Spore (Will Wright)

[Babylon5]

Yiffy!

[trickfred]

Yiffy!

*shudder*

[Babylon5]

Hentai?

[Lord_Doskias]

hey oblivion is out today...

[ScareyedHawk]

... FUCK OFF!













































;_;

[martin]

It isn't multiplayer at all, WW makes this very clear several times during that video. When you make something in Spore, it gets uploaded to the Spore content server, which otherplayers can then download (probably automatically) so that said content can be used to fill out their planet/universe. Its not multiplayer in any sense of the word.

I wouldn't go that far. You are playing against creatures and civilizations created by other players. It's just a different type of multiplayer than we are used to. It's sort of similar to multiplayer in a turn based strategy game like Civilization IV.

By combining a bunch of these games together you get a pretty interesting metagame.

indeed, presumably if there are three people who buy the game: anne, bob and carol then if Carol has a huge empire and bob has a single planet then when annes computer wants a civilisation you will be more likely to get one of carols creatures than bobs - so there is a sort of multiplayer aspect.

Indeed, the meta game concept is something that has occured to me severas times - I even went so far as to design a simple one (a set of arcade games played in multiplayer where the result of one affected another) however it is so different to what we're used to i imagine that people wouldn't lie it - they want to be able to influence every aspect not just the aspect their game can control.

[Babylon5]

So, we've established that it isn't direct multiplayer, what's next?

[estel]

Wait for more news and or a demo, and hope they update their website - the Flash animation is quite cool.

And I really think that this will be really popular, most forums on the Internet are aghast at it

[Phydaux]

It isn't multiplayer at all, WW makes this very clear several times during that video. When you make something in Spore, it gets uploaded to the Spore content server, which otherplayers can then download (probably automatically) so that said content can be used to fill out their planet/universe. Its not multiplayer in any sense of the word.

I wouldn't go that far. You are playing against creatures and civilizations created by other players. It's just a different type of multiplayer than we are used to. It's sort of similar to multiplayer in a turn based strategy game like Civilization IV.

I've always thought this would be a good idea for a game. Maxis did a lot of sim games that didn't really work as stand alone games (Sim Earth, Sim Life, etc). By combining a bunch of these games together you get a pretty interesting metagame.

I'm gonna have to agree with Ice, this isn't multiplayer in any sence of the word. The game designers have come up with the brilliant idea of not creating content. They leave that up to the players. People don't interact with each other in any way.

[ScareyedHawk]

However, I'm sure they must have som kind of pre-defined creatures, or creatures that evolve automatically.
Consider not having an internet connection, or being Pathy.
I mean, you'd be living all alone! I find that hard to belive

[Phydaux]

However, I'm sure they must have som kind of pre-defined creatures, or creatures that evolve automatically.
Consider not having an internet connection, or being Pathy.
I mean, you'd be living all alone! I find that hard to belive

Unless an internet connection is a minimum requirement.

Anyway, I'm sure they will be able to have a few hundred creatures on the disc from all the beta testing that will go on before it's released, and introducing some random variables (i.e. mutations/evolution) into the existing creature's attributes wouldn't be any problem either.

[Stewsburntmonkey]

I'm gonna have to agree with Ice, this isn't multiplayer in any sence of the word. The game designers have come up with the brilliant idea of not creating content. They leave that up to the players. People don't interact with each other in any way.

Well, lets look at it this way. When you play a game like Counter Strike, which I think safely qualifies as multiplayer, what is happening? You make some move on your computer which is then relayed to a server and then to other players. You are not actually shooting someone else, you are shooting a representation of someone else on your computer. This representation is periodically updated based on what someone else is doing on their computer. Each player is really just playing a game by themself where some of the content is being periodically updated from other players.

Now let's look at a MMORPG, say World of Warcraft. People in WoW can put items up for sale at the aution house. Other players can buy these items even if the player who is selling the item is not currently playing. This sort of interaction also happens in online turn based games, such as many of the space traders (Blacknova or similar), MUDs, or even Icepicks Xplice. You can interact (trade, attack, etc) with other players even if they are not currently playing. These are still called multiplayer games. The difference is really just the period between updates. In a FPS multiplayer game the period is on the order of milliseconds, for some of these other multiplayer instances the period may be seconds, hours, or days.

If we look at Spore the same sort of thing is happening. I can create a civilization on my computer which is then transmitted to a server and then out to other players. Other players can react to my civilization and create organisms or civilizations which are transmitted to a server and then maybe back to my world. This is the same basic multiplayer framework that is present in the above games (which are commonly called multiplayer games). The period between updates may be longer and the interaction less player directed than in the above instances, but interaction is still happening between multiple players, thus multiplayer.

