No Spore demo, but expansions planned

Spore executive producer Lucy Bradshaw has ruled out a demo for Maxis' upcoming "Sim Everything", but has confirmed plans for expansions.

"We're not planning a demo of the game. Just the Creature Creator," she said during our live chat. "We've released a number of videos to show off the game."

On the subject of expansions - sort of an inevitability given Maxis' success expanding The Sims and its sequel - Bradshaw said this would happen but hinted at a few interesting approaches involving editors rather than simply new assets.

"When we started Spore, we were thinking about how we'd make an engine that had the possibility of expansion, so yes, we'll add to the experience," she said.

"I think, however, we have a very cool opportunity to take Spore in a few different directions too. The editors are so cool and fun, that we want to advance those as well as the gameplay that we put into the core game."

Among those additions should be the flora editor, which was axed from the full game. "We are not shipping with the flora editor. Sorry. It's something we eventually want to get out there as it is fun to work with," our speed-typing interviewee said.

Finally, Bradshaw commented on the game's anti-piracy measures - always a thorny issue with PC gamers, but not something you should fear in Spore's case, according to the game's executive producer.

"We do have copy protection, it is a necessary part of our biz, but we've worked to make it something that does not punish the legit owners," Bradshaw said.

"You need to authenticate once at the first install. This happens online. You can install on three separate computers and you do need to register for the online features."

Check out the full transcript of the Lucy Bradshaw live interview for more, and be sure to check out our Spore Eurogamer TV Show, extensive Spore PC hands-on and massive Will Wright interview for more on the game, which is due out on 5th September.