It's a "programmable cellular automata simulator" which EA says lets players make grid simulations à la SimCity. Fancy words in the announcement like "chemical stoichiometry" means Biome simulates changes that take place in cells when they're exposed to new variables, similar to the way some chemicals change their state when exposed to other chemicals.

EA says Maxis built prototypes like these initially to explore design directions for the game, and is now letting gamers mess with the machinery to check out some of these early ideas. More are set to be released in the coming weeks.

Full announcement after the jump.

EA News Alert

To whet Spore fans’ appetites as the September 7th launch date draws near, the Maxis team has released BIOME, the latest in a series of early, concept defining Spore prototypes that are available for free play.

BIOME, which can be downloaded at http://community.spore.beta.online.ea.com/comm/prototypes, is a programmable cellular automata simulator that allows players to develop simple "SimCity-like" grid simulations. Inspired by John Conway's "Game of Life" program, BIOME uses a language based on chemical stoichiometry and simulates how cells change their state the same way that chemicals change when exposed to other chemicals. BIOME supports both rectangular and spiral cellular automata configurations.

Throughout the planning and development of Spore, Maxis explored countless design directions in gameplay, simulation and user interface. One of the ways in which they explored possible design directions was by building simple, playable prototypes that were used to get a sense for a particular system. Usually these prototypes are never seen by the public, but Maxis decided to give gamers a “golden ticket” to get an inside look at their creative process. Make sure to check back for more Spore prototypes in the coming weeks!

Spore gives players their own personal universe in a box. Create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe created by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even UFOs. Players can then seamlessly share their creations with the world or explore infinite new galaxies created by other gamers.

Will's obsession with the movie sounds hardcore, as he talks about his hunt for a lenticular version of the 2001 movie poster. He finally came across one, a poster that he ultimately had Gary Lockwood aka Frank Poole from 2001, sign.

Will's now moving into other topics — his obsession with aliens, the acceptance of video games as an art form, and the evolution of the book, among other topics — moving at a mile a minute.

Will's discussing the power of the printed book, bringing knowledge, religion and fiction to the masses, before sprinting into a discussion about Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone and immediately thereafter into the informative power of the television. On the topic of the computer, Will talks about how it has adapted to meet the user's needs, ultimately resulting in something the creator likely didn't expect — namely, the shooting of Hitler in Wolfenstein 3D.

The internet, he says, developed by DARPA, probably wasn't originally intended to catalog one's Pokemon card collection or download internet porn.

Will's talking about archetypes in popular culture, citing Gilligan's Island, whose seven inhabitants represent the seven deadly sins. Say, that's news to me! Thanks, Will. He makes a Neil Gaiman's Sandman joke that flies over my head and emits a boom of laughter from the crowd. Comic-Con loves it some Will Wright!

He's moving on to video game settings, archetypes and gameplay types. "Storytelling," he says "is something you kind of have to be taught." But "play" is separate.

"I wonder," he says "who would win in a fight with a Cylon cruiser, an Imperial Star Destroyer or a Borg cube." The stuff of internet debates is something we can resolve in a video game simulation.

You should see this man's PowerPoint presentation, not only is he blistering through his speech, he's throwing slides at the crowd at a lightning pace. He's talking about the deconstruction of story, bouncing from subjects like Thunderbirds, pulp comics and Stanley Kubrick. Slow down, Will!!

Will's talking about the Powers of Ten movie that helps to explain some of the zoomed out evolution from single-cell organism to the formations of galaxies, essentially the core mechanic behind Spore. If you haven't seen Powers of Ten, I suggest you watch it (after the liveblog).

Will is talking about creativity, how kindergarten age children are confident in their abilities to draw, dance, sing, but that the same question asked of University students results in fewer raised hands. Wright says that the educational system essentially teaches students that they're not good at anything. That confidence in creativity, he notes, comes through in games like The Sims and Spore.

He talks about the reaction to the Spore Creature Creator, saying that the team expected to fill the creature database with 100,000 creations within a few months. They reached 1 million in 22 hours. He touches on the "Spore fans = 38% God" statistic, noting that the 2 million creatures currently in the database have outpaced God's creation of the world in seven days.

Wright is cycling through some of the more interesting creations users have made, from robots to near-humans to inanimate objects like chairs and Portal's Companion Cube.

"One of our aspirations with Spore" he says, "was to make players feel more like George Lucas or JRR Tolkein" and not so much like Luke Skywalker or Gandalf.

Spore, he says, is loaded with pop culture references, saying that it will be fun to watch players discover allusions to science fiction and fantasy.

Will's firing up a working copy of Spore right now, showing us the later, Galaxy-view stages of the game.

We're looking at the Civilization Stage right now, a simplified combination of SimCity and Civilization. We're zooming in and out of cities, the camera orbiting around the planet. This planet's natural resource, known as "spice" (Dune loving crowd laughs), is spewing forth from a geyser.

Will cuts to this game's History view, showing the evolution from simple low level creature to civilization level. This timeline emits a "Whoa...." from the crowd, as it shows dozens and dozens of milestones, from what his little slugman ate at genesis to what alliances he's formed with other alien civilizations.

This particular civilization is a religious one. Will flies a blaring airship over one religious institution, converting its denizens to materialism, wowing them with bright lights and the promise of mass consumption. Awesome. Just like real life!

We're now browsing through a library of "religious vehicles." Some look like tanks, some like simple non-war machines.

He shows off Spore's procedural music generator, designed by Brian Eno, giving his city a randomly generated theme song. The crowd likes this. They also like the holographic religious figureheads that try to convince the populace to convert (or stick to) their religion of choice.

Now on to the Space Stage of Spore.

The crimson lifeforms of this particular planet discover the ability to launch a rocket into orbit, moving them to the next level of civilization. Will's building a spaceship via the game's vehicle editor, adding "blinky things", showcasing the depth of the editors parts, decals and warping tools. Will makes one that looks a heck of a lot like an Enterprise-style ship (the most recent, Scott Bakula captained ship, that is). It's skin is based on one of the pre-built template styles, making the creation of a unique ship even faster.

As we move around the galaxy, Will zooms in and out smoothly, heading toward distant stars — "This one's a T-1" — and beginning the terraforming process on one of the star's planets. He establishes a colony, adding to their happiness with a newly built Happiness Booster. It's one of those long rubber tube-men that whips about outside car dealerships thanks to a jet of air. Again, crowd laughs.

A spacefarer passing by initiates a trade discussion with Will's race. Wright drops diplomacy in favor of blowing the living bejeezus out of their home planet with a massive bomb. The bomb was so intense, it even blew up the moon orbiting it. Will is mean!

