From Mr. Potato Head to a cosmic '70s documentary, Spore's creators share how it came to be

June 12, 2026 - 10:02

"Talking about Mr. Potato Head kind of pissed a lot of people off." That is how one of the original developers of the cult classic simulation game Spore remembers the early pitch meetings. The team at Maxis, still riding high on the success of The Sims, wanted to build something that could simulate the entire arc of life, from a single-celled organism to a spacefaring civilization. But selling that vision to executives was a strange battle.

The inspiration came from a surprising mix of sources. One was a grainy, trippy 1970s documentary about the evolution of the universe, which gave the team a sense of scale and wonder. Another was the simple, modular joy of Mr. Potato Head. The idea was that players would build their creatures the same way a kid sticks a plastic arm into a potato. You pick a mouth, you pick some legs, and suddenly you have a living thing. The executives did not get it. They saw a toy for toddlers, not a deep simulation.

The team had to fight for the core concept. They argued that the simplicity was the point. The game was not about hardcore biology; it was about creativity and discovery. They wanted players to feel like gods, but also like kids in a sandbox. The final product, released in 2008, was a massive hit, but it also divided players. Some loved the freedom, while others felt each stage was too shallow. Looking back, the creators admit the game was impossibly ambitious. They tried to do too much, and some parts suffered. But they also say that the weird, messy vision of a universe built from plastic toy parts and cosmic dust was exactly what made it unforgettable.