
It’s been a long time – years – since anything computer-related has gotten me excited with anticipation. Hardware and software both are in a becalmed state these days. Where are the real revolutions, the real leaps forward that seemed so possible say, 15 years ago? Maybe this is how the people who owned the first refrigerators felt. At first it was exciting and interesting – keeping things cold with electricity! Now it’s just something that you want to blend in with your kitchen countertops.
But after years (!) of gestating, Will Wright’s Spore is finally going to be released in September (of THIS year). And I’m beginning to get excited again about the possibilities. Designing any creature you can imagine, and shepherding it through sentience, society and galactic exploration. And not just creatures – buildings, vehicles, whole societies. With an interface that allows Pixar-level procedural animation to be done with a few clicks of the mouse. Plus, other people’s creations will automatically be added to your game’s “universe.”
How cool is that?