The Biology of Spore | Part I

Could the game 'Spore' teach us about life on alien worlds? An epic journey from a tiny cell to a complex organism (Part II: • The Biology of Spore |... )
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I don’t think there’s ever been a video game quite like Spore. Released in the late 2000s, the game lets you create and then guide a lifeform from a microorganism in a tidepool to an advanced creature in a galaxy-spanning civilization. Being able to, essentially, design and play as your own speculative creature really blew my mind when I was younger. I remember spending hours trying to make my creations as detailed as possible, and coming up with fake scientific attributes about how they functioned in the ecosystems around them. Of course, you could also use Spore to create bizarre creatures, and throw the rulebook of biology out the window. I also know a lot of content was cut during its development.
Yet Spore remains an evolution simulator that’s quite nostalgic to many. And the game does explore a number of the principles of evolution and biology, albeit in a simplified manner. So, for this entry into the archive, we’ll make a creature and play through the game ourselves to gain an understanding of how this virtual race for survival relates to real scientific laws. And as an added challenge, we’ll try to keep our creature within the parameters of plausibility - as much as such a thing is possible in Spore.
So, let’s begin our multi-billion-year voyage through this simulated universe…
0:00 The Biology of Spore
1:38 Dawn of Life
4:15 Early Adaptations
6:26 Changing Tides
7:59 Ocean to Land
10:39 Conflict and Evolution
13:14 Rise of the Pack
15:04 A Changing Mind
17:56 What Comes Next…
Copyright Disclaimer: Under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education, and research. All video/image content is edited under fair use rights for reasons of commentary.
I do not own the images, music, or footage used in this video. All rights and credit goes to the original owners.
♫ Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com):
Beauty Flow, Firesong, Impact Lento, Majestic Hills, Thunderbird, Bittersweet, Floating Cities
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
#CuriousArchive #SpeculativeBiology #Spore

[@The42Horsepower]

i dont think any other game has ever reached the level of pure uniqueness that spore had. im so sad that it seems to have faded into the background, but every now and again people seem to find interest in it.

[@IRON_SHORTSS]

It's a really good game because of it lintless things you can play this for years keep evololing new creatures

[@paradoxicalocus3761]

Fun fact: if you spin the galaxy fast enough, the face of Will Wright (the ‘Creator’ of Spore) will appear

[@joeis18]

There are a couple games like this right now. Maybe three, actually.

[@Jpeg.g]

@@joeis18 tf2 comes to mind

[@keulron2290]

Allow me to introduce you to Stellaris.

[@Pinnaporaptor]

Spore is both super impressive while also being held together with toothpicks and glue. And I still can't bring myself to hate it.

[@CuriousArchive]

Same haha

[@cristhianmlr]

But I can. I was the odd one of my forum back in the day; back in the ZT and ZT2 days, we also talked ABOUT everything spec bio, and I particularly HATED this game. Why? It just never clicked with me, that's all, but my friends pushed me into it and from that I grew to actually despise it.

[@pale_profile7237]

@@CuriousArchive btws I made some spore videos

[@TheHortoman]

@@cristhianmlr yeah i dislike the cartoonishness but when you go out into space as a kid the radio waves and silence makes it so vast and sombre that you cant help but think about our very real galaxy. its good for kids imo, if theyre smart enough theyll see through how simple it is

[@TheCoffeybeans]

Who here played the Galactic Adventures expansion? It was so much fun

[@the_Googie]

This game WAS my life as a kid. I grew up in a small village in Germany. Me and my friends shared the same CD of Spore and I remember it barely running on our parents PCs. We made clubs based on our favorite creatures, drew comics and made weekend long sleepovers playing the Adventure add on. It was also the first time I made friends online, through the creature upload archive, where I would make gifts for other Spore players. Signs of its impact are still in my life to this day

[@mzamethodman7134]

Based, wholesome comment

[@anauthorwhoknowsnothing.9536]

If you like Spore then I recommend keeping an eye on “Adapt”. It’s a spore-like indie game with more in depth features based on realistic speculative evolution.

