Our one of a kind Spore figurine
by Christopher Grant 
{ Jul 26th 2006 at 12:55PM }
Some Joystiq readers will no doubt be jealous when we remind them of how Joystiq special correspondent Randall Bennett got to play Spore behind closed doors at E3. And again when he got to see Robin Williams crack jokes while making his own creature at that Wired party.
Well, our jealousy was rekindled when, after some months, Randall's friendly neighborhood UPS guy rang his bell to deliver a Spore figurine identical to the character he had designed at E3. They should definitely have a service so consumers can order their own custom figurine. More pics after the break.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Conrad @ Jul 26th 2006 12:57PM
Too freaking cool!
Nick @ Jul 26th 2006 1:01PM
That would be awesome, they would make so much money if they offered that, they would probably charge like 50 bucks a figure though
ELPsteel @ Jul 26th 2006 1:03PM
Will this actually be feature in the real game? i.e., you make your dude and then pay a certain amount to get one delivered?
Randall @ Jul 26th 2006 1:05PM
Nick,
Tell me you wouldn't pay it though.
Of course... I wouldn't have to.
*ducks*
=)
Ozyman666 @ Jul 26th 2006 1:08PM
Umm ... looks like a penis with wings.
pandlcg @ Jul 26th 2006 1:12PM
I hope your penis doesn't look like that
Android8675 @ Jul 26th 2006 1:28PM
I've seen 3D printers that can make models like this, rumor has it the cost is a lot lower than you think. If EA doesn't jack up the price too much I'm sure they could get the price point down to about your average McFarlane Figure price ($15?)
tack @ Jul 26th 2006 1:34PM
Ozyman666, you need to get yourself to a doctor right quick.
MosquitoControl @ Jul 26th 2006 1:42PM
What a great way to ensure stellar reviews!
I'm joking, of course, I think this is all-around awesome, but I also find it hard to doubt someone with something so personalized would right a bad review.
Game looks like a ton of fun, I'm a bit afraid there isn't enough "game" and it will get tiresome within a few hours, but the tech behind it is great.
foxhaze @ Jul 26th 2006 1:44PM
I think the Spore guys have too much free time.
sambo @ Jul 26th 2006 1:50PM
looks like jar jar binks.
Tim Sonderman @ Jul 26th 2006 1:52PM
Anyone could have seen this one coming, What I want to see is a model of the world you create that is like 50 feet in diameter and you can put these guys on it. Now that would be impressive.
C. Grant @ Jul 26th 2006 1:53PM
MosquitoControl: Good thing Randall doesn't write reviews. :)
MosquitoControl @ Jul 26th 2006 2:14PM
Chris:
I know, and didn't mean to imply anyone will be swayed, nor that it's Maxis' intent.
I'm just saying that, of all the freebies I've seen, this is the only one that would have tempted me. So damn individualized, making it one of the best I've seen.
Nathan M @ Jul 26th 2006 2:15PM
"I'm a bit afraid there isn't enough 'game' and it will get tiresome within a few hours"
Not enough game? Spore is going to have the biggest replay value of any game I've ever seen! You could play this through ten times and never have it the same!
zenprism @ Jul 26th 2006 2:23PM
A book I just read called "The Long Tail" by Wired Magazine's Chris Anderson actually mentions that the figure creation will be a feature in the game and it should only cost $20.
Really cool idea, that.
geekinabox @ Jul 26th 2006 2:28PM
Do you think this is a one-time marketing opportunity, or will there we a permanant game option to get your in-game character/species/creature made into a custom figure ... for say .... $30? What a money-making opportunity; you can invision people getting numerous copies of their character as it evolves, as well as create new ones for the sheer creative aspect of custom action figures.
The full 3d character model already exists in-game, so we'd just need a quick means of one-figure-at-a-time mass production (sic).
"Tea, Earl Grey, Hot."
Scott Jon Siegel @ Jul 26th 2006 2:38PM
Yes. Yes. Yes. Coolest use of File>Print ever.
Denbowski @ Jul 26th 2006 2:40PM
I want this game now.
Darius K. @ Jul 26th 2006 2:46PM
According to the following Businessweek article, there are plans to make the 3D printing into a service for fans.
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jul2006/id20060720_289503.htm?campaign_id=bier_innlt0
Relevant excerpt:
"It may not be there in the same form in the final game, but you could also hit a menu item and send your creature to Maxis’ 3D printer, which automatically creates a model of it. It is likely that a model-making service (which will probably require payment) will be available when the game appears."
