""It was something I probably should have tuned into more. It was a corporate decision to go with DRM on Spore. They had a plan and the parameters, but now we’re allowing more authentications and working with players to de-authenticate which makes it more in line like an iTunes. I think one of the most valid concerns about it was you could only install it so many times. For most players it’s not an issue, it’s a pretty small percentage, but some people do like wiping their hard disk and instal..."

"As wonderful as the content creation and sharing options are, the one consistent complaint I’ve seen is that the gameplay seems to have been “dumbed down” for the sake of appealing to a more casual audience. Was it?

“I’d say that’s quite accurate,” Wright told me. “We were very focused, if anything, on making a game for more casual players. “Spore” has more depth than, let’s say, “The Sims” did. But we looked at the Metacritic scores for “Sims 2″, which was around 90, and something like “H..."

"Thumbles: Will said this week that atheists have been more vocal critics of Spore than religious gamers, contrary to his expectations. What are your beliefs, and did they influence the decisions you made developing the game?

Lucy Bradshaw: I think that Spore takes an approach that can be interpreted by the player. The religious devleopment of your species as it reaches its civilization stage is one of the choices that you have as a player. The team itself had some strong opinions about thi..."