Spore is the highly anticipated video game in which players create early cellular lifeforms (above) and evolved species, build civilizations, forge alliances and battle in outer space. All images © Electronic Arts.

September heralds the frantic back-to-school activities of children who reluctantly leave behind the last freedom-filled days of summer. However, this September also brings Spore -- Will Wright's new creative video game vision for this wired generation of youth.

Launched in Europe on September 5 and in North America on September 7, Spore (from Electronic Arts and Maxis) is a video game for PC or Mac in which the player moves from the creation of early cellular form of life, to evolving species, to building civilizations, to forging alliances or undertaking epic battles in outer space. Spore Creatures for Nintendo DS and Spore Origins for mobile phones are also now available worldwide.

Following the game's launch, the National Geographic Channel is scheduled to premiere How to Build a Better Being, a companion documentary to Spore, on September 9. The show -- also included in the limited-run Spore Galactic Edition -- features Wright and leading scientists exploring the genetic information that humans share with all animals, including creatures that have never previously been envisioned.

The creatures of Spore also infiltrated MTV News during Video Music Awards coverage from September 5 to September 7 on MTV and MTV2. Creatures viewed breaking news through their own special lens -- reacting in ways that only Spore creatures can. EA is also pursuing licensing television and movie rights to Spore.

Wright said in a Reuters interview, "With Spore, we're looking way outside the game space, such as TV, movies, etc. We're basically planting the seeds to spread Spore out to a much wider group of people than would ever play a computer game."

With Spore, Wright is also asking, "What are the things that evolution has at its disposal to define a creature, to mix and match the parts, and eventually come up with a unique organism that's going to live its life and try to reproduce?"

Spore's designers describe the game as a "personal universe in a box," allowing players to create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt worlds and then explore universes created by other players. Players take control of their creatures' fates as they guide them through six evolutionary phases: Tidepool (survival of the fittest at the most microscopic level); Creature (venturing onto dry land to evolve); Tribal (caring for an entire tribe); City (bringing the creatures into an era of technology); Civilization (seeking out and interacting with other cultures); and Space (moving on to other worlds in the solar system).

Players take control of their creatures' fates as they guide them through six evolutionary phases: Tidepool, Creature (above), Tribal, City, Civilization and Space.

Some eight years in the making, Spore has already won a Leipziger Messe Best of CG Award for Best PC Game and an E3 2008 GameSpot Editors' Choice Award for Best Strategy Game (PC).

Spore's procedural animation architect Chris Hecker joined the team over three years ago. "EA was willing to give this game the time it deserved in development. It had time to simmer, which shows in the game," Hecker says. "While it's still a game in that it fits into that definition due to its player interactivity, Spore tends to kick it up a notch with its 'Creature Creator' and other features."

Senior producer Morgan Roarty says that the game basically has three levels of difficulty, with the ultimate goal of getting into space. It can take a player four to six hours of very basic play to evolve from single-cell activity to space exploration. However, building the weird new-species creatures and their environments may be as attractive to some players as completing the core game and conquering distant worlds. "Spore is unique because while you can play it as a game, some people may never go into the game," Roarty says.

Mr. Potato Spore
Spore provides players with a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe -- creatures, vehicles, buildings, spaceships and more. Roarty compares Spore's Creature Creator to the classic building toy Mr. Potato Head, because of the player's ability to add complex features to his or her creation, such as different skin tones and textures or multiple limbs.

"The combinations are just insane," agrees Hecker. He explains that special blocks have been rigged for body parts such as mouths, long snouts or short snouts. "However," he says, "the players use the blocks in different ways than we ever thought they would." For example, some creative wags have taken the mouth rig and repurposed it to create a blossoming flower.