Gaming Evolution

Image courtesy Flickr user jasonknits

Spore: Making the Gamer God

According to Time magazine, the evolutionary game Spore was one of 2008's best inventions. In Spore, players design their own life forms and then manage every aspect of their progress. Three months prior to the official launch, a Spore creature-design module was released: "18 days after we released it, [the number of life forms created] exceeded the number of known species on Earth," says Will Wright, the master mind behind the game in an interview with Time. He continues: “I’m different from a lot of other game designers in that I’m never interested in trying to tell a story [myself]. I’m much more interested in the players being able to tell stories.”

Hulu Predicted To Catch YouTube

Hulu, a video site showing only professional TV shows and movies, is forecast to draw level with Google’s YouTube in US advertising revenues next year. YouTube’s popularity with the public fails to attract advertisers. The feat suggests traditional media companies can make money online without having to cede control to Google. It also shows the difficulties other social networks might have in generating revenues from their amateur content. Read the whole story at FT.com [free registration required].

BBC: "Web Will Be Our Second Biggest Channel by 2012"

“I would like to see a world where, by 2012, bbc.co.uk is only second to BBC One in terms of audiences and reach,” says the BBC's director of future media and technology, Erik Huggers at the European Media Leaders Summit in London. Read more in Press Gazette.