Lucy Bradshaw, the vice president of Maxis and executive producer of Spore, the DS version will be called Spore Creatures and will focus mainly on creature creation. The title will also have a different, Japanese-based art style, and features "unique abilities" for the creatures in the game. The Wi-Fi will be similar to that of the PC and Mac titles, however, and allow players to trade or share their creations with friends.While the game might not be as deep as the computer ones, it still appears to be pretty epic, so having the option to carry it around at all times might be a good thing.Hey, and it beats getting the mobile phone version, amirite?[Via Joystiq]
DS version of Spore titled 'Spore Creatures' [update]
Update: EA has clarified that the DS version will be called Spore Creatures, while the mobile game will retain the original title -- just Spore.Though it may share half a name with the "everything but the kitchen sink, but also, probably, a kitchen sink" sim Spore, you've probably already guessed that the DS and mobile versions of the game are going to be drastically different than its big brother. In an interview with Newsweek released today, Maxis' Lucy Bradshaw, gave some idea of what would be shed to get the game onto handhelds.In short, the game's been designed from the ground up for the smaller platforms, eschewing all but the creature creation portion of the game. It's even adapted a different art style based on Japanese flat rod puppets (one of our top three favorite kinds of Japanese puppets). The mobile phone version pulls the zoom in even tighter, focusing only on the cell phase of Spore. If you want more info about how you'll be getting your Spore fix on the go, check the full interview here. Check out all our extensive coverage of Will Wright's Spore!
Will Wright talks Spore on Wii, delays, procedural music
We know that after years of delays, whatever part of your heart cares about Spore has calcified and hardened. But now that it's actually, really, no kidding coming out on Sept. 7, it's probably OK to start getting pumped again, and Newsweek's N'Gai Croal is there for you to help turn your heartlight back on.In the first part of a massive interview, Will Wright lays it all on the table and reminds you how great the game is going to be (spoiler alert: very) and why it took so long to get here. Then Wright delves into the Wii version of the game, which he says will take advantage of the Wiimote to give more control over creatures. Also in that second part, an incredibly rad explanation about how you'll be able to procedurally generate a theme song for the city in your game. ... What's the feeling stirring in our hearts? Could it be ... anticipation? Do we dare to love again? Yes. We dare.%Gallery-15870% Check out all our extensive coverage of Will Wright's Spore!
Spore finally evolves to retail Sept 7, 2008
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Spore_release_date_announced_3'; Spore, the sim-everything simulator, finally got its amino acids together today and plopped out a release date of September 7, 2008. Looks like EA's boss was right that the long-in-production sim would reach retail "before the holidays" on the PC, Mac, Nintendo DS, and mobile phone platforms. Maxis' main man Will Wright said, "We're in our final stages of testing and polish with Spore, and the team at Maxis can't wait to see the cosmos of content created by the community later this year." That makes, well ... just about all of us.Spore countdown is: 207 days, 12 hours, 47 minutes and 35 seconds.%Gallery-15870%Read – Spore movie announcementRead – Spore text announcement[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Games that could be MMOs: Spore
Ever since I saw Spore being shown at Macworld this year, I've been thinking about how our characters progress, and likening it to evolution. The more you fight, the more you grow -- in levels, anyway. Here, however, death doesn't cut off your genetic line, but neither do you get to pass yours on. And while it's cool to watch your character gain abilities, hit points, new gear, etc., what if there were an MMO that let you actually evolve?Take Spore as our example: start life as a single-celled organism. Eat and avoid being eaten long enough, and you level up to the next step: evolving into something better adapted to the environment, so you can survive better, longer. Keep on growing until you've begun making tools. Organize a community. Explore the world, and eventually, space itself, and new worlds. This is what Spore promises, but currently it's a single-player game, with the only interaction with other players arising when spaceflight is achieved. But what if Spore started out as an MMO?
