@nesdude:

I don't think he's saying cutscenes are meaningless, he just says they don't get talked about much.

Which makes sense. When you talk to someone a friend, do you actually sit and discuss cutscenes (having an actual conversation discussing cutscenes)? Or do you talk about gameplay (oh wow, I was playing last night and this happened...)?

At least for me, I do much more of the latter than the former.

Coquiton

There's well over 2 million creatures now, and all the penis monsters have been gone for a long time.

The problem now is people taking credit for someone else's creature.

CapnHulk

"You never really hear game players telling each other about the cool cut-scene they saw in the games"

What? Mmm OK Will, OK.

I never talk about Call of Duty 4 cutscenes. I never talk about Final Fantasy custscenes. You're totally right. The Mass Effect cutscenes we're also crap. GTA4 Cutscenes, useless! All useless pieces of junk that we don't even discuss.

In his defense, I'm really REALLY not into anything Sim, or anything SPORE, so, yeah.

Hahaha...trolling IS fun. :)

Woodwater

@Zaos: @Lazlo:

Awww come on guys, you killed the joke. Shame on you :P

Herodito

"You never really hear game players telling each other about the cool cut-scene they saw in the games they are playing"

This is false and this man is a liar. I hate him and his games.

ItotheCtotheE

"You never really hear game players telling each other about the cool cut-scene they saw in the games they are playing but they're always talking about the cool unique things they discovered to do on their own."

Mild OT, but I don't necessarily believe this. Two of the most emotionally drawn cut scenes I've ever seen in video games I saw last week. One was the Andrew Ryan cut scene in the middle of BioShock (for no spoilers: part with golf club), and the first "execution" you can do in Grand Theft Auto IV. I don't know why the GTA cutscene effected me so much, I guess it was just sort of frank how Niko just... bang... and then the story goes on.

Sure, in Spore you can make the creatures, but does that really give a "higher degree of ownership and authorship over the experience"? I mean, I don't know about anyone else here, but I didn't exactly cry when one of my Sims died, instead I was probably laughing.

It'll be interesting to see how Spore turns out, and whether or not people get more invested emotionally in it.

nesdude

@proust: I dunno....I've never talked about cutscenes to my friends (or vice-versa), other than a small mention.

However, we've talked about cool moments while playing... much, much more.

I mean, it makes sense. What's more interesting to talk about? A cutscene everyone saw, and knows what happened, or cool unique moments that no two people have experienced?

Coquiton

@mshimer5:
Ah, I made it three days per creature. Yes, 2 days would make it 55 years. A little less than 9000, though.

Lazlo

i do talk about cut scenes,
"remember on GoW, when Carmine gets heatshooted?"
"dont you think Kim got Really cool Assassinated by Raam?"

Stuff Like That.

AlejandroLestad

How old is this interview? Last time I checked the Spore creature tally had past two million.

Stompy1

@Zaos: It's a dragon ball Z thing, I find myself bringing that up in casual conversation from time to time when we're talking about a certain amount of something, or how powerful something is.

Now regarding the creature creator he should have actually said how long it would have taken an art team to create that many creatures using the creature creator itself. 3d studio max and maya don't have the same restrictions as the creature creator tool.

juc

"You never really hear game players telling each other about the cool cut-scene they saw in the games they are playing "

He couldn't be more wrong. The most talked about and often remembered bits from games are cutscenes. He should know the game industry better than that.

proust

Although I agree with what he is saying to an extent, I do specifically remember talking about many FFVII cut-scenes with people (Remember Sephiroth walking through the flames)

mshimer5

@Lazlo: I'll second that. One of the last scenes in the act, was my favorite, simply for the way the battle went.
As for overall emotional investment, very few games actually had me really wanting a sequel. One of those happens to be No One Lives Forever 2. Someone bring back Ms. Archer!

trogam

@Lazlo: Ummm, he said one creature every "couple" of days, which I would guess means 2 days. If you use that math, it would take about 55 years. Just saying...

mshimer5

aww somebody already did the "thats a lot of dicks" comments :{

Icyme

Yeah, it's simple logic that you can't have deep emotions with mass-productions, without giving your own contribution.

I like Wright, and would like to talk to him about "The Meaning of the Universe", but because I can't yell loudly enough, guess I won't be heard.