"One of the things I wanted to accomplish in Spore, was to give players a sense of what a galaxy is like, what a galaxy is really made of," Wright says. That's why the team used real world types of heavenly bodies — stars, black holes, wormholes. We're now traveling through a wormhole, taking Will's alien species across the galaxy, hundreds of lightyears from their home planet.

Back to planet colonization, Will says players will have to be concerned with not just terraforming the planet's surface, but with managing a planet's atmosphere. He creates a volcano, one that "thickens" the atmosphere and warms the air. "It's very easy to overshoot on these things," he warns. Pushing things over the edge on the atmosphere side can lead to in-game global warming.

Obviously, Will overdoes it, turning the planet into "a living hell." This planet is about to go magma, becoming a nasty sulfur spewing rock, filled with spires and volcanoes. Oh, and the surface is pure lava. Lovely!

Will's about to wrap up. He asks the audience if they want a Q&A or a Russian Space Minute. Cowering in fear of Will's intellect, the crowd opts for the Russian Space Minute.

Wright pulls a bait and switch, renaming it the German Space Minute. One of Wright's other otaku obsession, he admits, is space travel history. He's talking about Germany space rocket prototypes developed in 1941 and the Nazi's space experiments, focusing on Wernher von Braun a German rocket physicist. One slave factory, named Mittelbau, produced some 3000 V-2 bombers, resulting in 7,250 dead targets. Some 20,000 factory workers, however, died during manufacturing.

Some of the former Nazi scientists later went to work for the U.S. government, working on rocket science programs in Huntsville, Alabama. Von Braun, Will says, later met Walt Disney and became the face of the space program. You know, we'd much rather refer you to his Wikipedia entry than try to capture Will's retelling of history.

Von Braun later met John F. Kennedy, another influence on the sceientist's life. Will talks about the A12 multistage rocket, designed with the intention to bomb New York, ultimately became the basis for the Saturn 5 rocket. And that's my horrible recreation of Will Wright's German Space Minute. Visit your local library to learn more.

Will wraps it up and the Comic-Con masses swarm. Off to the Activision panel. See you next panel!

The release notes that e-card fans can add their "customized content from the Spore Creature Creator," an option we don't have handy at Comic-Con this week. Our efforts to make snappy dick jokes with the MashON app have met with unsuccessful results. Perhaps you'll fare better.

Full release after the jump!

Planetwide Media Announces MashON Spore E-Card Creator

Unique Online Application Allows Players to Create and Send Their Own Spore Universe to Friends Around the World

ALISO VIEJO, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Planetwide Media today announced the launch of the MashON™ Spore™ E-Card Creator, (http://www.MashON.com/SPORE/), an online application that allows players to create and send personalized E-cards featuring their customized content from the Spore Creature Creator and the highly-anticipated game Spore, shipping this September from Maxis, an Electronic Arts (NASDAQ) studio.

By registering for the free MashON Spore E-Card Creator at MashON.com, fans can bring Spore creatures to life by combining Spore backgrounds, clip art and word bubbles using unique digital assets. Creators can also add their own personalized speech bubbles and share their Spore E-Card creation with their friends by posting to their favorite social networking site or emailing directly to friends.

The Spore Creature Creator is available now and is a stand-alone creativity toy box where players create their own unique creatures, bring them to life with entertaining animations, and share them online with friends around the world. The full version of the Spore Creature Creator is available now for $9.99 at retail stores or by visiting www.spore.com. A free trial version of the Spore Creature Creator is also available at www.spore.com.

Spore gives players their own personal universe in a box. Create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe created by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even UFOs.

Visit http://www.MashON.com/SPORE/ to register and for more information.

About MashON

MashON develops and publishes interactive software for the MashUP generation. MashON produces web-enabled tools & widgets, and software applications that provide personal interactivity in the creation, connection and easy syndication of user generated content online across the Internet. The company's signature product MashON Comic Book Creator™ embraces user-generated content ("UGC") enabling its users to blend their own unique creations into their social networks, blogs, and Internet brand spaces. MashON has licensed its interactive platform to world class lifestyle brands and advertisers in entertainment, online portals, video games, motion picture, television, music, sports, fashion, art, and travel.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSTM, EATM, EA SPORTS FreestyleTM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2008, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle, POGO and SPORE are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

For more information please visit: http://www.MashON.com/SPORE/.

Both AT&T's high-speed internet customers and mobile customers get exclusive Spore goods, not just the phone users. New AT&T high-speed internet customers get a free copy of the full downloadable PC Spore, which AT&T probably hopes will entice Spore junkies to get out from under their old provider.

There's also an "AT&T Edition" of the Creature Creator Demo, but it's unclear how that varies from the version everyone else can download.

AT&T AND EA BRING SPORE TO A NEW UNIVERSE OF GAMERS

-New Agreement to Deliver Exclusive Gaming Content to AT&T Customers, Premiering First on Mobile Devices
DALLAS, July 17, 2008 — Starting today, gamers searching for their own personal universe need not wait any longer as the intergalactic Spore™ Origins from Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ:ERTS) has just invaded a mobile device near you. AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced that its gaming organization has reached an agreement with EA and EA Mobile to bring exclusive Spore game content to AT&T wireless customers and to AT&T High Speed Internet customers.

AT&T’s agreement with EA will provide both AT&T’s wireless customers and AT&T High Speed Internet customers with exclusive Spore content including:

- Spore Origins: Designed specifically for mobile phones, Spore Origins is now available exclusively on AT&T mobile devices until September 4, 2008

- Spore Giveaway Offer: Beginning with pre-orders today and running until September 20, 2008, AT&T will be offering a complimentary copy of the full downloadable PC versions of Spore to new AT&T High Speed Internet customers

- Spore Creature Creator: Free PC download of the AT&T edition of the Spore Creature Creator Demo (the creature design tool) which includes exclusive content.

Just as AT&T offers gamers multiple platform choices, Spore, designed by The Sims™ creator Will Wright, offers them multiple ways and platforms on which to play the game. Armed with a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe, including creatures, vehicles, buildings and even UFOs, Spore players create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe filled with creations made by other gamers.

Spore hits North American stores September 7 for the PC and Mac along with Spore Creatures on Nintendo DS™. Spore Origins for the iPhone™ and additional mobile carriers will be available September 4, 2008.

“The Spore launch has been highly anticipated among the gaming community, and we are excited to have been able to expedite its delivery to our mobile customers,” said Mark Collins, vice president, consumer products, AT&T Mobility.

“AT&T’s comprehensive suite of communications services presents the uniquely exciting opportunity to take entertainment content to a higher level of user experience,” said Glenn Broderick, AT&T executive director of gaming. “Spore is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon in the making, and we are thrilled that our relationship with EA gives our customers unmatched access.”

