Spore: Best Game Ever?

[kingcharlesxii]

The Sims was basically a sandbox game and I think it did okay.

[Fallschirmjager]

Originally Posted by kingcharlesxii

The Sims was basically a sandbox game and I think it did okay.

I was bored of that game very very quickly. And even that game had a begining and an ending which was a lifespan of the player character.

[QuestGAV]

Originally Posted by Fallschirmjager

That bothers me as well. It looks like an interesting sandbox sort of game, but it looks like it lacks structure and goals.
Even SimCity had some roundabout goals that you as a player wanted to get to. This new one looks like it has no goal at all besides trying new things and seeing interactions between different things.
I find that I quickly bore of games of this type simply because there is no story or no 'next level' to hold my interest over the course days and weeks.
I will keep an eye out for it, but all the hype so far is never good for any game.

I dunno, it looked like the "levels" and goals were much clearer and more established than in SimCity or The Sims. It's got multiple layers, what I'm concerned about is whether any of the layers have enough depth to hold my attention for very long.

[Gorilla Shakespeare]

Originally Posted by Fallschirmjager

I was bored of that game very very quickly. And even that game had a begining and an ending which was a lifespan of the player character.

Bear in mind that The Sims is far and away the most popular computer game of all time. Regardless of whether you got bored with it quickly or not, a *lot* of people did not.

[Gorilla Shakespeare]

Originally Posted by QuestGAV

I dunno, it looked like the "levels" and goals were much clearer and more established than in SimCity or The Sims. It's got multiple layers, what I'm concerned about is whether any of the layers have enough depth to hold my attention for very long.

"

[darkenigma510]

You all raise good points about goals and such. I think there is a huge crowd, though, that will love the fact that this "sandbox" is an entire universe--literally! Some people may hate the lack of structure but I think there are many more that love the flexibility of creating anything you want. Add in all the races and worlds from other players, and you could have a different "universe" evolve every time you play.

I imagine in future editions, there will be more well defined structures in place (much like SIMS 2 versus The Sims), but even so, the basic concept of how this game is structured and what it may mean for future games is the key here.

Also, a game like this is more in line with what gamers really want--moddability. Smart game makers, especially for PC, are realizing that making their games moddable is really a smart business move; it promotes loyalty, it extends the life of the product. Nothing worse than some of the sports titles today like Madden on PC which are virtually unmoddable.

Also consider that a game like this will have lots of annual "expansion packs" that will fill out the game with lots more goodies for someone craving something new.

[QuestGAV]

Originally Posted by darkenigma510

Also, a game like this is more in line with what gamers really want--moddability. Smart game makers, especially for PC, are realizing that making their games moddable is really a smart business move; it promotes loyalty, it extends the life of the product. Nothing worse than some of the sports titles today like Madden on PC which are virtually unmoddable.

Actually, I'm concerned that moddability is becoming a codeword for "create your own damn content". Will this game actually play out any differently based on what you bring into the game from outside? Or is it wallpaper?

[Joe Canadian]

Originally Posted by Gorilla Shakespeare

Bear in mind that The Sims is far and away the most popular computer game of all time. Regardless of whether you got bored with it quickly or not, a *lot* of people did not.

Just because a game is popular doesn't mean it is good... I liked The Sims, but it did get old fairly quickly.

[ihatenames]

Originally Posted by Joe Canadian

Just because a game is popular doesn't mean it is good... I liked The Sims, but it did get old fairly quickly.

Girls love the game, and any game that can get both men and women to play it, and actually isn't bad will sell a lot of games. I personally enjoy the sims and fiancee plays it as much as she can, and has for the last 4 years. For some people it doesn't get old i guess.

[mauboy]

Wow. Just wow.

[darkhorse]

Originally Posted by Joe Canadian

Just because a game is popular doesn't mean it is good... I liked The Sims, but it did get old fairly quickly.

Yep. One day, 19 hours straight, and I never had any desire to play the Sims again.

[sebastian0622]

As I said in a different thread, Spore may or may not make a good game, but it will certainly add a lot of ideas to the community.

[Fallschirmjager]

Originally Posted by Gorilla Shakespeare

Bear in mind that The Sims is far and away the most popular computer game of all time. Regardless of whether you got bored with it quickly or not, a *lot* of people did not.

It brought alot of non-gamers into gaming and I think those are the majority that do indeed play it.
I don't know of any 'hardcore' gamers who played it beyond a few hours. I have no problems with non-gamers and their money is just as good as anyone elses. However I do think the appeal of these games lies mainly with them.
The only thing that concerns me is if this game does really well and then every company tries to copy it and thus detracts from other projects I might actualy care about.
You see this with alot of influential games.
Grand Theft Auto is the most recent example. There are some very very bad remakes done by otherwise decent developers.

So while this game does look very interesting and has some awesome breakthrough ideas. It is not the type of game I see myself being immersed in for weeks at a time like games with more structure.
I see this as another sims like games where traditional non-gamers gobble it up by the hundreds.

[Fallschirmjager]

Originally Posted by QuestGAV

Actually, I'm concerned that moddability is becoming a codeword for "create your own damn content". Will this game actually play out any differently based on what you bring into the game from outside? Or is it wallpaper?

This same thing bothers me as well. I remember back to the developments of Silent Hunter III in which Ubi Soft openly said they were not going to implement some features into the game because they felt they were too time consuming and only for hard core realism players. They felt these features would be better left to the mod community.
That really pissed me off at the time as it did many other people.
Fortunatly the game kicked ass anyways, but the mods that have come out for it have really ramped up the realism and made it into a better game.

Another problem with mods is the sheer amount of time and effort it takes to track down the mods, install them and make sure they all work together.
To use my SHIII example, I realized the other day that I was spending more time on the message boards for the mods and testing them than I was actualy playing the game how it was meant to be played.
Pretty sad

One last thing, while I am trying to not knock the game too much since it is still very early. While the game is extremly large in scope, from what I saw, the individual parts look very shallow when looked at by themselves.

Something I will keep an eye on. But all this hype is hardly ever good for a game.

[mauboy]

I don't think it will be the greatest game ever, but I do think it will be fun. As other people have said, the game will improve in time with people modding it, with the expansion packs, etc.

I don't think it will be the most fun in the world evolving over and over again into a space ship and such, but with more immersion it will be better. Initially, it doesn't look like there's that much immersion.

[mauboy]

Spore Forums

http://gamingsteve.com/blab/index.php?board=12.0

[Biggio3000]

Yeah it seems interesting but to call it a great game already is a bit much.

[Riverdome]

Getting even closer to release!

[Dagrims]

Originally Posted by Riverdome

Getting even closer to release!

They should change the name to Snore.

[Bonedwarf]

Originally Posted by darkhorse

Yep. One day, 19 hours straight, and I never had any desire to play the Sims again.

I was the same. I went to the trouble of getting my guy to fall in love and get married and then lost interest, removed all the doors, windows, food supplies and toilets, and just left them too it.

Torturing them became far more fun than playing properly.

Spore looks good, though I notice EA have come up with yet another way to make money. That is charging for the FULL editor before the game is released.