Spore Hero and Spore Hero Arena Q & A

Two new Spore titles are coming, Spore Hero for the Wii and Spore Hero Arena for the DS. Recently we were given a chance to ask questions for two of game producers to answer. Some of my questions were used and we get a sneak peek at the fansite interview with Jason Haber and Mathieu Cote.

Fansite Interview with Jason Haber and Mathieu Cote

Spore Hero

Q: Is the game a sandbox like the PC game or does it have a definite ending and goal? – LadyM (Gaming Steve)

A: Spore Hero is a story-driven action adventure game with a very strong narrative element to it so we do have a very definite ending. Since this is Spore we made sure there are many roads you can chose to get to that ending and different ways for you to overcome the challenges along the way. Also, in this story, you decide what your hero will be, with total customization in the Creature Creator, made just for the Wii.

Q: Are you limited to one creature per game or can you change out to a different one during the game? – LadyM (Gaming Steve)

A: At any time during the game you can go to a nest and access the Creature Creator to change your hero into something different. You will have access to all the parts you unlocked so far, but you might not be able to equip them all right away. You will have to collect shards of the blue meteor scattered throughout the world as they are your currency in the Creature Creator. How many you have will dictate which combination of parts you can have on your hero and therefore which abilities are available to your character.

Q: Will you be able to use the online capability of the Wii to visit other galaxies from other players? – LadyM (Gaming Steve)

A: This is one of the elements where we are different from the PC game. Since Spore Hero is storyline-driven, we quickly realized that sharing wouldn’t make much sense. Whenever you make a game you have to make choices and one of those choices was to put our energies on making sure that the story was compelling and the game was fun.

Q: Is the Creature Editor with Spore Hero Wii the only customization we will have, or did you happen to include say, a plant editor or any other editors? – Judhudson (SporePrograms.com)

A: I have to be careful not to spoil anything from the story here, but I can tell you that you will be editing more than just your hero in Spore Hero. We already showed in some interviews that you would be able to edit some of the NPC’s in the world to help them with their problems, but that is not all. I really shouldn’t say anymore about this here.

Q: Any plans to have either a Wii specific Sporepedia to where we can download other people’s (or our friends’) creations to use them in our game or even share screens or videos? – Ballightning (Sporedum.net)

A: We do have a Sporepedia in the game where you will be able to collect your creations, but we had to restrict this to your very own console for many reasons. This Sporepedia is also where you keep all the characters you want to use in our VS mode where you can battle your friends.

Q: The Paint mode in Spore Hero Wii – can we now paint our creatures bodies in specific areas using the Wii’s motion controls or is it similar to Spore PC’s version where we just pick default skins and adjust the color? – Ballightning (Sporedum.net)

A: It is a lot closer to the PC game where you pick from some skin paint schemes. The fact that you can create any sort of crazy creature made this the solution that was best received by people who tried the game. It’s a simple and efficient way to get your hero to look just the way you want it.

Q: What type of customization is in Spore Hero? – Connor (SporeOperations)

A: We worked really hard to be able to bring the full editor from the PC game to the Wii. We have all the functionality and all the parts from the PC game as well as all the parts from the “Cute and Creepy” expansion pack. That leaves you with over 280 parts to play with. We made some changes to the interface and the controls to make sure that it would be easy and fun to use with the Wii remote and Nunchuk too.

Q: Does Spore Hero require any other Wii stuff? or will we just need the controller? – Connor (SporeOperations)

A: Spore Hero uses the Wii remote and the Nunchuk. For even more fun I suggest you get a second set of controllers and a friend for some frenzied “VS-mode-combat-action”!

Q: Is Spore Hero multiplayer? – Connor (SporeOperations)

A: We had so much fun with our combat system that we decided to add a VS mode that you can access from the main menu. You and a friend can each grab a Wii remote and Nunchuk, create your very own creatures (or use one of the pre-made ones) and battle it out! There are not many things as satisfying as creating a small pink ball with just a little leg and a beak and winning against your friend’s demon-looking predatory beast full of teeth and claws.

Q: Spore Hero for the Wii and Spore Hero Arena for the DS – any plans to link the two together to swap/view content between them? – Judhudson (SporePrograms.com)

A: This was another one of those tough decisions where we had to decide what we wanted to concentrate on. On this subject we decided it was a better investment of our time and energy to go for a deeper, funnier story and well-balanced and exciting gameplay. We did make sure that the story we were creating in the Spore universe would work in both games so that we would both benefit from a rich and interesting storyline.

Q: Please elaborate with the differences between Spore Hero for the Wii and the creature stage of Spore from the PC.  How many more creature customizations are there between the two and are we limited to staying on one planet or can we visit others? – Judhudson (SporePrograms.com)

A: Spore Hero is a big departure from the PC game. On the PC you are slightly detached as you oversee the long evolution process of a species. In Spore Hero you are inhabiting a creature, you are living the life of this one hero out to save the world and you have an amazing ability to evolve and change at any moment. There are no limits to how often you can go back to the Creature Creator and what you can change when you do.

There’s also a fun storyline, which is all about how and why you crashed onto this planet and most importantly about how you go about saving it. I could tell you what happens when you’re done saving it but then it would spoil the fun, wouldn’t it?

Spore Hero Arena

Q: Is the game a sandbox like the PC game or does it have a definite ending and goal? – LadyM (Gaming Steve)

A: The game is an entirely new adventure, set in the Spore universe.  All the galactic arena champions have fallen under the powers of dangerous red meteors.  After your ship is peppered by blue meteors, you find that you are immune to the corrupting power of the red meteors.  Now, only you can save the galaxy!  You will be able to create your creature heroes with the Spore Creature Creator, and it’s in 3D (a first for Spore on the Nintendo DS)!  There are over 150 parts and new Bio-Powers for you to collect and use to evolve your creature.  You will get to jet around the galaxy, exploring new worlds and fighting enemies in your quest to find out who is spreading the red meteors and how to stop them.

There is a great story to experience as you find out more about where the red meteors came from, and how you can stop them from corrupting the whole galaxy!

Q: What type of customization is in Spore Hero Arena? – Connor (SporeOperations)

A: Spore Hero Arena will allow you to create your own creature using the new Nintendo DS 3D Creature Creator! The parts you select for your creature will determine its strengths and abilities, so every creature will fight in its own way. In addition, you can attach over 15 bio-powers to your creature to give it special moves to use during arena battles. These bio-powers are not connected to specific creature parts, so you can look good AND be powerful.

Q: Is Spore Hero Arena multiplayer? – Connor (SporeOperations)

A: Spore Hero Arena was build from the start to include multiplayer arena battles. Players can select from a number of different arena battle types, select their favorite creatures and then compete with up to 4 players over local wireless. You can also connect using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to play against friends or strangers from just about anywhere!

Q: Are you limited to one creature per game or can you change out to a different one during the game? – LadyM (Gaming Steve)

A: You will be able to collect over 150 unique parts and power bio-powers during the game.  You can evolve your creature to overcome new challenges and face off against bigger and fiercer enemies as you jet from planet to planet and explore new worlds. You can save up to 50 creatures in the Sporepedia for use in quick battles or multiplayer matches.

Q: Any plans to have either a DS specific Sporepedia to where we can download other people’s (or our friend’s) creations to use them in our game or even share screens or videos? – Ballightning (Sporedum.net)

A: We do have a new Sporepedia where not only can you see creatures you meet (and beat!) in the game, but you can also download your friends creatures.  All creatures that you download will be available to use in quick battles or multiplayer matches too!