“EA’s excited to extend our relationship with AT&T beyond mobile devices for the first time,” said Adam Sussman, vice president of Publishing, Americas and Asia, EA Mobile. “This is a great opportunity to bring Spore Origins to AT&T mobile consumers now, in addition to Spore content to AT&T online consumers when the PC game launches in September.”

According to Parks Associates, roughly 150 million people are playing connected games — 41 million of which play on wireless devices — making them a key growth driver for both the gaming industry and for AT&T.

Whether playing on their PCs, TVs or mobile devices, AT&T is committed to innovating the way gamers enjoy their favorite games. AT&T is uniquely positioned to offer its customers connected, cross-platform experiences on all three of those screens, and this agreement is the first in what will be a series to help drive that innovation.

Spore Origins is now available on more than 50 mobile devices. There are three ways that AT&T mobile customers can download Spore Origins: 1) By accessing the AT&T Mall from their phone’s main menu and clicking ‘Shop Games’, 2) By visiting www.att.com/spore online, or 3) By texting SPORE to 386.

To download the free AT&T edition of Spore Creature Creator demo, visit http://www.att.net/spore.

For the complete array of AT&T offerings, visit www.att.com.

The recent launch of iPhone games has demonstrated that the phone has the potential to be a great-looking game platform graphically, and Spore is no exception. In fact, it looks fantastic — it's color-rich, featuring numerous mesmerizing layers of parallax that give glimpses of the next layer's challenges slipping by in the distance on your way up through the ooze.

I got to give it a whirl — a tilt?

Yes, a tilt, because iPhone Spore is played pretty much entirely through the accelerometer, which means you direct your swimmy blob by tilting the phone gently in various directions. It strikingly resembles playing flOw on the PS3 using the Sixaxis, as you navigate a vague creature through shifting layers trying to snap up other organisms.

You shape and color your creature using the touch screen. I'm a little concerned that for truly customizing and shaping your blob to work and work well, they'll have to get the touch controls really spot-on, and that's been a bit of an issue for me at times with some iPhone games. The build I saw for Spore on the iPhone was very early, and the producer told me that they'll be focusing intently on toning that up.

You can add one new body part to your blob at each stage of the soup, starting with one and then tacking on one more each time you evolve. I was told there would be bosses every so often, too, so the player will have to make the call as to whether to add eyes to increase the range at which you can eat amoebas, or, say, a big horn on your face to ward off aggressors.

The tilt controls take a lot of getting used to, for me — I'm not so wizard at Super Monkey Ball, either. But they seem to work very well for iPhone Spore, which seems to capture the Spore aesthetic in a simpler, portable and not-too-intense way for a mobile game.

"ParticleMan simulates gravitational attraction between particles in a cloud. This system was used to study such gravitational dynamics as orbits, nebula formation, star formation and particle streams from sources like pulsars and black holes," says the official site.

ParticleMan has the following elements:

• Particles — point masses which interact with each other
• Gravity Wells — fixed point masses which attract or repel particles(depending on magnitude, which can be negative), but do not move or change mass without user input
• Particle Guns — sources that spit particles out at a given angle and velocity
• Gravity Wells and Particle Guns may only be placed on the green grid in the z=0 plane.
• The Iso Surface — an isosurface geometry object derived from the positions and masses (which act as field strengths) of the particles.

By toying with the physics controls you can create different kinds of gravitational simulations. Set fusion rate to high, you can simulate the birth of stars in a collapsing nebula. Low fusion rates can simulate the interaction between stars in a galaxy.

ParticleMan is an .exe, so Mac gamers (like myself) are SOL. But if you've always wanted to make stars, and not in the American Idol sense, here's a nice weekend time-waster.

Spore Protoypes [Spore.com, big thanks to reader Bryce]

They got a demo room filled with top-notch titles like Dead Space, Warhammer Online, Mirror's Edge, Mercenaries 2, and Madden 09, as well as the EA Software Showcase booth, which will be showing off even more games - The Lord of the Rings: Conquest, Crysis Warhead, and Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 to name a few. Throw in partner games like Rock Band 2 at the MTV booth and Valve's Left 4 Dead and you've got a whole lot of real estate for the gaming press to cover in a very short time. Hit the jump for the full monty, including listings of which games are up for coveted E3 awards.

EA Unveils Blockbuster Games for 2008 Holiday Including Spore, Madden NFL 09, Mirror’s Edge, Dead Space, MySims Kingdom, LITTLEST PET SHOP, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames and More
E3 Titles Showcase Quality, Innovation and Accessibility on New Properties and Popular Franchises

E3 Media & Business Summit 2008
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) today unveiled the games it will feature at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) at the Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC) July 15 – 17. The games — scheduled to ship on multiple platforms in 2008 and early 2009 – include riveting graphics, deep stories and online, socially connected experiences. EA’s portfolio covers many genres and platforms for core gamers and new players alike. Veteran players will love the feature innovations in our core titles; new players – women, young people and adults – will have a wide selection of highly accessible games like MySims™ Kingdom, Hasbro’s LITTLEST PET SHOP and FaceBreaker™ a new arcade-style boxing game from the new EA SPORTS Freestyle™ brand.

“EA’s 2008 lineup is our best ever,” said EA CEO John Riccitiello. “This is the year that our core franchises leap forward with stunning innovation and we introduce more brand new games than any other year in our history. Sports lovers will compete in an all new holographic mode in Madden NFL 09 and experience the online evolution of their players in NBA LIVE 09. Action fans will be able to destroy everything in sight in Mercenaries 2 and be scared witless in our new Sci-Fi horror title Dead Space. We’ve got casual family titles like Hasbro’s LITTLEST PET SHOP and genre-defying experiences like Mirror’s Edge and Spore. EA has never offered consumers a stronger, more innovative and diverse line up of new games.”

“EA’s 2008 lineup includes titles that are going to change how people purchase, play and socialize in games,” said EA COO John Pleasants. “Spore – scheduled for release in September – can be experienced as a single player or in an online social network that will form its own galaxy. Battlefield Heroes brings comic-styled warfare together with multi-player fun in the first free-to-play First Person Shooter. MySims PC brings multi-player interaction to the universe of MySims. Warhammer Online promises realm-versus-realm gameplay, unique in the scale and consequence thousands of players can experience together in a game. These games are great examples of the many titles that will allow consumers to interact with their friends and with EA’s content in new ways that bridge the gap between games and social networks.”

EA will kick off its E3 presence with a press conference hosted by CEO John Riccitiello, and spotlighting many of the creative leaders as well as featuring new titles from EA.