[@natkatmac]

This is the first I've heard of Adapt and the initial glance is getting me hyped

[@Mr.Derp8finity]

"Thrive" is one that's also like spore, but it's still in very early access.

[@cometkeiko]

Is it available on steam? I would be like sad if it was.

[@Mr.Derp8finity]

@@cometkeiko It is and it's free

[@Mr.Derp8finity]

@@cometkeiko Idk if it's ONLY on steam but it is on steam.

[@wingedwolf94]

Man spore was so great. I'd die for a new game with a similar concept.

[@daddyleon]

Been hoping this for many years now!

[@sandmountainsam9287]

Ther is a game you might like called adapt

[@seantaggart7382]

There is some games out there but just never like this

[@bosniencommie1202]

Thrive is in development and is kindow simularish

[@mistakesregretsandimperfec7740]

Same. Maybe even a bigger, more complex and advanced version of it. (Adapt and Thrive are pretty cool, tho)

[@The_Rexy_Rex]

How on Earth were you able to document spore seriously when most people use it to create civilisations of pears

[@TiagoH1710]

@calamity CRAB

[@grate9]

do not question the pear people

[@astick5249]

Praise the almighty fruit bowl

[@Leaf._the_foliage_man]

I can just imagine this reply section out of context and its hilarious, so I will add to it *OPEN YOUR EYES THE WORLD IS L O N G .*

[@bluesap7318]

I like chicken

[@ImTerasHD]

Did not expect a spore playthrough here! Wonderfully relaxing yet intriguing! 🙏

[@ezza1449]

Yooo TerasHD

[@sporelover9945]

AYYY TERASHD

[@themyconidwitch]

and i did not expect to see you here!

[@theix1622]

I DIDN'T EXPECT YOU HERE TOO

[@thedragonthatlovesskittles7132]

SPORE ASMR

[@justusb.plorer8773]

I love this. This approach of focusing on real-world biology is the one I use when making my own spore creatures. I even go as far as creating entire biospheres for my planets (6 herbivores, 3 carnivores/omnivores) so I can make a scientifically accurate version of my planet in space stage.

[@thegaminghistorian1209]

I kinda ripped off Archive, my Omnivore is named Pluminus Sapiens (last iteration) meaning Feather Wise

[@Hegataro]

Unironically, Walking with Dinosaurs and Spore were the two things that drove me to be more interested in biology I'm a software dev now, but I still really like learning about animals and speculative evolution I really wasn't expecting a video on Spore, considering how "intelligent design"-y it gets

[@Crow0567]

Then again, Serina goes in a similar direction at times and it's still super interesting!

[@Yokoji_1227]

Walking with dinosaurs was the best

[@SanilJadhav711]

Doing exactly the same thing rn, pursuing BTech in CS and still love everything about biology, paleontology and geology I'm thinking of taking Datascience as major so that maybe I can still work in fields like these, out of the tech field ? Is that a possibility ?

[@aqilaiman9739]

@@Yokoji_1227 its from bbc show right?

[@Yokoji_1227]

@@aqilaiman9739 I can't remember

[@alvaronavarro4895]

ARE YOU SERIOUS? DUDE YOU MADE MY DAY! This Game was what drove me to study biology

[@CuriousArchive]

Thank you!

[@kingghidorah8857]

Great! and there are people who say that video games are useless

[@quempire2656]

@@CuriousArchive how did you think of doing spore

[@alvaronavarro4895]

@@CuriousArchive Thank. YOU!

[@vreekyinsect16]

hell yeah spore was my first ever game

[@sivanlevi3867]

The motto of Spore is "How will you create the universe?" and I have been part of it for a long time. I think the game is awesome, and about the last thing I expected to end up on this channel. Thanks, CA!

[@theterminator546]

Spore is one of the most nostalgic games for me, and I’d love to see you make a second video on this covering the Tribal, Civilisation and Space stages.

[@suraivase7285]

There is a newer science based sporelike game called thrive. Currently the people working on it are developing the cellular part of the game, what's playable is pretty good!

[@johncaze757]

Really that's interesting and fun 😊

[@suraivase7285]

@@johncaze757 yeah, I reccomend you check it out!

