14 DAY TRIAL // Spore is that kind of game which makes you want it so bad that it starts hurting when you realize September is still a few months away. Also, with the recently released Creature Creator, Maxis and Electronic Arts have managed to prove once again that we do have all the reasons in the world to count down the days left until the game is released. Yes, it is exactly as it sounds: I am completely in love with Spore, as strange as it might sound.
But there is something that keeps bothering me for a while and, even though everything around me seems to prove that it could never happen, I keep asking myself: could Spore fail? Could it be one of those Molyneux-types of games which promise you the stars but offer a bag of dirt? Hopefully not, because I would lose all my faith in the games world, but still...
There might be a few hidden hints, though, which could be trying to tell us "be cautious with Spore, it might not be exactly what you are expecting".
First of all - what type of game is it? The graphics we're seeing would make us believe it's a kids game or a casual Wii title - but it also is a life sim game, a strategy title in the later stages, a complex civilization building saga! Or... is it not? Just how much "casual" and how much "hardcore" are there in Spore? How long will each of the five stages last? Minutes? Hours? Days? I mean, we know that the cell stage is basically a minigame and it would be natural for it to last a few minutes but what about the others? Will the creature stage keep us glued to the chairs for a few days or we'll spend six hours creating a perfect creature and 30 minutes playing with it? Answering these questions would tell us exactly what market segment Maxis is targeting - the casual players or the hardcore ones - and, even more, it would tell us how long the game will live: it's obvious that Spore will sell big time, but just how long will the hype last?
Another questionable thing regarding Maxis' masterpiece is the actual gameplay. I've read a few hands-on and previews of the game and noticed that none actually said too much about how the game is played. And this is again one really important thing. Randomly clicking every now and then and not doing anything special is not something that will keep a gamer hooked for too long. Offering too many options could as well backfire since many could quit because of the complexity. Did Maxis manage to find the balance? Personally, I think they're still searching, since there are no comprehensive gameplay videos or features to be found. Should we be scared?
Another thing that could badly hurt Spore - even though it is a video game and that should never happen - is something game developers have no control on: religion. Will the church rise against this game after it becomes a true phenomenon (we should admit that it has all the chances in the world to become a phenomenon)? I mean... your civilization will become the ruler of the world after it evolves from a unicellular organism, and that is not something the church will like. And it doesn't necessarily have to be a direct involvement of the church - there is surely another Jack Thompson wannabe out in the wild, waiting for the perfect timing to strike. And, even though JT has not been very successful in his quest, you may never know how manipulative a person can get...
We should also take into consideration one last thing: Spore promises that it will be a very "real" life simulator, everything in the game will look, move and act naturally - that it will bring real life on the screen, life created by us. However, the game is really small (and I am talking about physical size here): only 6 GB. Is that enough, in the Blu-ray era? Is that enough to simulate life and offer enough diversity? Questions, many questions and very few answers at the moment.
We do have high hopes, though. Hopes that Maxis will manage to do with Spore more than it did with The Sims (and, of course, we're not only talking about financial success). Honestly, we really hope it will not fail. But we just wanted to let you know that everything is possible.