The complete line-up of titles on display at E3 by location at the Los Angeles Convention Center includes:

Titles showcased in the EA Demo Room - Meeting Room 402 A&B at the LACC

Dead Space TM

In this new game from EA’s Redwood Shores Studio, a massive deep-space mining ship goes dark after unearthing a strange artifact on a distant planet. Engineer Isaac Clarke embarks on the repair mission, only to uncover a nightmarish bloodbath—the ship’s crew horribly slaughtered and infected by an alien scourge. Now Isaac is cut off, trapped, and engaged in a desperate fight for survival.

E3 award consideration: Best Action/Adventure Game

FaceBreaker

A new game from EA Canada, FaceBreaker offers irreverent fun, immersive gameplay and eye-popping stylized graphics. In this in-your-face, arcade world full of ego-wielding characters, each boxer comes to life with unique attributes and distinct personal style. In addition, FaceBreaker K.O. Party, built exclusively with Wii™ consumers in mind, brings the magic of social play right into the living room with pick-up-and-punch intuitive gestures. In FaceBreaker, it just feels good to rearrange an opponent's face.

HASBRO FAMILY GAME NIGHT

A new game from EA’s Casual label, HASBRO FAMILY GAME NIGHT creates a whole new way for families and friends to play together. Players join host Mr. Potato Head as they play the classic Hasbro games well known by all as well as exciting new versions created for the Wii and PlayStation® 2 computer entertainment system. Launching this November, HASBRO FAMILY GAME NIGHT features family favorites such as CONNECT FOUR, BATTLESHIP, YAHTZEE, BOGGLE, SORRY! and the all new, SORRY! Sliders.

E3 award consideration: Best Social/ Casual/ Puzzle Game

LITTLEST PET SHOP

A new game from EA’s Casual Label, LITTLEST PET SHOP pets come to life this October in the LITTLEST PET SHOP video game. Launching on the Wii, Nintendo DS™ (3 versions), and PC, girls can explore three unique worlds as they discover their own magical Pet Shop. LITTLEST PET SHOP gives girls the opportunity to play with and collect 20 LITTLEST PETS on the Nintendo DS and 30 on the Wii and PC. Earn Kibble Coins to buy over 100 accessories for pets as well as tons of digital playsets in game from the 2008 toy-line. Players can play in either explore in free-play mode or in compete in more than 15 different fun and accessible mini-games.

Madden NFL 09

Developed by EA Tiburon, the ground-breaking Madden NFL 09 marks the 20th anniversary of one of the best-selling and most critically-acclaimed videogame franchises of all time. Among the more than 85 new features and enhancements, the game includes adaptable gameplay tailored to every type of gamer, improved graphics and animations, and a new network-inspired broadcast style presentation that delivers an authentic NFL experience. With unique controls, modes and presentation, Madden NFL 09 All-Play is designed specifically for the Wii and features fun, approachable and innovative gameplay. No matter the skill level, players can be competitive with three gameplay styles to choose from, ranging from Easy to Advanced.

E3 award consideration: Best Sports Game

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames™

From Pandemic™, an EA studio, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is an explosive open-world action game set in a massive, highly reactive, war-torn Venezuela. A power-hungry tyrant messes with Venezuela's oil supply, sparking an invasion that turns the country into a warzone. But in this game where gamers play the role of mercenaries, international crisis is all upside and the mercenaries can only profit from all the chaos.

E3 award consideration: Best Console Game

Mirror’s Edge™

A new game from EA’s DICE Studio, Mirror’s Edge takes place in a city where information is heavily monitored, agile couriers called Runners transport sensitive data away from prying eyes. Gamers play a Runner called Faith, and this innovative first-person action-adventure is a personal story. In this seemingly utopian paradise, a crime has been committed, Faith’s sister has been framed and now she is being hunted. Mirror’s Edge delivers gamers straight into the shoes of this unique heroine as she traverses the vertigo-inducing cityscape, engaging in intense combat and fast paced chases. From the makers of the groundbreaking Battlefield franchise, Mirror’s Edge is an action-adventure experience unlike any other.

E3 award consideration: Best of Show/ Best Original Game

Mobile, iPhone™ & iPod® titles

iPhone/iPod Touch Games from EA Mobile™
EA Mobile was one of the first companies to announce that they are making games for the iPhone. This July EA Mobile will announce the ever popular SCRABBLE, Sudoku and Tetris® for the iPhone and iPod touch, and coming this fall EA Mobile will announce an original game called Spore™ Origins, based on the PC/Mac version of Spore. The unique capabilities of the iPhone and iPod touch offer a completely unique mobile gaming experience through the use of features like the accelerometer, touch screens, and high definition graphics.

iPod Games from EA Mobile
Three new iPod games will be available this July – MONOPOLY, SCRABBLE and YAHTZEE! All three games are based on popular board games and are under license from Hasbro, Inc. The iPod Click Wheel™ provides an excellent game play experience as players take family fun to their iPod.

Mobile Phone Games from EA Mobile
EA Mobile will offer previews of two original games for the mobile platform Spore Origins and Wolfenstein RPG™, as well as Tetris® POP. Spore Origins is an original action-puzzle game for mobile phones from the creators of The Sims™, and Wolfenstein RPG is a fun mobile version of the classic first person shooter created in conjunction with id Software. Tetris POP is an all new version of Tetris, the consistent best seller on mobile, offering a range of game play with 17 different mini-variations. And finally, attendees can see a demo of the recently-released Kung Fu Panda™, based on the major motion picture from DreamWorks Animation.

The Sims™ 2 Apartment Pets for the Nintendo DS

From EA’s Redwood Shores Studio, The Sims 2 Apartment Pets for Nintendo DS, players can care for a variety of local pets, including loveable cats and dogs, slithery snakes, hamsters, colorful birds, and cuddly rabbits to make sure they receive the right treatment so that they stay happy, healthy and good looking. Simoleans earned can be used to furnish the perfect apartment and buy fun pet accessories like hats, shoes and toys. Players can use the Nintendo DS touch screen and stylus to play cool mini games and unlock new objects for their Sim and their pets.

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 09 for the PSP®

From EA’s Tiburon Studio, with Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09 for the PSP, everyone plays and anyone can win. From the seasoned veteran or to the novice hitting the links for the first time, gamers play with maximum control and aim for consistency using a simplified swing system in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09. Gamers can take aim at family, friends, and rivals in the all-new EA SPORTS Cup tournament, where momentum is gained or lost after every swing. With easy-to-use swing mechanics and an all-new controller system, gamers play their way to the top of the leader board with Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09.

