Eliane Alhadeff has an article up at her blog about Will Wright's upcoming god game, Spore. Begin as a one cell organism and try to defy the odds to evolve into a civilization.



With so much potential replayability, Will Spore achieve the same level of success as The Sims?



Spore's gameplay can be divided into 6 diffrent phases:
1) Tide Pool Phase
Fight with other creatures and consume them to adjust the form and abilities of your creature. It's survival of the fittest at the most microscopic level.
2) Creature Phase
Venture onto land and help your creature learn and evolve with forays away from your nest. The only way to grow is by taking chances!
3) Tribal Phase
Instead of controlling an individual creature, you are now caring for an entire tribe. Give them tools and guide their interactions as you upgrade their state of existence.
4) City Phase
Bring your creatures' race into a new golden era by building up the technology, architecture, and infrastructure of their city.
5) Civilization Phase
Once your city is established, your creatures begin seeking out and interacting with other cultures. Make contact with an olive branch or a war cry. The goal for your creatures is to conquer the planet.
6) Space Phase
The time has come to move on to other worlds in your solar system. Make contact, colonize, or terraform, then venture further to find other solar systems. A 'mission' structure provides new goals in your quest for galactic dominance

[ spore information via spore.com ]