Spore-Inspired Action RPG Darkspore Announced

Today Electronic Arts announced Darkspore, an action RPG in development from Maxis that is inspired by Spore's creature creator technology. The game is due to launch in February 2011, and a teaser is available on the official website. A more descriptive video is available from EA's live demo (start at 8:25). Quoting Joystiq: "...Darkspore will let up to three players traverse 'several' planets cooperatively, and while there will be PvP in the finished product, Maxis isn't providing details just yet. The basics will be the same whether going in solo or as a team: You'll be able to choose from a number (again, no specifics yet) of pre-created melee, ranged and support creatures that can have their stats and abilities augmented by equipment. ... When choosing to beam down from your starship to a planet, you will see a lineup of enemy types that you'll encounter. This gives you and your friends enough information to decide which three characters from your collection you'll want to deploy. The trio can then be switched between on the fly, albeit with a brief cool-down period afterward. The idea is to use the characters' various abilities strategically against what the Left 4 Dead-inspired 'AI director' decides to toss your way."

Make Sim City 5 Already!

[Anonymous Coward]

Maxis please for the love of everything good in gaming make Simcity 5.

As good as Spore?

[gravos]

Wow, I hope this will be as good as Spore!

Oops, just kidding.

Re:Not an RPG

[azaris]

RPG nowadays means: Follow pre-scripted whiny one-dimensional stereotypes run around cliched worlds fulfilling repetitive fetch quests while having a tenuous chance at actually changing the course of events at one or two specific points in the plot.

Re:Not an RPG

[GigaplexNZ]

RPG erroneously seems to be defined as "upgradeable stats" whether it is by leveling up or equipping better items. I'm also curious how modelling this game after the space era of Spore with precreated uneditable creatures is inspired from the creature creator...

Re:Make Sim City 5 Already!

[Zedrick]

What for? Sim City 2000 is perfect, they should come up with new ideas instead of trying to remake games that can't be improved anyway.

Re:Not an RPG

[Darkman, Walkin Dude]

RPG erroneously seems to be defined as "upgradeable stats" whether it is by leveling up or equipping better items.

Thats not a bad description of the original D&D actually, which was itself an offshoot of tabletop wargaming. Now you can get that sort of experience from a computer game, since its mostly mechanics, what you are capable of doing is quite limited within the confines of the game. More recent tabletop RPGs however are a completely different level of enjoyment, not even for the amateur theatrics but for the endless possibilities they offer. Like a particular book or movie? Spend a few hours setting up a world based on it and off you go with your favourite game system. Want to instead of bribing or fighting the guard at the gate, go into the woods and cast spells to get woodland animals to cause a distraction? No problem. Infinite adaptability, ad hoc creativity, limited only by your imagination, as different from computer RPGs as a computer game is from airsoft or paintball.

Based on what EA did to C&C 4...

[Emperor Shaddam IV]

Based on what EA did to C&C 4 - basically destroying the original concept of the C&C franchise - i.e. no tiberium harvesting and base building, I can only imagine that this will also be worse than the original Spore.

EA - frankly you are the worst software company in the world because you buy great software companies and take great games written by them - and slowly destroy the games.