Zubo™

A new game from EA’s Bright Light Studio, and designed exclusively for the Nintendo DS handheld system, Zubo is perfect for kids of all ages. Launched into the fully 3D world of Zubalon, kids will meet the colorful and comical stars of the game, the Zubos. While traveling through the game, players can befriend any Zubos they meet along the way, feeding and nurturing them, helping them gain skills and strength, and assisting them in chasing off the evil Zombos in strategic battles with an innovative rhythm action mechanic. With 55 Zubos available to find and recruit to a player’s squad, over 100 fully animated comedy battle moves, 10 lands of Zubalon to explore, plus a wealth of interactions and mini-games, Zubo offers a deeply rewarding Nintendo DS experience. Zubo will be available this fall in Europe and spring 2009 in North America.

MySims, made for the PC

From EA’s Redwood Shores Studio, in MySims, made for the PC, players can find all the fun of the first MySims game plus new and unique online features, characters and content as they create their own town and discover its surprises. New features in MySims, made for the PC, are the ability to safely chat and play games like Tag and Hide-and-Seek with online contacts. Players can also share constructions, like personalized buildings and furniture with up to seven other online friends. Even package and send off custom creations via email or instant message so those select others can use them in their own MySims town.

MySims Kingdom for the Wii and Nintendo DS

From EA’s Redwood Shores Studio, the MySims Kingdom experience begins in The Capital, the majestic land at the center of the adventure. After meeting an initial cast of characters including King Roland, Princess Butter, and constant companions Buddy and Lyndsay, players can venture beyond The Capital. Adventure awaits as players get in their boats and sail to many more lands on the horizon.

E3 award consideration: Best Handheld Game

Spore

A new game from EA’s Maxis™ Studio and industry veteran Will Wright, Spore is a personal universe in a box. In this universe players can create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations and even sculpt entire worlds. In Spore, there are a variety of creation tools that allow players to customize nearly every aspect of the universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even spaceships. While Spore is a single player game, gamers’ creations and other players’ creations are automatically shared between galaxies, providing a limitless number of worlds to explore and play.

E3 award consideration: Best PC Game

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09

From EA’s Tiburon Studio, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09 for the Xbox 360 TM will feature dynamic, personalized gameplay via Tiger Woods’ personal coach, Hank Haney. In Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09, a player’s skill level is dynamic, constantly adjusting throughout the round just as it would during a real afternoon out on the links. EA SPORTS GamerNet is a ground-breaking online innovation that features a refined, easy-to-use interface in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09. Online play has also been enhanced with Simultaneous Play allowing up to four players the ability to play each hole at the same time. In addition, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09 All-Play for the Wii features new graphics and user interface while also incorporating interactive and social mini-games. The standing swing control, the most “true to life” golf mechanic you can find in any videogame, truly takes advantage of the Wii console’s unique control scheme.

Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning™

A new title from EA’s Mythic Studio, gamers declare allegiance and join thousands of mighty heroes on the battlefields of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, the new MMORPG from the creators of Dark Age of Camelot™. Players enter a grim world of perpetual conflict to fight for the Realms of Order or Destruction and invade enemy lands, besiege imposing fortresses, and sack sprawling capital cities for the glory of the Realm.

E3 award consideration: Best Online Multiplayer Game

Titles showcased in the EA Software Showcase - Booth #131 at the LACC

Command & Conquer TM Red Alert TM 3

EA Los Angeles has traveled seven years back in time to resurrect Red Alert, the most-beloved series in the storied, 25-million-unit-plus-selling Command & Conquer franchise. Shipping this holiday for the PC and Xbox 360, Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 brings back the series’ trademark light-hearted tone and action-oriented gameplay while breaking new ground in the strategy genre by adding a fully co-operative story campaign, increasing the emphasis on naval gameplay and housing the best looking graphics a Command & Conquer game has ever seen.

Crysis Warhead®

Award-winning independent studio Crytek and EA Partners are going back to the South China Sea this fall with the PC-exclusive Crysis Warhead, a parallel story to Crysis®, one of the highest rated games last year on any platform. Players will don the Nanosuit of Psycho, the more brash and aggressive Delta Force squadmate of Nomad, experiencing his intense, explosive adventure on the other side of the island. Crysis Warhead is built on a new, enhanced and optimized version of Crytek’s industry-leading CryENGINE® 2 technology.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™

Gamers will relive all the thrills, action, and excitement of the movie this holiday season! In the game of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, players will return to Hogwarts to help Harry survive a fraught sixth year. They will also have a chance to engage in exciting wizard duels, mix and brew magical ingredients in Potions class and take to the air to lead the Gryffindor Quidditch team to victory. Players may even get sidetracked by Ron’s romantic entanglements as they journey towards a dramatic climax and discover the identity of the Half-Blood Prince. From EA’s Bright Light Studio, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is scheduled for release in time for the movie launch this fall for the Wii, PLAYSTATION®3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PSP (PlayStation®Portable), Nintendo DS, Windows PC, Macintosh® and mobile devices.

The Lord of the Rings: Conquest™

From Pandemic, an EA studio and the creators behind the best-selling Star Wars Battlefront™ and Star Wars Battlefront™ II – players grab their blades, bow or staff and ride onto the battlegrounds of J.R.R. Tolkien’s world to fight for either good or evil. For the first time, an extensive single-player campaign lets players ask the question: “What if Frodo failed to destroy the One Ring?” Including tons of adversarial arenas and both a variety of online and split-screen co-op modes, the gamers’ choice is clear: save Middle-earth or destroy it?

SimCity™ Creator for the Wii

From EA’s Redwood Shores Studio, SimCity Creator is a visually exciting experience with a completely new user interface, designed specifically for the Wii and the Wii remote. Players will discover many ways to customize your city, including 13 city styles to explore, such as American, European and Asian themes. For the first time, players will take the liberty to build transportation systems with free placement of rounded and curved roads and rail lines, taking cities to new creative and curvy heights.

MADDEN NFL 09

See details above

NBA LIVE 09

From EA Canada, NBA LIVE 09 has fundamentally shifted the way gamers look at sports simulation games and emulates - with absolute precision - an NBA player based on last night, not last season. Coupled with new features like Pick and Roll Control, Defensive Lockdown Control, Signature Playcalling and Quickstrike Ankle-Breakers, the NBA LIVE experience will hook gamers from beginning to end. For those in need of some extra coaching, NBA LIVE 09 takes gamers to training camp with the NBA Academy that gives them a chance to hone their skills.

NCAA® FOOTBALL 09

From EA Tiburon, NCAA Football 09 offers the electricity that can only be found on Big Play Saturdays. Powered behind groundbreaking gameplay controls and unique college-style animations, NCAA Football 09 arrives on campus with all the excitement and pageantry of a storied college bowl game. Gamers will experience the exhilaration of making big plays on the field with the ability to directly control and influence the game through the all-new Break Away Engine. The Break Away Engine allows players to break in and out of moves, giving the user ultimate control with instant responsiveness on the field. NCAA Football 09 is all about the wide-open collegiate style gameplay and the unique atmosphere typically found on college football Saturdays.

