Caryl Shaw of Maxis provided a tour of customer generated content for Spore. The base Spore game has spawned a class of users who do not play, Shaw informed the crowd, but exclusively designs elements for other users. Even beyond an evolving designer class, Shaw pointed toward signs that customers were organizing into groups to create amateur projects that maximize the skills of each participant.
A big boost to such users will arrive in the Galactic Adventures expansion pack that Shaw previewed. The pack allows users to construct modules on designed planets to implement games within the game-from first person shooters to tactic battles to maze quests. The expansion appears set to leverage the creative Spore community to turn Spore from game to gaming platform. Pictured here, we see one of Shaw's creations looking for trouble in a module she assembled during the panel!