Spore coming to Mac, simultaneous release with PC this year
Spore will launch simultaneously on Mac and PC later this year, reports Cnet. An official announcement from EA is expected today out of MacWorld where EA will apparently preview the everything-sim on – you guessed it – Macs. As with EA's previous PC-to-Mac titles, TransGaming technology will handle the conversion process. Spore is expected to be one of several EA games targeted for simultaneous release this year."[We] think the Macintosh user is somebody who is, typically, a creative individual," said EA Maxis VP of marketing Patrick Buechner, "Part of the appeal of the Mac is that it allows you to do creative things very easily. And we think that lines up very closely with what you can do with Spore ... So it just feels like a natural place for Spore to be, and we're thinking about it up front rather than as an afterthought."
Spore: Definitely coming to Wii
Will "I love Wii" Wright, daddy of The Sims and Sim City, has revealed what we've all long suspected: Maxis is bringing life simulation Spore to the Wii. Wright didn't expand on when the Wii version would be ready, merely telling the Guardian that "We're doing Spore on the Wii." As many of you will know, a DS version is already in the works.On an entirely unrelated note, turns out Wright is also something of a DS strategy fan. "With the exception of Advance Wars on my DS, there's no one game that I spend a huge amount of time playing," he said, managing to make us like him even more. Dude just loves his Nintendo.
Will Wright reckons Wii is the only 'next-gen' system
And before you get all uppity and start hurling stacks of duct-taped Gamecubes at the poor man, consider that his opinion isn't based entirely on console innards. In an interview with Guardian Unlimited, Will Wright gives us some insight into what goes on beneath the television in his living room. While the renowned designer confesses a love for Guitar Hero (Wright is a human: confirmed), he notes that the Xbox 360 is left to gather dust while the Wii and PC keep him occupied.Wright believes the Wii is worthy of the "next-gen" moniker because it's, well, getting another generation to play games. "The only next gen system I've seen is the Wii – the PS3 and the Xbox 360 feel like better versions of the last, but pretty much the same game with incremental improvement," says Wright. "But the Wii feels like a major jump – not that the graphics are more powerful, but that it hits a completely different demographic." We know Peter Molyneux thinks differently, but we'll leave them be until we've recreated them in Spore and set them at each other's throats. Wright goes on to reiterate that Wii owners will be able to tinker with everything sim Spore, presumably after work on the PC and DS versions has been completed (sometime in the next 6 months, as Wright stated elsewhere). Click the "Read" link to learn more about Wright's stance on education in games, society's blame game and "direct neural connections."
Will Wright most impressed by Wii this generation
Well, here's a change. Instead of putting the Wii on the level of last-gen consoles, which some developers have done recently, Will Wright believes that the Wii is the only console deserving of a "next-gen" title. The Spore creator recently told CVG, "Somebody asked me what I thought next generation meant and what about the PlayStation 3 was next generation. The only next gen system I've seen is the Wii - the PS3 and Xbox 360 feel like better versions of the last, but pretty much the same game with incremental improvement." To Wright, next-gen consoles must reach a new demographic, which the Wii has done. Furthermore, it's Wright's Xbox 360 that sits unused, collecting dust, while his Wii gets played constantly. We don't completely agree with Wright's assessment, since we think that the Xbox 360 and PS3 bring more than graphics to the table. Still, it's nice to hear a well-known developer praising the merits of the Wii rather than dismissing it because of its weaker graphics.
Today's universe-imploding video: Will Wright in The Simpsons Game
Is it any wonder that Spore keeps getting pushed back further and further when creator Will Wright is doing things like taking his sweet time to make a cameo appearance in The Simpsons Game? Good lord, man. Every waking minute you have should be spent poring over Spore. In fact, now that we think about it, do you really even need to sleep? At this point it is probably assured that Will has rigged up some machine that eliminates his need for sleep cycles altogether. Probably whipped it up during downtime while developing The Sims. Check out Game Head's latest video above, which includes the fabled Will Wright appearance. He's sandwiched between Call of Duty 4 tidbits, but it's a small price to pay for his lines alone. Plus they make his little mustache look evil as well. Now, get back to work.
