Spores Illustrated reminds us that Will Wright will make an appearance tomorrow just after noon at HMV Oxford Street, but only 200 fans are allowed to attend. Follow this link for more details.
Read More......
If you live in Australia or the Netherlands, according to several internet sources, you might be able to score a copy of Spore. It seems Spore has been released already for them, so go out and get your copy!
Read More......There's a few freebies floating around the internet I thought you might like to know about, as well as a great interview with Lucy Bradshaw, one of the developers of Spore.
Spore
"EA’s UK PR manager, Jonathan Goddard, was at hand to inform us that the cost of the Creature Creator will be taken off the full retail price of the Spore game, due in September.Lord of the Rings Online
This incentive offer is only for UK customers and only those that made the initial pre-order for Spore, at selected incentive stores."
Thanks to Spores Illustrated, here's a great link to a site called Sporenormous and a very detailed terraforming FAQ. It's not too early to learn how to play Spore, and Sporenormous reviews the tools, atmosphere types--everything you need to get your planet from barren to burgeoning. Have a look.
Read More......
Spores Illustrated alerts us to an English interview with Will Wright on a German site for a television station called 3sat. Unfortunately, its format is mp4, which some have trouble opening.
For anyone having problems opening mp4 videos, here is a solution. I used this guide at AfterDawn.com (scroll down to "The Easiest Method" and their software VLC for Windows (they also have links to the Mac and Linux versions at the end of that section). I'm not endorsing this software and it's use at your own risk--I'm not responsible! But it's what I used to open the mp4 and watch the video (plus it's free). If you still can't view the video and want to know what it's about, read on.
[Spoiler Alert! If you want to watch the vid yourself, don't read below!]
Back to the interview--it starts at about 1:50 into the video and runs to the end (14 minutes or so). Will talks about Nasa wanting games to get people interested in space sciences. He showed them Spore as a way to get people exposed to astronomy in a "toy galaxy." Nostalgic about SimCity and The Sims user communities, Will explains how he wants the communities to fit right into Spore--Spore uses all player generated content, and the ways to access it and blog or YouTube about it (is YouTube a verb yet?) fit perfectly into the game.
An open world within the game is the biggest change to games that he's seen since he's started working in the industry--games used to be "on rails" where you had to get x to do y and follow a preset track. Now players are given a lot more freedom. Most of the games created by the games industry aren't about contemporary reality, and Will feels they need to be to get widespread appeal. The Wii is his example--it reaches a new demographic because it makes games accessable to new gamers. If the user forgets about the controls, she will become immersed in the game--so, no awkward brainwave helmets for Will! He also pointed out that good games are malleable and can mold around the player--you can make the game become about yourself and your interests. When asked about the internet's utility for games, Will agreed that online is a great tool, but it's not the only thing that matters.
[/Spoiler]
In closing, here is a link to probably my favorite cartoon (about Spore) in the whole world!
Spore fansites everywhere, like Spore Universe and Spores Illustrated, posted this email last week by Caryl Shaw--aka MaxisLucky:
Hey Spore Fans -What prompted that was a rumor on the Gaming Steve forum that SecuROM (which would be installed with Spore) had to do some kind of check online every 10 days or Spore would stop working. This was the case with Mass Effect.
We wanted to let you know that we've been hearing your concerns about the online authentication mentioned earlier this week. I didn't want to head into the weekend without getting back to you with some information about how Spore is planning on using this new system.
A few things we wanted you to know:
-- We authenticate your game online when you install and launch it the first time.
-- We'll re-authenticate when a player uses online features, downloads new content or a patch for their game.
-- The new system means you don't have to play with the disc in your computer. And if you are like me, always losing discs, this will be a huge benefit.
-- You'll still be able to install and play on multiple computers.
-- You can play offline.
We do hope that players will play online - sharing creatures, buildings and vehicles with other players is something that is unique to Spore and one of the coolest features of the game. Every day, when I play the Creature Stage, I get to see wacky and awesome new creatures from my Buddies on the team coming over the hill at me and I can't wait to see what happens when our creative, passionate community starts sharing their creations.
I'd love to write more - but I need to get back to work. We've got a game to finish. :-)
-caryl
===============================
caryl d shaw (aka MaxisLucky)
online producer
spore
Via Spores Illustrated and Terraspore--and amazon.com, of course--comes a notice that amazon.com is offering:
"$5 Spore Creature Creator Pre-Order Bonus
Pre-order Spore Creature Creator and receive a gift certificate of $5 towards a future Amazon.com purchase of Spore. See details. Offer good while supplies last."
"How to Qualify for Your $5.00 Promotional Certificate:If you have an interest in this offer (and I sure do!), please consider using one of my associate links for the Creature Creator on this page. I've already pre-ordered mine. Can't wait for it to arrive! Read More......
* Add Spore Creature Creator sold and shipped by Amazon.com to your Shopping Cart.
* Click the Proceed to checkout button and place your order.
* Important: All purchases must be made before 11:59 p.m. PT on June 16, 2008 [emphasis mine], and while supplies last.
* If you do not cancel your order or return Spore Creature Creator, we will add a promotional code to your Amazon.com customer account by June 20, 2008, redeemable for $5.00 off Spore offered by Amazon.com. The promotional code will be added to the Amazon.com customer account with which you placed the order."
I wanted to make a bigger post today, mostly about Warcraft's 2.4 patch that was released yesterday, but I just didn't have the time. So, instead, I'll post about this Spore fansite kit hosted at gamershell.com. I came to it by way of Spores Illustrated, and while no one can agree whether or not Maxis put it out, the content it contains is pretty sweet. GameVillage also has a download, but you have to register to get it.
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot--I did manage to make this little widget today that shows you the days, minutes, and seconds left until Spore is available. Grab a copy for yourself.