In the end it doesn't matter what you call it. It is what it is no matter what word(s) you use to describe it.

[Gravitron]

In a sense, it is multiplayer by remote.
Sort of like defcon, err...global war...cold war..intelligence war...
You never see the opponent against you, sometimes you don't know who they are.
You don't make direct moves against eachother, instead you change the landscape and peons, you create tidal waves of progressive change which reach each other, then you have to deal with this sudden apperance of an unknown element/change that poped in your area.

Presumably, you could create a society which will advance further than the player's own society (you're not necessarily on the top of the food chain), evolve faster, and they'll end up being the once to come UFO'b*tch knocking on your door with star-buster weapons.
All because of that goddamned annonymous player who created this !@#$% species!

I agree, IMHO, on the sims.

Also...WTF?
Chris! Chris! Icepick is loose! Icepick is loose! Repeat, red alert, defcon 5, the programmer has broken the chain and is out at large!
Quickly, seal him magnetically to his desk-seat!
OMG! He was out how long? 10 whole minutes? SHITE! We've just slooped additional 5 months further onto&beyond the deadline!

[Phydaux]

I'm gonna have to agree with Ice, this isn't multiplayer in any sence of the word. The game designers have come up with the brilliant idea of not creating content. They leave that up to the players. People don't interact with each other in any way.

Well, lets look at it this way. When you play a game like Counter Strike, which I think safely qualifies as multiplayer, what is happening? You make some move on your computer which is then relayed to a server and then to other players. You are not actually shooting someone else, you are shooting a representation of someone else on your computer. This representation is periodically updated based on what someone else is doing on their computer. Each player is really just playing a game by themself where some of the content is being periodically updated from other players.

Now let's look at a MMORPG, say World of Warcraft. People in WoW can put items up for sale at the aution house. Other players can buy these items even if the player who is selling the item is not currently playing. This sort of interaction also happens in online turn based games, such as many of the space traders (Blacknova or similar), MUDs, or even Icepicks Xplice. You can interact (trade, attack, etc) with other players even if they are not currently playing. These are still called multiplayer games. The difference is really just the period between updates. In a FPS multiplayer game the period is on the order of milliseconds, for some of these other multiplayer instances the period may be seconds, hours, or days.

If we look at Spore the same sort of thing is happening. I can create a civilization on my computer which is then transmitted to a server and then out to other players. Other players can react to my civilization and create organisms or civilizations which are transmitted to a server and then maybe back to my world. This is the same basic multiplayer framework that is present in the above games (which are commonly called multiplayer games). The period between updates may be longer and the interaction less player directed than in the above instances, but interaction is still happening between multiple players, thus multiplayer.

In the end it doesn't matter what you call it. It is what it is no matter what word(s) you use to describe it.

Counter Strike is multiplayer, because your actions are manafested in other's games, and people's actions to your actions are then relayed back to you, action and reaction. Putting an item on sale in WoW is also 2-way, someone get's an object, you get some money, again, action and reaction. Setting your empire to build a castle in a tick based game while you are off line will be noticed by your friends and foes, your foes may decide to attack before your catsle is built and when you log back on your whole city has been raized. Action and reaction.

In every instance there is action, reacton, repeat...Ad nauseam

But in Spore it's not your civilization another player will be interacting with. It is the designs you created that will be amalgamated into another person's game, along with hundreds of other peoples'. You won't feel any reaction to other people interacting with creatures and buildings you created. You won't even know who or how many people your creatures have gone to. Your game will be totally unaffected by what another player does with the creatures that you have created. Unlike online turn based games, tick based games, MUD's, etc. Spore doesn't have a delayed reaction (or an automatic/pre-determined action while you are off-line (you are never on-line with Spore)), there is no reaction.

If you want to extend your analogy (that Spore is MP) to other programs you can say that The Sims is multiplayer because you can download objects & houses someone else has created. Firefox is multiplayer because you can download extensions and themes that change your browsing experience.

I'm not discussing semantics, I see multiplayer as an interaction between 2 or more people regardless of time interval. This interaction does not exist in Spore.

Edit (addition): Wikipedia artical explains it better than I.

[Stewsburntmonkey]

You can play against other players civilizations in Spore (at least that was shown in the video). . .

And I would argue there is an action-reaction element to Spore. You will build your creature and civilizations as a reaction to the environment in your game which will be a product of what other people have done in their games. Your actions will propegate back to the players who helped influence your actions and the cycle will be complete. It's actually like Chaos Theory (a butterfly flaps its wings in Africa and a week later you're pulling out your umbrella, which then causes a drought back in Africa). This is certainly not traditional multiplayer, but multiple players are interacting while playing.