Spore Creature Editor

Availability of Creature Editor/Creator

The Spore creature editor will makes its way into the hands of fans far earlier than anyone would have expected. While Spore won’t be released until September 7th, 2008; the creature editor will be available on June 17th. The full version of the editor will cost $9.99, though by pre-ordering Spore you can earn a $5 discount on its purchase. However, you don’t have to buy the editor to join in on the fun, a demo version will also be available, but it will only include 1/4 of the number creature pieces and appendages available in the full version. Any creature created with the editor (full version and demo) can be imported into Spore once the game is available in September.

What is the Creature Editor?

The creature editor is the corner stone of Spore, it is what caught everyone’s eye at E3 in 2005 and it is what keeps attracting new fans to the game. While, Spore features many other editors, the creature editor is by far the most alluring. It allows you to create from scratch an entirely new creature; it can be tall, short, hulking, tiny, ferocious, cute, have 12 legs, 6 mouthes, arms on its head - the possibilities are only limited by your own imagination. Will Wright has compared the editor to a professional 3d editor such as Maya, but simplified to the point that anyone can intuitively create complex creatures. The power of the editor does not really lie in the number of parts (click for more information on parts & pieces), as there are only 228 available, but by being able to customize those parts to fit your need. Each part can be distorted to change its shape, size and angle. Legs are a perfect example of this, the stock parts are usually ‘normal’ in every way, but you can severely lengthen them to the point that your creature appears to be have stilts for legs - but it still looks natural.

Editor Interface

1. Eyes & Senses - Everything from large bulging eyes to eyes on the end of long stalks, ears and noses.
2. Mouthes - selection of mouthes, including herbivore, carnivore and omnivore.
3. Legs & Arms - a number of legs and arms with varying purposes (some are for speed, others for clobbering).
4. Feet - including everything from hooves to duck feet.
5. Horns - large collection of horns with varying styles (ie. sleek vs rugged).
6. Hands - many different hand styles, from bear paws to very long fingers with massive nails at their tips. (these are very neat, as they look like enlarged wolverine paws - they appear very deadly).
7. Appendages - Things like wings and spiked balls fall into this category.
8. Design - tab where the creature designing takes place.
9. Preview (speculative) - Area where a player can preview what their creature will look like in action.
10. Paint - Texture and color your creature, you can also add all sorts of patterns.

Creature Editor Videos

The best way to understand just how powerful the editor is, you have to watch some of the many Spore Creature Editor videos.

GC Leipzig, 2007

GDC, 2008