Why Spores was a failure

Creator of the Sims video game series, Will Wright, envisioned a new game where players had complete control of what was happening around them. In 2008, he designed and developed Spore, which is a god game, real-time strategy game. It was like no other game that has ever existed. It’s the next best RTS, intelligent, RPG amalgamate that was yet to be released. Or so we thought.

The hype around the game was very short lived. It didn’t quite match the expectations that people had. Will wright promised that Spore put procedural content to use in a simulator where the player could guide the evolution of a species from “single celled organism to interstellar traveler”. Much to the shortcomings, the game offered a very shallow and disappointing gameplay experience. The procedural generation didn’t offer much variability to the game and was often limited. The general consensus surrounding the game was that there was an apparent repetition. Even though the game boasted a great concept, it genuinely lacked the diversity it promised to deliver.

Lesson to be learned: don’t oversell your game *cough* No Mans Sky *cough*.

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One Response to Why Spores was a failure

  1. Benjamin Myers says:

    I find this to be an interesting topic because I am one of those few people who actually liked Spore. I had never played a game with so much customization for your main character before and spent more time then I’d like to admit trying to make my own unique creatures. On top of that, running around my world and looking at all the different monsters others had made was exciting, and I loved the fact that someone else was discovering my creatures on their own world too. As for the gameplay, the cell levels were legitimately fun, although what else would you expect from a Flow clone. In addition, the tribe’s level had simple but interesting combat and managing my little village was entertaining. I only wish that level lasted longer. I even enjoyed the space age, especially since I could freak out the inhabitants of new planets by drawing crop circles everywhere and abducting everyone. Honestly, I don’t think this game deserves as much hate as it received.

    I think part of the reason for the hate has to do with what you mentioned before, that the hype was too high. I did not watch the famous demo of Spore before playing the game, so I had no reason to be disappointed. Not knowing much about it beforehand and playing it with no expectations allowed me to enjoy the game for what it was. Sure it had its flaws and I do wish it was a bit more complex and less repetitive, but it’s still a good game.

    The reaction others had reminds me of someone who reads a book and decides to go see the movie adaptation. They are always upset because the movie is missing their favorite scenes or they complain about how characters don’t look or act the way they imagined. No matter how hard they try, they can’t stop comparing it to the book. If they could just see the movie as a separate entity and judged it for what it is, they might have actually enjoyed it.

    I will admit that I eventually saw the original demo and do wish I could play that version of the game. I like the idea of making a creature that adapts to its environment and how my design choices determine how it functions in the game. It was interesting, it looked challenging, and it was the ultimate ‘God Game’. When someone finally makes the game Spore was ‘meant’ to be, I will be the first to buy it. But this does not mean that Spore in its current form is bad. It’s not the greatest game ever made and it is not for everyone, but it is a good game. I hope people who read this give it another go and look at the game for what it is rather then what it could have been.

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