Your God complex is finally going to come in handy playing Spore. You always knew that if everything were left up to you, the world would be a better place. Well, now you have the chance to prove it.
Now you will create your own life form. You will determine how it evolves, what it eats, where it goes and how it interacts. This is what you wanted. It’s up to you. It won’t take long for you to find out that an endless array of choices makes for an endless array of outcomes. Every decision you make will either thrust your creation further towards being an ultimate creature, or inhibit your ability to merely survive. When designing your new beast, there are a few things you may want to keep in mind:
Environment – Are you going to stick to the water or the land? Mountainous or flatlands? Tree tops or plains? It all matters. The environment you habitat will directly inspire accessibility to other creatures. Creatures you eat, creatures that eat you. Don’t limit yourself too much. You want to feel safe, yet be able to access food and other civilizations as well.
Mobility – To get anywhere, you must move. Movement requires appendages. Are you going to be fast and nimble, or slow and strong? An amazing jumper or an accomplished climber? Why not have legs protruding everywhere? Have them popping out of your head, your back, your side, even your butt! If anything, you know you’ll never fall down.
Skin Type – Seriously! Smooth skin will keep other things from grabbing you as easily. Bumpy skin can be more resistant to damage. Hairy skin will keep you warmer, but may make you a bit more susceptible to heat.
Coloring – Tricky. Blending in with your immediate surroundings could add to your stealth ability, but what if you travel elsewhere? You may find yourself standing out like a sore thumb. On the other hand, how cool would it be to make yourself completely reflective? Every time you came across another creature, would they think they were looking at themselves?
Accessories – This is where it gets interesting. For instance, what about spikes? Some strategically placed spikes could definitely give you and advantage over your competition. It could keep another creature’s jaws from closing around you. It could give you a place to store smaller creatures you come across until you are ready to eat them. Just think how fun it would be to fling yourself against walls just to see if you stick.
Appearance – How scary will you look? Do you necessarily want every creature you come across to avoid you like the plague? Surely there is something to be gained by being around other creatures, right? Maybe you want to have the appearance of a cute, cuddly little squirrel, to help you lure other creatures closer to you before you bite their heads off.
Interaction – How will your creatures get along with each other? Will they live in large societies, like humans? Will they stick to small packs, like wolves? What about job division? Would it be better to have more of your beings stay at home to develop new tools and vehicles, or would you concentrate the gross of your population on traveling to other villages inhabited by different life forms?
Demeanor – It’s simple, really. Will you be passive or aggressive? A tribe of “Rambos” intent on conquering the world had better be careful. Be too aggressive and tribes just might band together to take you out. On the other hand, if you are too passive, your town could be seen as an “All You Can Eat” buffet for less friendly civilizations.
Ambition – What do you plan on doing? Are you going to spend all your time creating the perfect city? Are you more interested in expanding your civilization to the far reaches of the planet? What about the far reaches of the galaxy? What’s more important…home, or exploration? Or, maybe you plan on staying in your newly built city encouraging them to mate until you have such a large population that you take over your world by sheer numbers.
Fun – It’s your Spore creature. It’s your imagination. There is no true definition of “right” and “wrong”. Experiment and try new things. You never know what you may figure out!
