Spore Creature Creator

If you fancy conceptualizing and creating bizarre and mystical creatures but don’t have the talent required to reproduce them in any medium, Spore Creature Creator is just what you need. Armed with an arsenal of more than 250 different parts, and the ability to mold your creature any way you want, the software gives you access to a vast set of tools that’ll help you unleash your imagination.

As you might know, Spore is the brainchild of the mastermind behind the most popular god game of all time – the Sims. Spore will let you evolve from a single cellular organism into a complete spacefaring civilization, where you meet different beings and interact with them in the way you choose to.

Spore Creature Creator is a part of that game. It’s been pre-released so that developer Maxis can populate the Spore universe with creations made by the community. Each creature you create can be uploaded and shared with Maxis and the Spore community, so you can share your thoughts on your friends’ creations, and even download their creatures to check them out firsthand.

To create a creature, you start off with nothing but a torso. Using the backbone embedded in the torso, you can mold its shape and size according to your preference. After this, you can choose from a predefined set of body parts, including limbs, different heads, eyes, and a whole lot more to add to your creation, till it begins to look the way you want. There’s so much freedom that you can make your creature humanoid, or an eight-limbed freak (like my little creation above). The choice is yours, and the sky’s the limit.
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Each component you add, whether it’s a leg or a wart on the back, adds different stat points to your creature. These stats include everything from greater speed and more health to the ability to sneak – so you’re not just creating the creature’s looks, but also defining its strengths and weaknesses. Though this doesn’t have much application in the game at this point, these statistics will probably be used once Spore releases (the date’s September 5, by the way).

Once you’ve given your creature’s body some form, you can texture it for that extra touch. You can set a base color, a coat color, and add details to the marks on its body by choosing from a large number of presets. Once that’s done, you can take your creation for a test drive to see how it performs actions such as jumping, dancing etc.

The Spore Creature Creator costs Rs 200 and is certainly a great deal for anyone with a vivid imagination. If you’re into sandbox games and wish to challenge your creativity, this is a must-have. If you’re really broke and can’t afford even 200 bucks, I strongly recommended you try out the limited version of the game that’s available for free . While it has only 25% of the total parts available in the full version, it’s enough to tickle your imaginative side that’s been gathering dust.