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I have to confess that I really like Sim City. I have not touched it since I started blogging .... but I have many fond memories of firing all the hospital workers and unleashing tornadoes on wealthy neighborhoods, or using the terraforming tools to build landscape with a barely hidden but rich geological history then paving it over with suburbs, slums, and mixed used residential projects.
But somehow, having all this power is a little unsatisfying. Maybe it would be more fun to be ... I dunno, maybe ....
God!
Well, Will Wright, who invented The Sims, starting this whole thing out, has a new product, called "Spore."
With spore you start off inventing life, then controlling evolution through it's fictious teleological pathways that annoy us biologists so much, and eventually, if you play your cards right, you get to inhabit other planets and stuff.
The paradigm is the usual racist, classist, Morgonian teleological drek. It appears that this game pays no homage whatsoever to how we know the world actually works. It is an affront to all academic study of biology, society, cosmology, and everything.
I can't wait to get my copy.
Click the picture of the intergalactic battle to visit the spore web site.
Technology
Comments
I too love Sim City. I always love unleashing a natural disaster on my creation.
But the Sims, that's another favorite of mine. You see, when a Sim displeases me I end it's life in a unique way.
I'll build a walk-in closet then make the Sim go into it. I'll then pause the game, take out the closet doors and wall the Sim in.
Then I speed it up and the Sim eventually dies.
Posted by: Tony P | April 20, 2008 10:18 PM
Don't the SimPolice come and take you away when you do that?
Posted by: Elizabeth | April 20, 2008 10:26 PM
Didn't you ever try SimEarth? That should make you feel godlike enough. I don't think they made a SimUniverse but making a planet or two should be enough.
Posted by: Romeo Vitelli | April 20, 2008 10:37 PM
My kids always played ZooTycoon (a sims knockoff) and I liked to block all the exits, then let the lions and tigers out of their cages.
Posted by: Brian | April 20, 2008 11:15 PM
You should try out Dwarf Fortress by bay12games.com - it's similar to sim city but on a smaller scale, and makes some effort at adding real complexity to things.
Posted by: Deth | April 20, 2008 11:31 PM
God I've been waiting for Spore for years. It just keeps getting delayed and delayed. It's infuriating.
Posted by: Hael | April 21, 2008 12:45 AM
Brian,
I read Tony's comment above to my daughter, who was sitting next to me on a different computer playing Zoo Tycoon. She was busy doing something with large carnivores and large prey and penguins that was rather sadistic.
She heard Tony's statement about what he does with Sims he does not like, and said:
"Wow, that's really sick and disgusting..."
And a moment later, added:
"Of course I would do that too..."
then retrained her interest on the giraffes and brown bears and penguins ....
Posted by: Greg Laden | April 21, 2008 1:35 AM
I remember being into SimLife as a kid and reading up on evolution as a direct result of it. With any luck Spore will have the same effect on other kids.
Posted by: Tim N | April 21, 2008 2:03 AM
Tell me about it. This game has been in development for what seems like forever. I've been following it for a while and anticipate a few of "those looks" from the wife following its release date.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | April 21, 2008 10:41 AM
Any idea whether this is Vista compatible?
Posted by: Anne-Marie | April 22, 2008 12:13 AM