The Amazing Social Potential of Spore
February 27 2008 / by Alvis Brigis
Category: Entertainment Year: 2008 Month: Sep Rating: 6
Chris Kohler at Wired claims that “Spore’s going to massive.” Considering creator Will Wright’s spectacular track record with The Sims and the buzz that has already surrounded this game for 2 years, that’s a safe bet.
More interesting is why this game could be huge.
Chris is the first more-or-less mainstream media reporter I’ve
read that absolutely grocks the deep content potential contained in
Spore and, more specifically, the game’s ground-breaking
Creature Creator, a feature that will permit people ages
4-to-99 to super-easily generate their very own Spore
characters. 
The user generated content (UGC) at the heart of the experience and model could change the way that a lot of companies do business and tweak a generation-wide view of games and the economy.
If Spore proves even a moderate hit then millions will use its Creature Creator to create tens of millions of totally original cute, hilarious, and terrifying little alien life forms. These aliens will not just auto-populate the Spore MMO universe, resulting in unprecedented in-game diversity (almost instantly eclipsing the sheer scale of Second Life UGC), they’ll also quickly escape into the wider world in the form of trading cards, plastic action figures and a variety of to-be-determined formats.
Than again, if my little cousin, who’s had a prototype image of a zebra-frog that he plans to insert into Spore prepped for well over a year, is any indicator, then come September we may witness the most rapid viral content campaign in human history, perhaps resulting in the biggest game of all-time.
Just think about it. Pics and video of Spore creatures plastered all over social networks and blogs. Custom spore trading cards in schools all over the globe. Saturday morning cartoons featuring the best original creature designs. On and on it goes.
Such an auto-viral campaign, or the widespread recognition that a campaign like this will one day succeed, will have a big impact on society and culture.
Business-minded persons will immediately recognize the efficiency inherent in the Spore model. They’ll see that it’s now possible to create a game that advertises itself, convinces people to build massive amounts of content for it, generates countless revenue opportunities, and, in all likelihood, leaves people satisfied with their product/experience. This will reinforce the theories espoused by companies like Seriosity that aim to intelligently merge gaming with economy. It will also spur a mad rush of Spore clones adapted for various purposes and social groups. Rupert Murdoch will experience the ice-cream headache of all-time as his brain starts to simulate the bazillions of business possibilities.
From an individual standpoint, people will begin to more quickly come around to the notion that they’re not just consumers, they’re also producers with something more to offer. Suppose a 10-year-old kid in your neighborhood turns out to be a genius Spore designer, draws widespread attention, inspires t-shirts and tv shows, and ultimately scores a big licensing pay day. Imagine the psychological impact that could have not only on that child, but her friends, family, teachers, immediate social system and broader social system. They’ll say, “Hey, maybe video games aren’t so bad. Maybe I too can make money online. Maybe my kid will pay off our mortgage. Maybe more people should learn to use these new-fangled social games. Wouldn’t work be more fun if it felt more like Spore?”
But the cultural impact of Spore may extend far beyond the disruption of common conceptions of work, play, education and creativity. A wildly popular Spore could have a big impact on the way an entire generation of humans views evolution and their role in the universe. By bringing players through an evolutionary process that ultimately spits them out into a huge multi-verse, Spore may push the evolution meme far more effectively than any biology textbook.
Spore, especially if it’s actually fun to play and uber-sticky, or another game like it, can kill a lot of birds with a single slimy green space rock. Such games could have massive social impact and may wind up he high-art of our time, and so much more.
Not since the early days of Second Life have I been this excited about a virtual experience. Now it looks like Spore’s got a great chance at picking up the UGC baton and running with it until something even better comes along.
Comment Thread (4 Responses)
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I think this game could also help prep today’s children for an explosion of 21st century jobs. 3D printers are being refined (EA has plans to sell you your custom designed Spore figurine). Won’t it be great for kids to get that kind of satisfaction to see their creations in the flesh? Welcome to the next era of designers (toys, shoes, furniture, you name it) and architects. We may see those 3D fabbers on our desktops soon, and just print things out from home. Also, the ease of creating 3D structures now is easier than ever – you don’t have to understand all the underlying code, it’s like virtual legos. As virtual worlds go more mainstream, kids will be ready to build games, characters, and in world structures. Companies will be hiring 10 yr olds to help them integrate their businesses and services into the metaverse. Then there’s machinima, music videos, movies… It could turn out to be an awesome learning tool, and one you’re not going to find as part of a curriculum in the public schools, at least not right away.
Posted by: Zora Styrian February 27, 2008
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I don’t know about “all time,” but I expect it to be genuinely big and impactful.
Posted by: Andriod February 27, 2008
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“All time” is a long time indeed, but Spore looks like something special. It reminded me of when I saw ‘Elite’ for the first time in 1985.
Posted by: Koreman February 28, 2008
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An amazing concept, and yes it may be big, but I’m not sure the theme of the game is really mainstream. Look at Black and White, compared to the Sims. Sure, it may have a cult following that will be very popular (definately after a year or so) but I’m just not sure the game has mass appeal.
You’ve made some excellent points though, I’m sure if Spore fails to do it, something else will.
Posted by: StuartDobson June 23, 2008
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