Spore could be a research tool

[theotherguy]

After watching that special on the discovery channel (I forget what it's called), where scientists predict what kind of life might be on other planets based on their atmospherical compisition when viewed through a radio telescope, and then they would make a 3d model of what explorers might find there,(for instance, they found a planet with a highly oxegenized atmosphere that was up to 8 times as thick as ours, which allowed "flying whales" to evolve which were chased aroudn by swarms of wasp creatures that could fly up to 80 mph.) I thought of an interesting way in which the game Spore could be used once it comes out.

If properly modded to include evolutionary processes (which would be extremley simple), and if the planets were made astronomically bigger (and were run on a supercomputer) scientists could accuratley predict what, (if any) life might exist on a particular planet. All they would have to do is find the planet with a telescope, discover its size and atmospheric compesition using radio telescopes, and then plug in the information into their modded version of Spore, wait a few weeks of runtime, and then look at the results.

Naturally, it should come out to be different every time, but after several trials patterns in the type of life would emerge based on the slight continuities in the atmosphere.

I think it could be an excellent resource for astrobiologists to study.

 

[Iced_Eagle]

you would have to code a LOT more in for Spore... You would need to make it learn about atmospherics, aerodynamics of creatures, eating patterns/habits, needs to find competition and build relationships, etc etc etc... All that so the animals can get a sort of natural-selection process going on...

The Spore concept could be used I guess, and it's possible that they could use that game as a base... But Spore was never meant for actual scientific data, because right now it's just focusing on what's fun and not what's realistic.

 

[DEATH eVADER]

Yeah I agree. Not just Astrobiologists, but Creationists as well. I might sound dumb by saying that, but in a way this could reinforce their views of an supreme being/s creating life in weird and wonderful flavours.

This would also make biology classes fun in a way

Although I don't think Will Wright would add to the code after the games release, but I would expect researches to use his code as ground works for an more advanced take on it. Hopefully they will have his full support for the project (I think he's helped SETI in the past)

 

[Jangle]

Yep, there'd need to be a lot more scientific detail for it to actually be useful.

 

[theotherguy]

I suppose youre right. But it could still be rough enough to work out individual systems and as a teaching tool in biology classes. Maybe they could use it just to see what individual variables do to an ecosystem. While spore might not be suited for complete evolution, it might be good for simulating adaptation in an individual ecosystem based on availability of food, thickness of atmosphere, type of ground and temperature (all of which were showcased in the spore presentation. Notice how the spider exploded on the moon? Or how about 3 seconds after the tripod creature exits the water, we can see a flying creature off in the distance?)

I'm not saying it woudl be a perfect simulator of evolution, but just a groundbase for planetary ecological systems, if modded correctley.

 

[Ennui]

I think it'd be less trouble to just write a new program for that. Spore's a game, not a tool.

Nevertheless, I can't FREAKING WAIT!