Skate It

From EA’s Black Box and Montreal studios, Skate It brings the fun and soul of skateboarding to the Wii and Nintendo DS. Loaded with all-new gameplay features and a unique set of controls, gamers can express their very own skate style by carving through the world, owning the sickest spots, and putting together the ultimate skate line. Feel the rush of nailing the gnarliest tricks by using the Wii Remote and the stylus-based Flickit Nintendo controls. Or, players can get in touch with the skateboard even more by planting their feet on the Wii Balance Board, and using it to skate, manual and throw down dozens of other authentic moves. Hands or feet, both can be used to deepen the connection between the player and the boarding experience.

TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 09

See details above

Other titles will be shown by EA Partners in the following locations:

Rock Band™ 2

Harmonix, the world’s premier music video game company, and MTV Games are taking the groundbreaking music platform that forever changed the face of music video games to the next level this September with the release of Rock Band 2. With the original providing millions of players a new way to interact with the music and artists they love, Rock Band 2 is the next evolution of the franchise that redefined the standard for music games. Delivering an unparalleled selection of new music adding to the Rock Band's already massive library, support for all purchased downloads from the online music store, and an overall deeper gameplay experience, Rock Band 2 will continue to give millions of players a whole new way to enjoy the music and artists they love.

– Rock Band 2 will be on display at the MTV Games Booth located at Suite 308A in the LACC.

E3 award consideration: Best Peripheral/ Hardware Game

Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead (L4D) is a new action title from Valve, creators of the Counter-Strike and Half-Life games, that promises to redefine the co-operative genre as those titles did for multiplayer and single player action games. Due for release on the Xbox 360 and PC this November, the co-operative gameplay of L4D casts four "Survivors" in an epic struggle against hordes of swarming zombies and terrifying "Boss Infected" mutants.

– Left 4 Dead will be on display at the Valve booth located at 511B in the West Wing

E3 award consideration: Best Action Game

Thanks DavidXsee!

The winner of this little Sporelebrity contest would have $15,000 donated to the charity of his or her choice. Going up against such truly famous people as Carlos Santana, Emeril Lagasse, Richard Branson and Stan Lee, I know I don't stand a snowballs chance in hell of winning. But if by some bizarre twist of fate people selected my TickleMeKotaku creature (which has a prehensile Tickleme Elmo tail) then $10,000 would be donated to Child's Play and the remaining $5,000 would be donated to Jennifer Ann's Group.

Since most of my competitors are absolutely crushing me I have no problem urging you to vote and vote often, really often, for TMK. They announce the winner on July 18, I'm told.

Spore Vote

The full Spore, as we've talked about in detail before, is broken down into five phases which allow you to take a single-cell organism and run it all the way up the evolutionary ladder to a space-exploring civilization.

My concern, after watching the Spore demonstration in Leipzig last year, was that the game wouldn't live up to the spectacular creation tools that are so integral to Spore. I worried that it may be more of a series of toys strung together than a full-blown game.

My time with the game managed to ease some of those concerns.

I decided to start Spore as you should, at the cellular level, controlling an organism floating aimlessly in a sea of life.

This stage of the game, which took me about 20 minutes to play through, felt an awful lot like flow. In it I moved my organism around avoiding larger critters and eating smaller ones. I also tried to find bits of meteorites to gobble up which would give me evolutionary abilities.

After enough attacks or gathering enough bits of rock I earned the DNA I needed to add on new bits to me creature. Initially I gave him a set of pincers for attacking, later I added a bulb that produced poison when he was attacked and extra limbs for faster swimming.

The game, like flow, took place among layers of a 2D environment in an almost through-the-microscope point of view. As I grew I floated up the layers towards the surface of the pool. Eventually, I was able to evolve and make it to land.

This initially cell level, while short, was quite fun to play.

Once I made it to land, I was asked to modify my creature with a set of legs. Oblivious to the placement of his mouth, which pointed straight down, and his eyes, which pointed straight out, I accidentally misplaced my unfortunate creature's legs. When he took to land, I saw that his mouth jutted out straight down from his rounded torso. Imagine my surprise when my little mistake attacked his first creature with a series of short, angry squats... That's right, my new lifeform had to teabag people to kill them. Oh the humanity.

After getting over the initial shock of what I had just created, I spent an inordinate amount of time running around teabagging other unsuspecting creatures to death. You'd be surprised just how much time you can burn playing a game that allows you to kill things in that particular manner. I tried my best to get Wright's attention, to show him my creature, but I suspect he wanted nothing to do with it.

In this second phase you spend most of you time hunting for smaller creatures to complete quests of a sort and earn DNA and body parts. Again, fun to play, though a bit short lived.

The next stage, which I didn't test out, is the Tribe stage which has you controlling an entire tribe of your creatures, issuing commands to them and evolving their technology. It's in this stage that you can create some pretty amazing buildings. I saw a collection of them and was blown away with what you can do. For instance, a factory made to look like a turn-of-the-century detective in an alley with trashcans nearby, the building's smoke coming out of the detective's pipe. Or a city building made to look like a young couple sitting on a park bench. It was pretty spectacular stuff.

The game's final phase is space exploration, which I managed to tinker with for a few minutes. Long enough, at least, to see that space ships can also take any form, like a jumping Mario.

My time with the game was painfully shorty, enough to tantalize and perhaps put some fears to rest. Is it worth the price, likely, will it be the next Sims? Too early to tell.

Earlier in the day Wright told us that Spore was a way for him to "convey interesting concepts in fun ways" a game of an entire universe, something that makes a game editor a toy and becomes a "creativity amplifier."

With more than 1 million creatures already created with Spore's Creature Creator, and Wright expecting the number of creatures to exceed the population of Earth by launch time, I think it's fair to say Wright nailed what he was going for.

But did you know that Spore has the raw power to re-create PS3 controllers? It can even do that boomerang-looking proto-type controller. This all comes from searching "PS3" in the Sporepedia, a search that also brings up the MGS4 MkII. I haven't found a 2600 joystick in there yet. (Did find the Wii Zapper).

Look through the gallery below for a quartet of Spore PS3 controllers that will walk and scavenge in the land of Spore. I look forward to visiting a Spore world populated by warring factions of game controllers. What are you going to put in your world?

Hit the jump for a look at more.

Wii-monster [Spore Thanks, Stephen!]

That Spore poster had better have a large image of Will Wright sporting his best denim on at least one side and have a scratch 'n' sniff patch that reeks of Wright's brand of cigarettes. We appreciate the finer things in life, too, you know.

Spore Galactic Edition [GameStop]

At this rate, if my calculations prove correct, we should be completely and utterly sick of seeing Spore creatures by the time the full game drops in September.