Dylan @ Jul 26th 2006 3:07PM
Hmmm, this sounds like a challange to make a structurally impossible creature.
MosquitoControl @ Jul 26th 2006 3:10PM
"Not enough game? Spore is going to have the biggest replay value of any game I've ever seen! You could play this through ten times and never have it the same!"
Never have it exactly the same, but still somewhat the same.
The creature creation novelty will wear off. After that I'm worried that nothing has enough depth and subtlety to last.
Look at The Sims. No depth nor subtlety. Game got old in a handful of hours.
You can't compare the two, but looking at the movies of Spore I have the same fears. That it will be awesome for the first time or two through, maybe three or four hours, then you'll feel like you've done it all and that nothing you do really matters - you're just rehashing the same ground over and over.
Shawn @ Jul 26th 2006 3:14PM
This game is going to be so amazing. The whole idea of having a character different from everyone else is cool just in itself. By the way, I would totally pay $15-20 for a 3d copy of my own character. That's geek chic.
Marc @ Jul 26th 2006 3:35PM
...............that is the ugliest son-of-a-bitch I've ever seen......
euxneks @ Jul 26th 2006 3:54PM
That's pretty cool - but does it poop to see?
(http://www.vgcats.com/comics/images/060619.jpg)
P.S. geekinabox: I don't think you understand the proper usage of "[sic]" :: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sic
Marc @ Jul 26th 2006 3:59PM
"that is the ugliest son-of-a-bitch I've ever seen"
Well concidering the "gameplay" in this game/be-God-for-a-day-simulation, what I said could actually be a comment on the...uh..creativity. Yeah, that's good, creativity.
Jeremy Wright @ Jul 26th 2006 4:26PM
I'd totally order one. Wouldn't pay more than 30$ for one though.
elle @ Jul 26th 2006 4:30PM
"Look at The Sims. No depth nor subtlety. Game got old in a handful of hours. "
Thankfully, you're the exception.
Robert @ Jul 26th 2006 4:48PM
The 3d printers can cost less than $20k, and if they already have one, the overall cost of the figure would be whatever time/materials it took to make the damn thing. Probably not too much money in the end.
I wonder if they could hook me up with an Alyx figurine...
Cabbage @ Jul 26th 2006 4:51PM
"The creature creation novelty will wear off. After that I'm worried that nothing has enough depth and subtlety to last.
Look at The Sims. No depth nor subtlety. Game got old in a handful of hours."
Considering how INSANELY popular and profitable The Sims was (and is) Maxis probably hopes Spore will be similar to it. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy The Sims, MosquitoControl. I didn't either. That doesn't mean that it won't sell like hotcakes, though.
Arbuz Chokaro @ Jul 26th 2006 8:31PM
I honest to god hope that the modder community will make it possible to hack and slash your way through Spore and mod it as much as you can mod The Sims. I mean, how many people, after playing the Sims for a couple of hours, didn't just go to a resource site and give their characters infinite hapiness?
After initially facing the challanges the game provides, you want to get to the most fun part as soon as possible. In the Sims, that means being able to buy anything you ever wanted and building a fantastic house. In Spore, it'll mean having your completely evolved species rule the entire universe as we know it. (Or so I would assume.)
So, in all, even if the game does get boring after a few plays, I expect people will fix it so we can get to the parts we like, and skip the rest of that nonsense.
DexX @ Jul 26th 2006 9:43PM
That is truly one of the coolest things ever.
You need to remember that this is a static, unjointed figure. Any kind of articulation would make this gimmick impossible, as it would take a human designer to fit hinges or balls-and-sockets to the shoulders, hips, etc. It shouldn't cost as much as a McFarlane figure simply because it isn't anywhere near as complicated to produce.
When you consider that this is a solid chunk of plastic, modelled by computer from a set library of components, then painted by computer from a set library of patterns, then you can imagine that it would be potentially quite affordable.
How very, very cool. Imagine if they did this for The Sims 2, which uses similar modular modelling technology. They could make a fortune... well, another fortune...
Sub @ Jul 27th 2006 12:26AM
And they'd actaully deserve the fortune for making a good game. Who would have thought.
Guys, it's a joke @ Jul 27th 2006 6:30AM
Or for an MMOG, as a reward for retiring a character of long enough playtime. Makes all that time and money you sunk into the game at least partly worthwhile.