14 DAY TRIAL // This year's Comic Con will host the announcement of a new title in the Spore franchise. Electronic Arts and Maxis will unveil a “brand new Sci-Fi Action-RPG based on the DNA of Spore,” according to the schedule of the San Diego-based convention. This would be another of the many spin-offs that EA have released in the Spore series.
Gamasutra reports that Thomas Vu, Paul Sottosanti and Lauren McHugh, developers at Maxis, will present the title on Saturday, the 24th of July 2010. No other details are known at the moment, but many Spore fans are speculating that this is the game for which EA has recently trademarked the name Dark Spore.
Spore is Maxis' last effort under the leadership of Will Wright, the creator of the highly successful SimCity and Sims series. The game allowed players to evolve their own creations from single cell organisms to powerful space-faring civilizations. This huge multi-genre hybrid features a very advanced, yet very easy-to-use creature and building editor that lets the player to design their people any way they want. The player's actions determine the pathway their species takes, from choosing to be carnivorous or herbivore to choosing whether to be religious or warmongering.
The relative success of the game prompted EA to launch various titles in the same franchise across other platforms, each focusing on one of the elements of the PC version. For example, Spore Creatures for the Nintendo DS is basically the creature phase from Spore, with Nintendogs elements added to the mix. Spore Origins for the iPhone and other mobile phone platforms is the cellular phase, allowing players to guide and evolve their multi-cellular organism in the primordial ooze. Spore Hero for the Nintendo Wii is also an expanded version of the creature phase, taking inspiration from platform-specific titles like Mario or Zelda. More information about the next title in the Spore franchise will surely be available later on when it is announced.