How Spore's Creature Creator was made, 2003-2008
chrishecker.comMaybe my perspective is warped, but the technology feels so ahead of its time.
I've been making a bunch of weird creative tools recently, so this resonated with me.
tinkerings: https://cedric-h.github.io/linear-webgl/scroll_thick.html https://cedric-h.github.io/linear-webgl/paint_terrain.html https://cedric-h.github.io/linear-webgl/cube_editor_tutorial...
I've also been looking toward Townscaper, Spore, and Inigo Quilez's work for inspiration.
Recently there's been a uptake in free procedural construction games like Townscaper. There's Tiny Glade and SUMMERHOUSE that have attracted some attention on Steam.
In many ways I feel modern gamedev has never really attempted to redo what Spore accomplished (outside of perhaps No Man's Sky).
The metaball rigging and texture generation approach feels like its still somewhat relevant.
The 3d model generation deep learning pipeline that Meta released recently operates on almost similar principles, using signed distance fields and a deep learning network to generate both textures and materials.
I just battled EA support to get my steam license transferred to origin and started playing it. It’s really very impressive for 2008. Though a modern gaming PC probably helps the experience.
Lack of good UI scaling really ruins it!