[@radudancoroian5169]

do they plan to make also a land stage or something similar, or are they going to stick to cells?

[@suraivase7285]

@@radudancoroian5169 last I checked they plan to.

[@radudancoroian5169]

@@suraivase7285 I made a bit of research. It semes to me like one of those games that will never achive their complition due to being way to ambitious

[@DarkEdgeTV]

Oooh this was wonderfully unexpected! :D

[@facundodamiangomez1893]

Indeed! it's amazing!

[@bentb1500]

It's Dark!

[@xc809]

Another part of my childhood joins the fray!

[@sporelover9945]

AY IT’S DARKEDGETV YAY

[@sporelover9945]

btw I love spore

[@purplehaze2358]

I love how this series so far is closer to a let's play than it is a fiction documentary like so many other videos on this channel.

[@rlowellm]

This is tangential learning at its finest. I’ve been watching this channel since the first upload and I’m impressed how far the archive has come.

[@xiao-ans]

I would love to see a second part, even if the creature isn't evolving anymore.👍

[@horse14t]

Same!

[@dakotashroom5401]

Seeing their interpretation of tribal and civilization stages would be quite entertaining. They have made similar videos before. They won't even have to show pictures. They can just show words.

[@gabriellittle2827]

Wish Granted

[@mahari893]

I genuinely love this. When I was a kid, I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do a play through taking a realistic approach to spore, but alas, I was only 7.

[@dakotashroom5401]

Age shouldn't stand in the way of an active mind that wants to learn!

[@Graphomite]

@@dakotashroom5401 She wasn't being a defeatist about learning, she was simply saying that she was too young to have a sense of biology at her immediate disposal when playing Spore at 7 years old.

[@SnakeRoadComicsOfficial3677]

Honestly I would love to see a detailed speculative evolution/story on the Curiosus Sapiens.

[@colbymarsh2074]

I’ve put a hundred or so hours on spore over the years and it still manages to capture my imagination unlike a lot of other games from it’s time.

[@confusedcryptid]

This is great, I recently got spore back on steam and its the only game I want to play. I love to make weird creepy creatures with the Cute and creepy DLC and its just a great game. I wish that EA didn't abandon spore.

[@somniumoflight276]

Same, dude - fortunately, I think some Spore fans out there have started trying to make games that at least give similar experiences, so we might get something like a better version of Spore in the future! I've seen a couple videos on the topic by DarkEdgeTV...

[@confusedcryptid]

I wonder if EA and Maxis came back to spore, what would be changed?

[@TheOneCalledSloth]

@@confusedcryptid A lot more DLC I'd imagine

[@pattonramming1988]

@@confusedcryptid even more lackluster quality and tons of content behind massive paywalls

[@SnakeRoadComicsOfficial3677]

Exactly. Until they get rid of their greedy CEOs we should not push for a spore game from them.

[@miguelchanes6064]

Man seeing this vid brought a tear to my eye tbh. I remember when spore first came out and me and my dad were in the line at GameStop to get it! Can’t believe I was 7 when it came out. Even tho the original vision of spore never came to be, the game we got still instilled a love/passion to evolution, wildlife and speculative evolution in me :,)

[@anevilstripper6095]

Spore is fantastic! A game of my childhood that I still play today! I really enjoyed seeing the footage of real life examples of what you were evolving, seeing those microorganisms was fascinating and I never fail to learn something new, watching your content! I really hope for a new Spore some day!

[@shapeswitch_mood7221]

This is the approach I take when I play Spore. What hit me is when you hesitated to remove the fin upon reaching land. Something I do and that I slowly remove over the generations. :) It's quite a fun way to play the early game! Sure I am slow, but it's fun-

[@ayzekpie9432]

I recently passed a Spore with task to make the most reliable evolution. It turned out nice and science

[@IRON_SHORTSS]

I am sure it's really good

[@pabloruiz821]

Man loved this game...Would be cool if someone made some kind of spiritual sequel, being more realistic

[@dinoe.t.8079]

There is on in the works! It's called Adapt. It doesn't LOOk more realistic because it's an Indie, but it seam like they're improving the mechanics to be more realistic.

