Spore DS: Really? Really.

Feb-13-08, 2:14 am by Hanford
File under: Misc., fun, tech

Wired had exclusive screenshots of Spore for the Nintendo DS and ....

Well, um. It's ah ... unimpressive.

Spore for Nintendo DS

Don't get me wrong ... it looks real cute and all. But, it's just ... clearly not Spore. Now I know the trend to make lame mobile "name branded" franchise tie-ins to popular real games has been going on for a while, but I thought the DS was above taking a game that is all about 3d character creation and reducing it to what appears to be Colorforms.

I read on Level Up that EA is claiming that they took the art direction from Japanese 2d rod puppets, but really it's pretty clear that their real inspiration came from "The DS is not powerful enough to run this game, but we gotta cash in somehow on the brand!". Nice spin attempt, EA, but these screenshots just aren't doing it for me. I hope the game in motion convinces me (as, admittedly, is often the case!)

You know, the full mia culpa here is I'll probably buy it ... if it comes out.

[image blantently stolen from Wired News]

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Joe Osborn wrote: Mar-7-08, 10:28 am

Hey, it's Joe Osborn from GDC - we spoke at a table for a while on the Tuesday of the Independent Games Summit, if I recall correctly. If you think Spore DS is unsatisfying, I think you'll appreciate Spore on the iPhone: http://news.softpedia.com/newsImage/Town-Hall-Spore-iPhone-Demo-3.png

dib8rman wrote: Feb-15-08, 7:01 am

Nice, it reminds my of Final Fantasy Chocobo Tales but not a series of mini-games. I wish it was the entirety of Spores - but I doubt they can fit all that script into a 2gig flash card.

It looks like a wonderful 2d variation - the only flaw I could see is if maxis doesn't add interconnectivity between the Wii version and the DS.

"On the train to/from work I raise my spore and at home inject it into the Wii version, then transfer back to raise the little guy some more." (A good way to build your newly inhabited planet.)

I wonder if this game will use the Wiiconnect24 feature. Would be cool if additional info appears on the DS while playing it on the Wii about things that could appeal to what your doing.

Hanford wrote: Feb-13-08, 11:45 am

I hear ya, it's just that when I saw the screenshots before reading the text, I really thought I was looking at early conceptual images for the game. And if it would be considered a cheap knock-off without the brand name attached ... that should tell you something.

Granted, I'm judging this game by four screenshots, and I'm hoping it's clever and fun. I guess I was just kinda shocked to hear Will Wright say "Spore will be on DS" last year, and then see this.

senocular wrote: Feb-13-08, 8:13 am

If you have a concept you want to take cross-platform, and you have a platform that is not technically up to par for the original design, you're going to have make some executive design decisions that will allow that platform to realize that concept. I can imagine that if they attempted to match the original version more precisely, the result would have been a mess. I actually appreciate this design and it probably fits better with the overall DS demographic.

Besides, if it didn't come with the Spore name, this game would just be considered a cheap Spore-knock off.

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