Dragzonox

How long would it take the MAxis team is they used Creature Creator??!?!?!?!

Aetherium

What he doesn't mention is that 400,000 of these creatures are different variations of a penis.

Dayvie

@Kenny: Because it's an extension of yourself.

Falconrith

You kill my gobbledygoogly-eyed tri-headed pink flamingo!!! Now I must revenge with my thousand-eyed hornyudder-winged barney looking snake people!

JCVD

@Neocorey:
Correction: it would take approx. 82 years for 50 artists to make 500,000 creatures. One every three days is 121.67 a year for one artist. Times 50 is 6083.5 creatures a year, times 82 years 498,847. So it would take a lil more than 82 to get them all.

Lazlo

I'm going to be very emotionally invested with my Penis Monster.

Kenny

@Neocorey: What 9000?!

Zaos

I agree for the most part, but I know that for MGS:4 I found myself talking about both, the amazing cutscenes, and the experiences. So don't rule out cutscenes yet, Will!!

Lazlo

"A large art team might have as many as 50 artists working on a project so to create 500K creatures that team would have taken about 55 years."

IT'S OVER 9000!

Neocorey

Well, feeling like a god for once... why not?

LoganForge

wow..

i must be so lame for not really being too pumped for this game. its been in dev for years and wright just keeps bragging it up... all you hear is its going to be so amazing this and that..

better not let me down; it better be nothing short of amazing!

@Coquiton yes, we talk about the cutscenes. that is.. if you have an HDTV and a true now-gen system (ie not a waggle machine)

seamonkey420

I have my doubts with this, as I simply lit my Sims on fire over and over again. The only character in recent games that I've been invested in emotionally is the Weighted Companion Cube.

I would also like an analysis on what percentage of Spore creatures created so far have been penis shaped.

Narsil

@Aetherium: now that is a very good point.

randomletters

I think wright has selective hearing. The most emotive game i've ever played is Ico, and that used a mix of in game elements and cutscenes to set mood and tone. I'm pretty sure there is no gimmick to making your game great in some way, just put some effort in and have vision. Spore is so open ended it will be impossible to infer any emotion except that which the player places on their own creations.

iLov3

user generated creatures = free labor!

dArk_stAr

ya but half of those creatures are shitty spamware

Mmoney667

"You never really hear game players telling each other about the cool cut-scene they saw in the games they are playing"

what!? I still talk about the cutscenes of MGS1 to this day... "I don't have any crows in MY family tree!"
to bring in the same series again, I've been having discussions about MGS4s cutscenes with my flatmates since I completed it on the day of release...

Any game that tells a story well, or has remotely memorable cutscenes can and will spark a conversation, which is contrary to the shallow, and frankly incorrect, blabbering of Will Wright...

exion

Well i already love my awesomo creatures. The happiest day in my life will be when my Dinosoldiers graduate from high school.

Ra is on That 70s Show

@exion: "shallow blabbering"?! Have you ever listened to a presentation by this guy?! Its usually a good idea to think about what point the guy's making before getting defensive. =P

I think the point he's making is a cutscene isnt a very unique experience. The're cool rewards for reaching a milestone in a game but its not quite the same as telling someone about the unique stunt you did on GTA; the incredible shot you made on halo 3 that killed a guy with 1 sniper shot, ricocheted off the wall behind him and killed another guy; or your daring assault on an enemy base in an MMO.

Cutscenes are things usually best experienced by yourself and the're very much a personal experience imo. People who havnt played the game you generally tell them that it's cool and they should check it out rather than telling them in detail about the cutscene (which, in the case of one of my friends, usually results in him saying something along the lines of: "and it was all like PEW PEW! and I was like WOW!" ...which is just annoying). If you're talking to someone who's already seen it... well... you're not really telling them anything new.

I personally very rarely talk about the cutscenes of a game... me n my mates have discussed the story line of a game before, but regardless of whether thats told through the gameplay or the cutscenes thats still different. Most of the experiences my friends talk about when it comes to gaming are the things the've done in MMOs or other online games that are unique to them.

Turel777

What? I talk about cutscenes all the time.

I guess it depends on what games you play, some are more oriented to cutscene than others.

yanipheonu

yes, but what exactly do you expect me to do with 600 slightly different variations of cows?

Now, Scorpion Cows, those are pretty cool...

Emmanuel Goldstein