Spore - Production

Spore is a multi-genre PC game by EA and Maxis released in 2008. Spore was known for popularizing procedural generation, a technology that allowed for simple creation of levels and settings. It also allowed the player to make their own creatures that interact with their world and the worlds of other players by uploading them to the world-wide game server.

The game had a reputation when it came to release dates. It was revealed at GDC 2005. After 3 consecutive years at E3 that predicted the release date in their respective years, it was finally released a few months after E3 2008. On September 1, 2008, Australian stores released the game to the public, several days before the US release on September the 5th.

Spore starts out a lot like Pac-man or snake, where the player eats their way to the top. The decisions made in this stage affect the rest of the game, and the same goes for the other phases of the game. The player will get different abilities and choices later in the game based on their diet for this part of the game. If they are herbivorous, they will become more peaceful. If they were carnivorous, they will become more aggressive.

The second phase of the game is similar to a 3rd person adventure game, with different abilities and encounters, and occasionally special missions. The player must gather enough experience throughout their travels to advance to the tribal stage.

The tribal stage functions like an RTS, with the player commanding multiple creatures and conquering other tribes. After this, the game progresses to the civilization stage, where the goal is the same, with a focus more on the RTS aspect.

The final stage is the space stage, where the player controls a spaceship and has adventures in space. The game is a massive open galaxy from that point on.


Blogger, By Guest. "The Play Forum » 2009 » May." Toy Reviews | Hot Wheels Games & Sets | Lego Games & Reviews | Time to Play. Web. 18 Nov. 2010. <http://timetoplaymag.com/playforum/2009/05/>.

Command and Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath

Kane's Wrath is a Real-Time Strategy game for PC created in 2008. he game was developed by several different companies explained below. It is a sequel/prequel to the game Tiberium Wars, to which it is an expansion pack.

In Kane's Wrath, there are 3 factions: The Global Defense Initiative (GDI), The Brotherhood of NOD, and the Scrin Aliens. Each faction has different parts to it, with GDI focusing on direct technological superiority with powerful support powers, a vast assortment of powerful air units, and overall the more powerful military. NOD utilizes sneaky underhanded tactics like stealth and hit and run attacks. While they have a lackluster air fleet, their infantry are very powerful. The Scrin are an alien species in search of Tiberium, a mysterious crystal that grows on Earth ofter an impact by a strange asteroid. They focus on tactical victories, with a penchant for resource superiority, mind control, and teleportation. They can use massive tripod units a la War of the Worlds with forcefields as well as many other powerful vehicle units.

Kane's Wrath was developed by EA Los Angeles, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts (the publisher) as well as BreakAway games, an independent developer. Electronic Arts has since gutted and dissolved the Los Angeles branch, turning it into the EA Redwood branch and EALA branch. BreakAway now specializes in simulation games such as Pulse!! and Tropico.

 The game uses a tech tree based method of unlocking new units. The power plant unlocks the refinery, which unlocks the barracks, and so forth. If the player wants a sniper for example, they must build a barracks to build it with, a command post, and then an armory. This system saves the more powerful units for endgame matches.

Kane's Wrath is a game with an interesting history. Originally, the Command and Conquer series was created by Westwood studios. This company was bought out by EA, and the staff were put into EA Los Angeles. Kane's Wrath was the last project By EA Los Angeles.

Image above is a scanned poster.

Kirby's Epic Yarn - Digital Prototyping

 Kirby's Epic Yarn is a side-scrolling platformer game developed and published by Nintendo, and released in 2010 for the Wii. Starring Nintendo's classic titular character Kirby, a spherical pink omnidigesting being. In the game, Kirby is made entirely of yarn, as is the world around him. By manipulating his own body shape, Kirby can assume new forms like a car, a parachute, or a submarine. Kirby can also pull in strings in the environment to change the level itself.

Combat functions interestingly. The player cannot actually lose, but they do drop their beads, which act as the currency of the game. The player attacks by unraveling enemies, or simply grabbing them and using the yarn that composed them to throw. Some enemies must be stunned before being unraveled, such as boss monsters. Defeating enemies in creative ways can yield beads. Certain powerups provide Kirby with extra yarn, allowing him to change himself into a tank, a UFO, an excavator, and other vehicles.

A digital prototype of Epic Yarn could involve a simple sprite in a side-scrolling platformer that can change the game environment. No health bar would be included, and the primary goals would be finishing the level and collecting small dots.