[@teaking9672]

you can check out elysian eclipse and thrive

[@liliqua1293]

I'm working on one myself. It will be realistic but will not be linear like Spore and aims to teach ecology and natural selection. There will be a deep story mode as well.

[@teaking9672]

@@liliqua1293 cool! what is it called? and do you have any pics of the game that you can show?

[@anothenblue2630]

No no no, don't have it be realistic, just have it be fun above all else. Let the player turn green sausages with fins into dinosaurs in a single generation and breakdance to befriend flying pears, just make the gameplay more engaging than a weird MMORPG thing that then devolves into endless repetition in space stage. I've always found Spore's final presentation to be far more charming, it just suffered greatly in gameplay department. I still find it fun, but it could have been more if they cut down the scale of the whole thing and released certain stages separately (Cell+Creature, Tribe+Civilization and finally Space, grouped according to gameplay type). As it is, the game tries being everything.

[@daorignaldumbucket]

Man I love Spore. I used to not go past the tribal stage because I found the civilization stage so boring. When I finally bit the bullet and did the space stage, I was in love all over again

[@Dynvali]

19:03 You might be interested in the game "Thrive". While it's still really early in development and not expected to be completed for a long long time, it seems like an interesting take on a more scientifically-accurate Spore and definitely one to keep an eye on IMO.

[@Aozame]

You should do a video on the novels "Fragment" and "Pandemonium", now that I think about it, they've got some cool speculative creatures in them (especially if you think mantis shrimp aren't deadly ENOUGH already). I thought of that because I remember using the spore creature creator to replicate one of the creatures from the novel, just to see if I could, because the creators in Spore are still some of the best ever made.

[@deepstonecostco]

SPORE!! I also dumped hours into this and it really inspired a lot of my love for world-building and speculative biology.

[@zelenpixel]

spore is literally my absolute favorite game and this is a really interesting way to explore sciency real life topics through its mechanics

[@-insertnamehere-5503]

This man ain't stopping till he has given us all the awesome content we need.

[@konradlorek3043]

I never thought of that Curious Archive can make a video of Spore. That's litteraly my main Steam game.

[@maxhatterschannel5140]

I think it's really sad that Spore had so many internel Problems while being made. I wish it would have gone even more into realistic science.

[@dakotashroom5401]

Thrive is a game with a similar concept as Spore. It takes a more reasonable route. You play as a cell and you have to collect colors with really long names. There are videos of people playing it.

[@maxhatterschannel5140]

@@dakotashroom5401 I know it, the colours you mentioned are things like aminoacids XD. Sadly it's very earlie in it's Development and so very limited

[@Bacony_Cakes]

EA tried to kill it.

[@joshnoble0]

Spore was so goofy, but it was released right as I was entering the secondary stages of my military training, so I had time to play it. The spacefaring part was enthralling and fun.

[@DoorWikipedia]

this type of video really should be done in thrive because of how detailed it is i mean when it's done it clearly is no where near done yet

[@babyboi3910]

I would pay good money to watch you do a full playthrough of this game, and explore more possibilities and new creatures, i was genuinely super invested in the story or curiousus and what would happen to them.

[@rooooly]

spore’s the reason i’m interested in speculative zoology, so thanks for this

[@ursidae97]

Very cool to approach the script like you're explaining lore when you're really explaining your own gameplay. Can't wait to see more

[@rey1906]

What makes this a lot more fun to watch is not just the very interesting real life biology comparison but the gameplay which was very entertaining to watch and I really hope to see more videos like this in the future

[@TheCaxa]

It was Spore that showed me what speculative biology is

[@Unorite]

Fun Fact: The galaxy you play on in spore is actually the Milky Way because you can actually find Earth!

[@veikkakarvonen831]

:O

[@Aozame]

@@veikkakarvonen831 also there's an achievement for blowing up the Earth, iirc

[@veikkakarvonen831]

@@Aozame gonna get that achievement irl 😈

[@modables]

How

[@PloverTechOfficial]

I Love this series of scientifically studying fictional biology. If I may suggest an idea, I was thinking that No Man’s Sky has some interesting biological diversity, it may not be handcrafted like subnautica, but it still may make for an interesting study.

