Gamertell

Comic-Con 2008 started off (July 24, 2008) with a bang as Will Wright took to the podium to deliver his keynote. Wright is the mastermind behind The Sims games and the soon to be released Spore.

During his speech, Wright talked a lot about what personally interests him. Given the nature of Spore there’s no surprise he’s into such things as aliens and the novel/film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Apparently he felt right at home with his fellow otaku offering detailed insights on why videogames should be considered art. Wright sees newer kinds of media to be the scorn of older media forms. They all take on a process that eventually ends up as being a way for one to artistically express oneself. In a way, that is what he was gunning for with Spore.

Here are the highlights from Will Wright’s keynote speech.

• The MashOn Spore Comic Book Creator was announced. Players can take screenshots and video straight from Spore and upload them directly to the MashOn site. You can then add words to those pictures and create a unique story all your own. The comic can also be printed off and shared. You can even distribute it on your own web site using embedded flash code. This tool will be available on September 7, 2008, the same day Spore launches
.
• Will says confidence in creativity is present in younger children, but gets lost later in life. The traditional education system gives students the impression they are not creative enough to do anything that stands out. Spore helps to alleviate that problem on older players.
• The documentary film Powers of Ten is a driving force behind Spore’s evolutionary process. It encapsulates how one would go from being a virtually defenseless single cell organism to a fully evolved being capable to exploring the universe thousands of years later.
• The original goal for the Spore Creature Creator was 100,000 creations in a few months time. In reality players created over 1 million creatures in less than 24 hours. Another interesting fact is there is now more species available in Spore than on the Earth itself. The approximate number has grown to over 2 million.
• Will showed off a creature time line in Spore that outlines each creatures evolution since their cell phase. Everything that you do and eat will be recorded and viewable from the game. Spore also has a built in music generator. You can create a tune that can technically be your creatures national anthem.
• Vehicle creation will be as simple or as complex as you’d like it to be. You can tailor the paint to fit your creatures look. There are more intricate modifications you can make to the overall design of your vehicles. The game will feature some pre-made vehicle designs by default. Ground vehicles as well as airships will make an appearance. Once you reach Space Phase you’ll be able to design an intergalactic space ship.
• Space Phase allows you to touch down on a planet and populate it. Similar to real life, you cannot abuse the resources of the planet because the atmosphere won’t be able to take it. Will showed an example of how he turned his planet into a volcanic ball of magma and rock before wrapping up his presentation.

Read [Joystiq] Also Read [1UP] Also Read [Screen Burn]