Spore is Complete!

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Previews: Spore
First ever hands-on impressions with the full game!

Spore is finished. That's the first thing I learn as I head in to my play session at the Leipzig Games Convention. Obviously, the game isn't finished finished (as in ready to ship), but in terms of its content offering, it's all there -- the game is complete. At this point, EA is spending the next several months paying attention to feedback from players to tweak and polish Spore for its release next Spring. But otherwise, it's done. So here I have the "final" game in front of me to play. And I'm the very first person outside of EA to get this opportunity. Ironically, I had to trek halfway across the globe to play a game being developed right across the San Francisco bay. But whatever. I'm too excited.



I'm also kind of intimidated. Having a game so massive in scope at my complete command -- at least for my all-too-brief gameplay session -- is pretty daunting. Where do I even start? I decide to go with the cell form; I figure, might as well start from the beginning. Following an incredible intro sequence (one that doesn't hiccup at all, unlike how we'd seen transitions in previous showings) taking me from far out in space to a crash landing in a planet's ocean, I begin to control my little blob. Spore begins much like the game flOw, actually. I swim around and begin to eat organisms -- very basic at first and then larger ones as I grow in size and experience. As in flOw, I move up levels as I progress, each time taking me closer to the ocean's surface -- though meanwhile introducing me to new creatures, challenges, and experiences. Even early on, it's all extremely experimental. I need to explore and see which creatures I can eat; whether I can digest them yet, whether I'll become sick if I devour them, or whether they'll attack me in return (some have nasty spikes, some emit electricity, and some are just, well, way bigger than me).



Once I've attained enough DNA points (essentially "learning" or "experience" points), I get to start spending them on my character. He's Bob. (All creatures are Bob as a default). I start to play around, making him leaner or fatter, then adding basic physical accoutrements. But almost immediately I realize just how overwhelming this can be. Why? Because I have to be willing to concede that experimentation is simply part of the game. Putting an eye here, or a mouth there; there is no right answer. Unlike, say, a Nintendo Mii, the choices I make aren't merely cosmetic -- they ultimately greatly affect my gameplay. And there's a lot of weight that comes with that. I decide to give my little guy a mouth on each side of his body instead of one big one in the front -- which, although one might think would be beneficial, is probably a mistake. Once I return to the environment, I realize that eating certain enemies is more difficult; I need to attack them in a sweeping motion in order to effectively use the mouths. The next time I have enough DNA points, the first thing I do is fix up Bob's mouth.

What I love even early on is the mood. The blurring effect on the backgrounds, different on each of the water "levels", and the music -- they create such a tranquil setting. I begin to interact with other creatures, too -- not just eat them or fight them -- and I start to build more experience through this. I finally reach the top of the ocean and arrive on land. This is pretty funny, actually. Bob and several of his friends arrive on shore, and in their basic state essentially almost flop around to move. After eating some fruit from a nearby bush, however, I'm ready to use my DNA points to evolve my creature for land. After giving Bob some legs, arms, eyes, a mouth, and painting him orange-brown, I'm pretty satisfied with the way he looks (he's pretty f**ked up, but I'm OK with it). What's interesting is that during my transition from sea to land, the game informs me of what type of player I am -- I'm a carnivore, or I like to behave in a certain way, or I'm super aggressive. It's an interesting way for players to get some objective feedback from game -- which could be considered for strategic purposes (perhaps I should change the way I play) or simply for humor value.



I then take Bob on a walk through the land environment. He meets various other creatures, and I decide how to interact with them. First, I sing -- and usually they sing back. Once we interact, I can then see with a meter above them when they become accustomed to me. As I come across other species, though, they ignore the singing. So instead I motion towards them to generate a response. The motioning, coupled with the singing, makes me come into their favor with most -- but others begin attacking me and I quickly realize I've gotten ahead of myself. I'm facing creatures I'm not ready to experience quite yet and I need to back off. But it's then that it occurs to me: I'm interacting with creatures that other people have created (obviously better than I have). If the concept sounded cool to you when Will Wright explained it, just wait until you realize this in the actual game.

Unfortunately, it's at this very point that my time with the game has to come to an end (EA's choice, not mine). I feel like with the evolution from basic sea creature to land freak of nature (sorry Bob) I've experienced so much -- I've gotten such a great taste for the game -- and yet I realize I haven't even scratched its surface. I haven't yet been able to experience its tribal phase, where I would control several creatures instead of just one, or its civilization phase, where I'd control an entire city and its inhabitants, or ultimately the space phase, where I'd then venture into the galaxy and onto other planets. As your creature(s) evolve, so does Spore's gameplay, progressing from simple interactions to complex management. In a sense, it gets progressively better as you go.
Which makes it all the more difficult to stop my play session. On one hand, it's probably for the best -- I'm in a giant hall full of so many other new games to play for the first time. On the other, I already know that nothing else I see in Germany will be nearly as significant.

Related Post: GC07: Spore for consoles ... after PC, DS versions

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