DarkSpore

MaxisCactus published a short and sweet FAQ on DarkSpore as well as a few answers on Spore in general over at both the Sporums and the newly launched DarkSporums.

Q: Maxis is known and loved for making simulation games. Why did you decide to make an Action-RPG?
A: In addition to being seasoned simulation and technology experts, Darkspore team members are big action-RPG fans—we’ve played everything from The Legend of Zelda to Fallout 3. In fact, many of our team members came to us from development groups that produced high-profile titles like Diablo 3, Warhammer, and Mass Effect 2. Darkspore enables our team to combine its extensive simulation, ground-breaking technology, and action-RPG production experiences by taking some of the strongest aspects of our Spore technology, and melding them with a core gaming genre that many of us here at Maxis are passionate about: action-RPGs. As you find out more about the game, you’ll see that the technology we’ve evolved from Spore enrich the action-RPG experience of Darkspore in a fun and unique way.

Q: Will you make Spore 2?
A: We aren’t announcing any other games at this time; our focus is on making Darkspore a fun, unique, and innovative action-RPG.

Q: Will you be releasing any more Spore expansions or parts?
A: While we’re focusing on bringing Darkspore to life right now, we haven’t forgotten about the success of Spore—with more than 200,000 active players and over 145,000,000 creations uploaded to the Sporepedia since launch, the Spore community is alive and well. We currently support and cater to the Spore audience and community, and we’ll continue to do so even with Darkspore in development.

Q: Can I bring my Spore creatures/creations into the Darkspore game?
A: While players won’t be able to bring their Spore creatures into Darkspore as playable Heroes, we are encouraging the Spore community to bring their creativity to Darkspore in another way. We’re asking you, the Spore community, to help us create enemy characters for the game! More details on how you can contribute will be revealed soon!

Q: Does Darkspore have an editor?
A: Yes! Darkspore takes the best-in-class Creature Editor technology from the original Spore game, and reinvents it for customization where stats truly matter for gameplay. This is coupled with three unique character classes, five different hero types, and tons of collectible heroes. Using parts they collect throughout the game, players will be able to create a deeply customized and upgraded collection of heroes that are ready for any battle.

Q: Does Darkspore have its own Sporepedia?
Each player of Darkspore will have their own customized collection of heroes. Darkspore is about playing together with, or against, your friends online. When you play online, you’ll be able to see the heroes that your friends have customized and upgraded. And as you encounter new enemy characters in the game, you’ll be able to see an ever expanding encyclopedia that includes each one.

Q: Why is it called Darkspore?
Darkspore is a brand-new game from Maxis. Darkspore is built on the technology developed for Spore, such as the tech used in the award-winning Creature Creator. The inclusion of the Creature Creator technology in Darkspore is absolutely essential to the gameplay, as it allows players to update, customize and make meaningful changes to their Heroes that will aid them in battle.

Q: Will there be any opportunity for Spore players to get to preview Darkspore before release?
A: Yes! Community involvement has always been a top priority for EA and Maxis, and we want to make sure our key community members are able to get a look at the game and share their experiences before Darkspore is released to the general public. Stay tuned for more information.

I have a lot to catch up on – today was such a fantastic day!  I’m currently catching up on reading everything about Maxis’ latest game DarkSpore – an RPG combat game using the technical achievement of Spore’s Creature Creator.  I can’t wait to see more of this game in action.  The art style alone is pretty much what everyone had been waiting for:  dark and gritty.

Anyhow, a lot of images and information were released.  Check out the screens below:

Logo

Screens

Artwork

More info from the DarkSpore website has been unearthed by those from the Sporums.  We’re still not quite sure if the previous screens and information is 100%, so take this with a grain of salt until we get an official confirmation sometime next week.  Anyhow, Sporum member ‘DVDMaster’ discovered coding within the official DarkSpore.com website which, when compiled, creates this image:

If you “view source” on the blank html page, you see that there is a large html comment that has rows and rows of text, this text is the graphic. It has been encoded in a format called “base64″ that uses alphanumeric codes to transform the binary file into text. This was one way of sending binary files via email or newsgroups before those things supported attachments (yes, this gives you an idea of how old I am).

You can use programs to convert that base64 text into a binary file. When you do that and give the file an jpg extension, web browsers or graphic viewing programs can display the file.
You can do this conversion yourself:
1. View the source of that page.
2. Copy the base64 text.
3. Go to http://webnet77.com/cgi-bin/helpers/base-64.pl
4. paste the base64 text into the text box and click the button to convert.
5. It will give you page where you can download the binary file. Download the file and name it “image.jpg”.
6. Then open the file.

The strange thing about this is that in the coding, it says “4TOMBk” in the coding, which is referencing Tombik’s discovery of the DarkSpore website.  So it could be that this is a prank (even though the site’s server and domain is registered by EA…or it could be a nod from the DarkSpore developers congratulating Tom for having a sharp eye and posted this as a gift.

This is a huge surprise to all of us Spore fans!  We’ve been tired of the Spore template challenges taking place at the official Spore site – many deemed that the series was dead.  However, back in May we were given indication that a new Spore title was trademarked by EA – DarkSpore.  Well, come on Saturday, July 24 at 6:00PM (PST), Maxis will be revealing a brand new entry to the Spore series!  Here’s the info from the ComicCon website:

6:00-7:00 Video Game Reveal: Maxis Studio— Maxis Studio (The Sims and Spore video games) has just announced their next project, a brand new, Sci-Fi Action-RPG based on the DNA of Spore. Join key leads from the dev team, Thomas Vu, Paul Sottosanti and Lauren McHugh, for the first game reveal to the public! Room 3

We are still left to wonder what the next project coming from Maxis will be. All we have right now to speculate on is Spore Creature Keeper, a PC game based for the younger audience designed much like The Sims, but with your favorite Spore Creatures. From what I can tell, the job opportunity below does not look to fit that game. Is this for a new Spore expansion that we may soon see? Or perhaps for the version of Spore that will be coming to consoles? I don’t know, we need to hear what Maxis has in store for us soon, the fans are craving for any new pieces of information!

Maxis seeks an experienced Lighter to join the environment team and create outstanding content for an upcoming level based action RPG. Candidate will adopt a proprietary pipeline, assume full ownership of the environment lighting, and work within an established style.

Responsibilities:

• Create atmospheric lighting that contributes to storytelling in a science fiction setting
• Collaborate with level designers to make compelling gameplay
• Troubleshoot and problem solve technical issues with minimal supervision
• Optimize lighting setups to meet performance requirements while maintaining desired aesthetic
• Adjust textures & object placements as necessary for best results

Requirements:

• 3-5 years experience in game development lighting
• Well organized and able to commit to and meet deadlines. Ability to multitask while still meeting deadlines
• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal; an ability to work effectively with producers, designers, engineers and artists
• Proficient with Maya & Photoshop
• Experience with level population and world building a plus.

Source: SimOperations