[@cinemationfilms4607]

YES!!! My favorite game of all time! Thank you so much for making this!!! You have no idea how much this video and this entire channel in general means to me, dude! ;D

[@skiniver5307]

No way, did you do a video on Spore, this game was the only thing I played for years, thank you so much.

[@lukasthelen1297]

Spore is still awesome. I wish it would be possible to put in more diversity within species or technologies to make it more colourful. Or a teck-tree and crafting-systems.

[@EvilBandeez]

We need a part 2 of this, I whould love to see this playthrough complete.

[@TheArcWielder]

I would honestly love another video in this format, the narrative construction so nostalgic to what I would do as a child

[@ItsWazzza]

Ayyyyyy let’s go, CA covering Spore! One of my favourite games I’ve ever played! Also, it would be cool to make a Birrin-like creature in this game, as I think it could definitely be done.

[@emilyslawson9753]

Spore is so underrated- thanks for making this :)

[@SSADO-]

This is the game that made me love biology. It's always been my most wanted game to get since 2013 and im finally getting it in a week or 2. It's awesome to see this video

[@bentb1500]

I love Spore so much. Still playing it to this day.

[@ghostofhacker2818]

This is it, a channel I'm interested in and a game that I love and the combination of both. This is absolutely amazing.

[@konradlorek3043]

I'm waiting for Thrive next :D

[@benjamindebo9283]

A video I didn't think the archive would cover, and didn't know I needed. Love it

[@rachelbockrath6276]

I LOVED Spore SO MUCH as a kid. I am pretty sure it is the game I have put the most hours into. Thanks for the nostalgia! Now I want to play it more again.

[@deazee2288]

Oh my God this was some surge of nostalgia, thank you man for reminding me of such good times

[@tundra5105]

This was so cool! I’ve seen a lot of Spore videos but never one that tried to be realistic. I’d love to see what you’d do with other Spore creatures if you wanted to do another one of these

[@dpeterson5630]

I haven't even started the video yet but I have to say how absolutely DELIGHTED I was to see this video pop up in my feed. I put thousands of hours over many years into Spore and it holds a special place in my heart. Can't wait to see how you cover this wonderful, janky game

[@Szokker0]

Thank you for making playthrough and description of my childhood game. I play it very often at the moment.

[@jennifervan75]

SO GLAD YOU DID THIS CROSSOVER

[@ethancole1584]

Great video! You brought some childhood memories back with this video's topic of discussion.

[@roseae2202]

As someone who’s made spore content, and have a heavy love for the game, you covering it is such a treat. Love your stuff dude! ^^

[@wise_guy08]

Spore is such a gem thank you for covering it

[@Norwyn]

There are a few games that might have the potential to become worthy successors of Spore: I think Elysian Eclipse, Adapt and The Sappling might be the ones. Thrive is also interesting.

[@justanothers.a.l8339]

Aaaaaah this just brings back the good old memories, I was always trying to build a life from that make sense but I always or most of the time end with a monstrosity.

[@bunnycat5552]

I'm glad to know others also made up how their creations function as a part of their ecosystem. It was my favourite part of playing Spore

[@loverrgurrl]

This was honestly such an interesting idea to cover a video on!!!!! I loved how you try to keep the evolution as accurate as possible lol

[@quempire2656]

Loved this we need a part 2!

[@gollymimus5261]

Haha this is awesomely nostalgic, it's crazy how this game still lives! Also there's a game called Thrive that is currently in kind of an early development and available to play, I think you may be interested in that too!

[@PondScummer]

thrive has been in development for like 9 years and has barely made a better cell stage that entire time

[@Leto85]

I have countless of let's plays about this game, but your scientific approach gives it an even more exciting vibe.

[@TheWholesomePervert]

This video has the perfect blend of gameplay and explanation that let it looks like a documentary!!!

