Like the Sims but about life and evolution: EA’s experiment that challenged the limits of video games

Spore It captured all eyes from its very advertisement. Its concept, scope and development philosophy were the talk of the video game press and fans for years, vibrating with each spotconference, video or detail published in magazines or digital media.

Actually, and looking at its essence, we could say that Sporewhich was released on PC in 2008 -and which later visited other platforms with different incarnations-, was the playable vision of evolution. Created by Maxis, Wright’s studio, and supervised by EA, they invited the player to decide the evolutionary process of a creature that he himself was going to design and launch into a hostile world, in which it had to survive and mutate over time. weather.

In Sporeas players, we modeled our creature (in the literal sense, since “we drew“freely the entire organism), using different pieces and elements that we were unlocking and achieving throughout the adventure. It was structured through what we could consider a kind of story of the origin of life and through different generations and stages, this creation and design process showed us how a simple single-celled organism, would end up transforming into a more complex animaltaking us even to the most peak moments, in which the species reaches a certain level of intelligence.

At this point, Spore changed, and It stopped being a survival game in alien worlds to be a more traditional strategy and management title, in which we had a certain freedom to shape and direct this society of beings that we had created and mentored, progressing from the dawn of civilization to reaching the ability to explore space. A very ambitious ideaof course, since a video game that deals with evolution and creation, as well as opening up the possibility for players to design and guide a species from its beginnings as a cell to its development into a galactic civilizationit’s no small feat. On paper, Maxis and EA’s mix of genres left many surprised, and with each news, video and concept, Spore It shone to such an extent that many believed that we were going to see a before and after in video games, a kind of definitive title in the genre. Unfortunately, Wright’s promises and EA’s advertising went a bit out of hand, and the game failed to take off in the same way in practice.

The game invited us to manage a creature from its cellular state, surviving the environment, to lead it to civilization.

A game that, by the way, It was an effort of several years, beginning to be considered in the distant year 2000and that was born under the embrace of a time much more creative and different from the current one in video games. The Maxis team, the Electronic Arts division behind Sporewas clear that the game, despite the ambitious nature of its approach, had to have an accessible design that would allow players to experience creating their own creatures and worlds without taking away any of the fun. They devoted almost all their efforts to creature editing toolwhich was especially notable, allowing users to model their beings with a almost unlimited variety of shapes, colors and abilities. It was liked so much that later it was decided to release it as a kind of independent game. But that was only part of the game.

Sporedespite its concepts, was a simple game to play and understand, its mechanics being divided into five stages: cell, creature, tribe, civilization and space. In each phase, players had to assume control of their species and make decisions that, logically, would affect their development and environment. The cell stage, for many the most important, begins in an aquatic environment where the player must feed and avoid larger predators. In the creature stage, players have the ability to customize their beings, choosing characteristics that will influence their survival and their interaction with other creatures.

As they move forward, Players discover how their creature moves to the tribal phase, where they must manage resources and build villages, and then take the final step to civilization.where the focus shifts to strategy and diplomacy between different nations. Finally, in the space phase, players explore and colonize other planets – it was said that there were more than a million planets -, interacting with alien races and managing a galactic empire, which had to be defended from the groxthe villains of this universe. Yes, it is many games in one and taking into account its possibilities, we always had the possibility of enjoying a different game in the future. Furthermore, Spore It had a multiplayer component where players could share their creatures and worlds. But we repeat, it was left halfway.

The game had mixed reviews, since a greater depth was expected in the gameplay, which was adjusted and cut – Maxis cut phases of the evolution so as not to make the first steps too tedious – and this ended up resulting in each phase of the game giving the feeling that it was not developing. sufficiently and were mere procedures to reach the management of empire. And be careful, this stage of civilization was criticized for its simplicity compared to other more complex mechanics and similar titles. That is to say, Spore It touched on so many ideas, so many concepts and great mechanics, that it did not perfect or investigate any in particular in a deep way. The best of Spore? The creature creation system, something so fun that it even made us forget about the game’s AI, which was highly promoted by Maxis and which did not live up to expectations.

Although the criticism was varied, the controversy came with the game’s DRM

But the big controversy came with DRM (Digital Rights Management)a controversial decision like few others, since limited the number of game installations on our PC or Mac. This caused great discontent among users, who saw this as a restriction on their freedom as consumers. But you can’t put gates on the field. Despite its anti-piracy measures, it became the most illegally downloaded game in history, reaching half a million illegal downloads in just a few days after its launch and DRM was soon avoided by hackers and community users. Despite the criticism, Spore It was a commercial success, selling millions of copies and receiving awards for its innovation. Its legacy was present for years, with games that adapted the concept to other genres such as adventure or action, with spinoff as Spore Creature Keeper, Galactic Adventures and Spore Hero being the most prominent.

Spore It is, broadly speaking, testimony of the power of creativity in video gamesbut also a story about how dangerous it can be to set very ambitious goals that are then not able to be translated into the final product. Its ambition to cover the entire evolution, from micro to macro, continues to be an inspiration for more recent titles, and even if it did not fulfill all the promises of Maxis and EA, the truth is that its legacy endures in the gaming community. that still explore the possibilities of the creation and evolution of these friendly beings in the digital world.