Will Wright discusses "Spore"
Posted Saturday, May 28, 2005 5/28/2005 09:18:00 PM
Will Wright, creator of SimCity and The Sims, discussed a new game project called Spore at the 2005 Game Developer's Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. In this game the player will start with a microbial life form and evolve it all the way to the point of interstellar travel. I'm not so much interested in the game as I am in what Will calls "procedural" content development. In Spore Will's game developers are not spending time creating stories and complex animations. Instead the animations and graphics are all dynamic based on a procedural system and the user selected parameters.
What's more, because the whole system is procedurally driven the individual creatures created by the player can be easily compressed into small packets and transferred into other players ecosystems. Within the ecosystems different players species compete for survival (Darwinian like). What fascinates me is that because of this procedural system the creatures are not preprogrammed. Undoubtedly, as the users create new creatures there will be life forms that the game designers never dreamt of. You see I loved the GTA series of games but you are essential playing in a world and along a plot that the game designers planned. With Spore the users are creating their own worlds and their own plots. Even the developers don't know how the plot will unfold in each users ecosystem. I really think this is the future of content.
I've thought about evolution type games (or simulations) for many years. Systems like like Conway's game of life fascinated me. I wanted to see more advanced ecosystems and more diverse phenotypes. I knew that in order to do it right the system must be dynamic enough that new phenotypes could come into play without being preprogrammed or otherwise ore-planned. Everything I've seen so far has fallen short of my vision. I hope that Spore is a step in the right direction; although at this point is all user driven. I'd love to see a evolution simulation system that can evolve based on Darwinian principles and result simulated life forms the system programmers never planned or expedited.
What's more, because the whole system is procedurally driven the individual creatures created by the player can be easily compressed into small packets and transferred into other players ecosystems. Within the ecosystems different players species compete for survival (Darwinian like). What fascinates me is that because of this procedural system the creatures are not preprogrammed. Undoubtedly, as the users create new creatures there will be life forms that the game designers never dreamt of. You see I loved the GTA series of games but you are essential playing in a world and along a plot that the game designers planned. With Spore the users are creating their own worlds and their own plots. Even the developers don't know how the plot will unfold in each users ecosystem. I really think this is the future of content.
I've thought about evolution type games (or simulations) for many years. Systems like like Conway's game of life fascinated me. I wanted to see more advanced ecosystems and more diverse phenotypes. I knew that in order to do it right the system must be dynamic enough that new phenotypes could come into play without being preprogrammed or otherwise ore-planned. Everything I've seen so far has fallen short of my vision. I hope that Spore is a step in the right direction; although at this point is all user driven. I'd love to see a evolution simulation system that can evolve based on Darwinian principles and result simulated life forms the system programmers never planned or expedited.
by harshblogger at 5/28/2005 09:18:00 PM
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