Sporepedia [Official Spore Website]

I suppose I should applaud the Spore Creature Creator, because it's such an outlet for energy that would otherwise go into cosplay. You can waste a ton of time surfing Sporepedia for obvious video-game homages. So let's get a pool going on the next video-game character to be added to the Sporepedia. I'll lay out the odds:

Pac-Man: 1:5 OFF
Mega Man: 1:2 OFF
Asshole Dog from Duck Hunt: 60:1
Fygar from Dig-Dug: 8:1
Roman Bellic: 150:1
Slippy from Starfox 64: 4:1
Michael Vick from Madden 2004: 6000:1

Find others? Post links in the comments.

Master Chief, Mario and More Invade the Sporepedia [MTV Multiplayer]

Interestingly, I'm in Washington D.C. for the weekend — normally we publish a little BART jaunt away from S.F. So if someone up that way can pop in and ask Will what, specifically, will get you banned for making Sporeporn beasts in Spore Creature Creator, I'd be obliged. Use as many clinical terms as possible, like, is an apparent glans by itsef banworthy, or must it also be attached to a shaftlike appendage? Also use "frenulum" and "taint."

The official EA release with who/what/when details is after the jump.

Who: Industry Icon Will Wright, the Chief Designer from Maxis, an EA studio. Wright’s games are some of the most popular and acclaimed titles of all time, including SimCity and the mega-hit The Sims, which recently celebrated 100 million units sold.

What: Wright will provide a public demo of his latest project, the hotly anticipated game Spore. One of the most ambitious games ever made, Spore gives players their own personal universe in a box. Create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe filled with creations made by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even UFOs.

Where: The Apple Store
One Stockton Street
San Francisco, CA 94108
415-392-0202

[Sporepedia]

*applause*

Xbox 360 Spore Controller [Spore.com Thanks, zOmbi!]

BUSTED! "Boobalicious" Banned! [GamesRadar]

There is an issue with EADM that is causing the game not to show in the list for some people. We are working to resolve this as soon as possible so that everyone can start creating.

Thank you for your patience and I apologize for the inconvenience.

See? Don't worry folks, you'll soon be able to create Humpasaurs and giant penis monsters just like everyone else.

When will Spore Creature Creator be available on EADM? [Spore Forums - Thanks Dan!]

Perhaps he's just happy because he's named "The Humpasaur", which is what my close friends in high school nicknamed me in the fictional life I like to picture in my head where I had close friends in high school. Hit the jump for the full picture in all its NSFW glory.

Pretty sick, right? It gets even better when you realize that this creature would theoretically have to eat from one of those openings and then pass undigested matter through the other one. Enjoy lunch!

Spore Creature Creator [PC Zone UK Forums - Thanks Velo!]

By the way, this is not an invitation to send your boner-centric creation to tips. Just consider it a heads up.

I've managed to avoid the Creature Creator for the most part myself, but this launch trailer sucked me in as soon as I heard the bizarre little critters making cute squeaking noises. I am a complete sucker for cute squeaking noises, as my dating history is sure to prove.

SPORE CREATURE CREATOR AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE TODAY

Spore Creature Creator Kicks off the Countdown to the Release of Spore this September

Redwood City, CA – June 17, 2008 – Prepare to test the limits of your imagination! Maxis, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) studio, today released the Spore™ Creature Creator, an introduction to the highly-anticipated and groundbreaking video game, Spore™ which will ship worldwide this September.

Available today for both PC and Mac, the Spore Creature Creator is a stand-alone product and creativity toy box where players create their own unique creatures, bring them to life with entertaining animations, and share them online with friends around the world. The full version of the Spore Creature Creator will be available for $9.99 at retail stores or by visiting www.spore.com. A free trial version of the Spore Creature Creator is also available today at www.spore.com. The trial version features 25% of the creature-making parts from Spore and lets players shape, paint and play with their custom-created creatures. Creatures made in the Spore Creature Creator can also be imported into the full Spore game, allowing players to populate their own galaxies when the game ships worldwide later this year.

The Spore Creature Creator lets players create their own creatures, take them on a test drive, snap pictures, and make movies of them. Sharing pictures or videos with friends is as easy as the click of a button. Players can also share their creations with others by uploading to the Sporepedia™ at www.Spore.com. The Sporepedia is an extraordinarily vast online destination where people worldwide can search for and share Spore creations, comment on other player’s designs, check out celebrity creature creations and much more.

“Today is the day we begin to see Spore come to life,” said Executive Producer and General Manager of Maxis, Lucy Bradshaw. “We’re excited to see what players will do with the powerful and intuitive creativity tools we’ve put into the Spore Creature Creator. Our team will be excitedly keeping an eye on the Sporepedia to check out creations made by players from around the world.”

The ability to upload players’ creations to YouTube™ has also been integrated into the Spore Creature Creator. Players can import and upload video of their creatures' moves directly to YouTube with only two clicks within the game. Spore will have its own YouTube Channel where all videos of users' creations uploaded from the game will be showcased for the YouTube community to watch, share, rate and comment on. Check it out at http://youtube.com/spore.

Love your creature so much you want the entire world to see? Post it to your blog for people to check out, even create an avatar for your favorite social networking site. And if you want to see your creature come to life in the real world – now you can! Visit www.zazzle.com/sporestore to upload your creature and turn it into a custom coffee mug, t-shirt, magnet, stickers and more! Zazzle allows you to instantly create cool products for your creature so you can take your creature on the go, wherever you go!

Spore, the highly-anticipated game from the creators of The Sims™, gives players their own personal universe in a box. Create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations, sculpt entire worlds and explore a universe filled with creations made by other gamers. Spore gives players a wealth of creative tools to customize nearly every aspect of their universe: creatures, vehicles, buildings, and even UFOs.

The Spore Creature Creator is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB. The downloadable demo version is free. The complete version has an MSRP of $9.99 in North America. Spore ships for the PC, Mac, Nintendo DS™ and mobile phones on September 5, 2008 in Europe and September 7, 2008 in North America and Asia. Visit www.Spore.com to download a free version of the Spore Creature Creator, sign up for the Spore newsletter or check out all-new screenshots and videos from the game.

If you're hankering for some Spore fruit fucker action right now, you can always grab the demo, which leaked early. It contains 1/4 the content, but that's 1/4 more than you're getting right now.

Reader Bahamut sends the above Easter Egg, which is Spore creator Will Wright's head floating over the galaxy in the main menu screen. How'd he do it? By tinkering around. "Before I quit out of the entire game I try just randomly clicking around the main menu ..." Bahamut explains. Methinks he would have been among the first fishies crawling out of the ocean to breathe gas and not water. ("Before spawning and dying, I decided to randomly swim up this rock to see how far it was to the water's surface ...")

