Q&A: 'Spore'

Having created such games as “SimCity” and “The Sims,” game designer Will Wright had nowhere else to go… except everywhere. Which is why his latest game, “Spore,” could be thought of as “SimEverything.” In the game—which Electronic Arts has just released on PCs and Macs, with offshoots on the DS and iPhone—the player creates a little organism, and then helps it grow and evolve until it becomes so powerful and sophisticated that it takes over the universe. We spoke to Maxis Studio’s Lucy Bradshaw, the game’s executive producer, about how this game came to be.

Where did the original idea for this game come from?
“Spore” drew inspiration from hundreds of diverse sources. “2001: A Space Odyssey” and the film “The Powers Of Ten” by Ray and Charles Eames were influential, as was the SETI Program, along with “The Life Of The Cosmos,” “Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Rare In The Universe,” and hundreds of books about everything from astronomy to evolution. But the other key influence was an ongoing relationship and respect we have for the players of “SimCity” and “The Sims.” What Maxis has seen these players create and share in the playing of these games was one of the reasons that enabling player creativity and sharing became one of the core goals for “Spore.”

Given the connection to “SimCity” and “The Sims,” is there a reason you called it “Spore” instead of “SimEverything”?
We wanted a title that captured the concept of sharing that is such an innovative element of “Spore.” The idea is that while “Spore” is a single player game, the content you encounter while playing is content that other “Spore” players have created. “Spore” captured that.

Speaking of which, how is “SimSandwich” coming?
Well, it is lunch time for me, so I sure wish “SimSandwich” was nearing final. But in the meantime, I guess I’ll have to step out to the local deli.

Since that the game involves playing god and dabbling in evolution, it’s not surprising that the game is controversial. But were you surprised that the first group to really get mad about the game were atheists?
We think the discussion about creationism versus evolution is legitimate, and I can see where both sides would debate that the game reflects their view. If “Spore” promotes discussion about evolution, intelligent design and creation, that’s an interesting secondary benefit, if you ask me.

“Spore” has also gotten grief because people have used the creature creator to make some rather ribald animals. Are you guys surprised at how quickly people started making “Sporn,” as it’s been dubbed, or are you more surprised that Spornography is actually irritating people?
One of our design tenets for the “Creature Creator” was to have the least possible constraints upon the user. We really wanted players to be able to make anything that they could imagine. In a way, what we managed to do is create something that’s as flexible as crayons and paper. But while I’m not surprised some people have tested the boundaries, we made sure that players can control how the game shares content with other players. If you want, you can play offline, you can subscribe to buddies only so that the only content that is shared is made by your buddies, or you can use the ban tool if you find something in the game that you don’t like.

Finally, how has the scientific community reacted to the game?
I like the way that Frank Drake, father of the SETI program, put it at the launch party that we held for the game at the new California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. He said that he felt “Spore” was important to science because it gets the player to think, and that it does so in a way that is fun and engaging. He posited that if a game could get a kid to think about science and become intrigued enough about it to question the world around him, and to hopefully inspire that inquisitive nature, then “Spore” was accomplishing a lot. Frank believes we have lost too much ground on engaging students in the study of sciences, but if a game like “Spore” could help change that direction, that would be something.