[@dianemcintire7850]

I absolutely love your creature and the path you took with it I can't wait for the next episode if you make another that is if you make another

[@toybonnieglitch1337]

You are the best KZbinr Thank you, this game is one of my favorites!

[@LupusArtZ]

indeed one of the best Spore gameplay I ever seen, I love this channel and it's content

[@victorgranado6212]

I can't believe you made a video about Spore, how nostalgic. Thank you!!!

[@radudancoroian5169]

I am an artist. All I want is one day to get into the gaming industry and together with a small team of devs to make a spore like game but more complex and up to modern standard .

[@adriaen3538]

Happy to see you doing a video 'bout spore!

[@jocal5977]

Did you know in the cell stage you can make a thagomizer, by putting a spike at the end of your creation and making it bigger and getting the fast turns you can swing your body around to hit the enemy without getting hit yourself, I tried it out recently and its really fun.

[@part9952]

I love this game! One of my favourite games of all time. And very very nostalgic. I remember getting the game when it came out as a christmas present. Havent really stopped playing it since. Once in a while i still to this day return for yet another playthrough. Ah the nostalgia…

[@racciacrack7579]

This is a go to game for me when I need to relax. I come back to it every couple months. Easy to beat it all within a day so its great when I ain't got shit to do or if its stormy. However each time I do play it I forget that it is Spore, fail to save my game every 20 seconds, loose all my progress, and rage quite. Still love it though.

[@PrimeTimeHooligans]

I love spore!! Great game to cover and great content in general 👍 I love your work

[@25439]

ive been waiting for a video like this since i found the disc in my brothers shelf back a gazillion years ago and have been talking to myself like this everytime ive played it, thank you sir for curing my childhood fantasy

[@shrikeicy8932]

dude i love ur videos so much!! the way you plan them out and pace them is so nice!!!!!!

[@cruxnajii2056]

To this day, Spore is still one of my absolute favorites, right along side Half-Life. To this day it is still so different and unique, and is what got me interested in biology and zoology.

[@marclytle644]

Enjoyed this game years ago. Had lots of fun playing it, never beat it. Sadly I have lost so many creatures that I made, some good, some bad. I liked building Starships as well. I made one that looked like a whale, that one actually I think is still in the online files.

[@Jell_DoesStuff]

Yooo I also made a whale-like ship

[@Mrcheekymonkeyisback]

thanks for the video(s) on spore, it helps to keep the game and community alive

[@nervosims]

this was so in-depth! i loved every real world example you gave for the evolutionary changes

[@aldgate]

spore, only considered to be amazing by so many, cause it really has no competition, not back in it's day, not now

[@Violet_iris]

I love spore, I love curios archive I love this and haven’t seen this video yet

[@williekopenski8471]

This was my all-time favorite game growing up, and still holds up today!

[@weegeebeast]

This is by far my favorite way to play, tbh. It really tests your creativity when you’re limited to just gradual or subtle changes!

[@MrT_Rex]

I created approximately 120 real life animals on Spore, from prehistoric times to present day

[@svenandersen]

I would like to see how technology evolved with this kind of creature

[@m.ubaidaadam]

i dont know why but i was smiling constantly as you described the evolutionary path of our little creature! man i loved spore its such a fun game

[@noobsweatxvardhan4391]

I am 14 now and I never got to play these games and watch famous documentaries but thanks to these videos I can experience the thrill of biology that many people felt watching them. Thank you curious archive.

[@mr.watson3237]

Im a simple guy. I see Spore, I click.

[@CarlytheWolf23]

Yes, I'm nearing the end of the game for the first time now. I had wanted the game for years and got a physical copy, but I found out about the issues the physical copies can have to prevent piracy, so I bought off steam, only to find out I can't even login due to EA doing stuff lmfao But yeah I've always loved it and always thought I would only like the creature stage. But surprisingly I actually really like all the stages. I wish a sequel could be made or a reimagined game by someone else.

[@wilhelmeniabilliedoherty5917]

This is the kind of content I live for, thank you

[@cedricmichael5193]

id watch so many of your playthroughs of this game like this