Bahamut shows how he did it after the jump. Since this precedes the official demo release, can we call this a zero-day Easter Egg?

Okay, so I was screwing around with the (leaked) Spore Creature Creator demo late this evening, and right before I quit out of the entire game I try just randomly clicking around the main menu (the galaxy). If you click the center of the galaxy, the menu buttons for "Load Creature", etc. disappear, which allows you to view the galaxy unhindered. While in this view, if you hold down the left mouse button move left or right you can give the galaxy a "spin". If you spin the galaxy fast enough, this pops up in the center of your screen.

Alright everybody, go give it a try!

Well, a file purporting to be that demo is on Megaupload as we speak. Now, 191 MB is a huge file just to be bogus malware, but still, we assume no responsibility if this isn't what it says it is or turns out to be something worse.

Spore releases for PC and Mac on Sept. 8, 2008, with a version for the DS on Sept. 7 and another TBA for the Wii.

Spore Creature Creator Demo (.exe) [MegaUpload, thanks Null Void]

The stand-alone creator is a pretty straight-forward game. Launching it up brings you to a screen that lets you either create or load your own critters.

Once you drop into the creation mode you're presented with a floating blob of flesh, elongated at either end with stumpy tail-like or neck-like appendages. When you hover your cursor over the blob it becomes slightly transparent, exposing the vertebrae buried inside. An arrow appears over either stump as well. To shape your creature's body you tug on the arrows to stretch out the skin along an ever-extending backbone. You can also tug at the vertebrae to try and curve the spine and shape of the body.

Once you've shaped your body you can drop on arms, legs, mouths, eyes, noses, ears, hands, feet and other little appendages, like wings. Each of these can be twisted, stretched and moved about on the fly.

Initially the need for a backbone and the pre-set selection of body parts feels very limiting, but over time I found that I can create lots of things with a little creativity including spiders, snakes, cats, I even tried to create a Fruit Fucker... and almost succeeded. The one thing I can't seem to create is a human, I think the biggest issue there is that you can't add a separate head and instead have to rely on planing mouth, eyes, ears and such on the top of a knobby outgrowth of the spinal column. That's not a deal break at all though for me.

As you create your creature different icons give you a break down of its special abilities, like attacks and speed. Another button shows how complicated your critter is. If it gets too complicated you can't add any more parts. So no 100 mouthed balls of flesh.

Once completed you can paint the creature by either selecting among three pages of pre-set paint jobs or by painting the creature in three phases, still using pre-set stencils. The fact that you can choose just about any color and that you can control three different overlays of color makes customization pretty easy, though doing something really specific, like a black band over Fruit Fucker's eyes, is impossible.

Is it worth $10? Maybe, it is tons of fun to play around with, but I'm not sure if I'd want to shell out cash to get early hands-on time with something that will come built-in to a game I'm planning on buying. Then again it's only $10 and it's TONS of fun. Actually a little addictive.

Oh and the rough draft of that organic Fruit Fucker up there, I suspect that's what FF might look like in meat space. I also suspect this particular Fruit Fucker would be just as happy to have his way with human chest cavities as the odd orange.

Update: I just checked in with EA on the whole price thing. Here's the deal. You can get a trial version of the Creature Creator, which contains about a quarter of the creature parts, for free. If you do buy the creator for $10 you get a $5 rebate toward the full Spore game good at Target and Amazon.

Update 2: See him in motion!

The publisher handed out 50 or so copies of the Spore Creature Creator to a bunch of celebrities (and me) and asked them to create a single, marvelous creature. This eclectic selection of creatures will then be posted on an Electronic Arts site for people to vote on next week. The winner gets $15,000 donated to the charity of his or her choice.

I've been able to cobble together a short list of some of the folks I'm competing against:

Stan Lee
Richard Branson
David Lynch
Ellijah Wood
Kevin Rose
Mark Cuban
Curt Schilling
Kent Nichols
Robert Scoble
Veronica Belmont
Carlos Santana
Bijou Phillips
Flight of the Conchords

Good thing none of these people are rich, powerful or creative... man I'm screwed. Maybe I should take the low road and create a giant penis creature? Neah, it's too much fun making abominations to God.

Windows XP
2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
512 MB RAM
A 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
At least 6 GB of hard drive space

Windows Vista
2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
768 MB RAM
A 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
At least 6 GB of hard drive space

Mac OS X
Mac OS X 10.5.3 Leopard or higher
Intel Core Duo Processor
1024 MB RAM
ATI X1600 or NVidia 7300 GT with 128 MB of Video RAM, or Intel Integrated GMA X3100
At least 4.7GB of hard drive space for installation, plus additional space for creations.

The official site warns that the Mac disk space requirements for Spore are subject to change. It also has a fairly exhaustive list of supported video cards for both camps. You good to go? I am!

Spore Specs [Official Site]

We're just a week away from the Spore Creature Creator going public, meaning it wouldn't hurt to brush up on the SimEverything bestiary before you get your mouse pointer on it.

Sporepedia [Spore.com]

Gamasutra covered the event, during which Wright added, "but if it's to progress the story, then 'God told me to do it.'"

He covered a broad range of subjects during the talk, including whether games are perceived as an art form ("When comic book people are looking down on you as cultural refuse, you know you're at the bottom of the barrel,") and his vision of games as a "co-collaboration between player and designer."

Still, he thinks we have further to go:

We have yet to prove we can do meaningful things with this form of expression, but I believe we are at the cusp of a Cambrian explosion of possibilities [referencing the geological era in which complex life flourished]. We are a couple years away from being respected as a form of expression, but it's not a battle we need to fight. We'll win anyway."

Will Wright - Video Games Close To 'Cambrian Explosion' Of Possibilities [Gamasutra]

The App Store will be part of the iPhone 2.0 firmware update that is free to iPhone users, but $10 for iTouch owners. That's right, Apple is charging for a firmware update.

Why should you care if you own an iPhone or iTouch? Spore, Trism, Galga, Pacman and maybe, just maybe Puzzle Quest. Also there are the games announced at the beginning of the conference.

Games can be downloaded by cell connection if they are less than 10 MB and via WiFi if greater than 10MB.

So far it looks like games will run for $10 a pop, though it will ultimately be up to the developers to set prices. Apple keeps 30 percent of the revenues. If the dev decides to give the game away there is no charge at all from Apple.

Stay tuned here for other gaming news coming out of WWDC today and if you're looking for a deeper, more in-depth look at the whole show make sure to catch Gizmodo's amazing live coverage of the conference.

Once your tribe comes out on top it's time to move on to the Civilization phase of development, which I am sure we'll be hearing more about in the coming weeks. For now, check out these screens of tribes doing their thing.