(Edit: This review was originally written before the full Spore game was released. All of this still stands, however the full version of Spore contains not only the Creature Creator, but a house, cell, spaceship, car, plane, boat, and weapon creator as well. While all of this is great fun, it pretty much invalidates any need for this demo. -Snowman)
Spore Creature Creator is currently available as a stand-alone purchase prior to the release of the full Spore game. The Creature Creator let's you use the games Creature Editor to build your own creatures, which can then be saved and shared with others. These creations will, if everything goes according to plan, eventually populate yours, and others, Spore games when the full game is released.
Look at all those things people have already made! For the uninitatied, Spore is the latest offering from Will Wright, the genius behind the legendary SimCity series. SimCity, and Wright's other "Sim" titles, all seek to provide a highly realistic simulation of a certain slice of life. Almost all the games have a wide macro view, such as managing not just one life in The SIms, but an entire family or even town. This large scale development is juxtaposed with some very narrow micro management, including things like making sure your Sims each wash their hands before dinner. While his games are almost always universally praised for the idea behind them, the gameplay is also often polarizing, appealing only to a particular mindset.
Spore, Wright's latest offering, is probably his most grandiose so far. In it, he seeks to allow players to guide the development of an organism from a single cell, into a land roving creature, then to a sentient tribal race, onto a technologically society, and finally into a space faring race. Players will be able to guide their creatures actions, as well as design and look. This is where the Creature Creator comes in.
Wright has said that the games will feature "procedural animation," a term of art for describing games that can generate new animations on the fly. The importance of this is that creatures can be designed to almost limitless configurations. Legs animate as legs, no matter the length, location, or even number on the creature. A one legged creature hops realistically, a two legged biped walks like a cross between a human and a bear, and six legged creature are appropriately bug like. However, it doesn't stop even there. Give them 7 legs, and it still works! Put two legs in back, one in front, and it works!
And the animation is only the first half of the true genius behind the Creature Creator. The second is slightly less obvious, but in the end, probably more important. In game editors typically fall into two categories, simple and advanced. The simple ones reduce everything to preset pieces that are easy to use, but also stifle creativity. The advanced ones give players much more control, but at the cost of accessibility. The Spore Creature Creator seems to fit right down the middle. Your creature starts as a spine. Simply by clicking and dragging, the player can change the size, shape, and orientation of it. It is simple to roll the mouse wheel and make the creature fatter. You can easily drag it into an upright standing position, or lower it into a crawling stance. Arms and legs are added simply by dragging onto the field.
The editor. Simple yet elegant. Once parts are added to the creature, a single click of each part reveals several green balls and orbits. These represent different ways each part can be twisted and joints that can be moved. WIth these simple guides, it becomes easy to say, give your creature short forearms but long biceps. You can make it bowlegged or knock-kneed. Turn the eyes sideways or upside down. Feather details can be changed to stand straight up, lie flat, or any point in between.
On top of all this are plenty of detail pieces such as eyes, ears, and scale plates. Players can also paint their creature any color, and several layers of patterns and details are available.
Once created, players can drop their creature into a small test area. Here, you can interact with your creature by making him walk about. Also, several animations are available, including some great dances. Players can also spawn in some "baby" versions, which mimic their parents movements. This testing has a few goals. One is to allow players to fine tune their creations. The second is to help market Spore. There are easy options for taking pictures, which can be posted to the Sporepedia, and taking videos, which upload direct to YouTube. The Sporepedia is Maxis' sharing site for all things Spore. Already millions of created creatures have been uploaded. Other users can then browse through the creations, and select ones they like for download. Theoretically, this is how your game will be populated once the full game ships.
The Sporepedia, social networking meets viral marketing meets game. And here is where we get into the problems associated with the Creature Creator: It isn't a game. Outside of making, testing, filming, and sharing your creations, there is really nothing else to do. On the one hand, the Creator is simply amazing. It is so easy to use, and some people are already pushing it to the limits, making beautiful fantasy creatures as well as fully realized versions of Mario and Pikachu. Still, unless you are the type that can amuse yourself by drawing for hours, once you have made a dog, a crazy alien, and some piece of human anatomy, there really is nothing else to see.
Other than the lack of goals, there is little to complain about. The procedural animation system is breathtaking, but it can be broken. On the one hand, some people have already figured out how to make "invisible" limbs to create floating creatures. On the other, occasionally parts will clip. I made an alligator-type creature, but found her lower jaw frequently clipped through the ground. Also, although the creator is easy to use, there are times when you will find it simply impossible to get things to work the way you want them. When this happens, there is little to guide you except trial and error, or possibly Sporepedia message boards. Finally, at times this game reeks of expensive viral marketing. The Sporepedia, while having the possibility of being very useful, its mostly a Spore hype machine at this point.
The Creature Creator is currently offered at a demo price point, as well as a free trial version. The free version has half the parts, and only one background for the test arena. The lack of backgrounds is not a reason to upgrade. The parts, on the other hand, might be. If you find yourself really enjoying the editor, you will quickly feel hampered by the lack of parts. Also, it is important to consider if you ultimately plan on purchasing Spore. If you are on the fence about the game, this probably will not sell you on it. The real danger, however, is that the Creator is definitely a waste if you are not upgrading to the full game later.
The Spore Creature Creator is an awesome tech demo for a highly anticipated game. The editor is a joy to use, and the procedural animation is excellent new technology. This must all be weighed against the lack of goals and the necessity of a future purchase of the full game. If you are a Sim or Will Wright fan, and leaning towards purchasing Spore, this is probably a worthwhile investment. If you are still on the fence, take a look at the free version first. If you simply enjoy new and interesting game design, you should try the demo and see where the industry is moving. If you have your doubts about Spore, however, I cannot recommend this.
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