Spore Creature Creator: Momentary Nonstart

I was thrilled last week at WWDC -- not by anything at WWDC (well, maybe some of that, but I'm not allowed to talk about it). Rather, I was elated to get, by way of Ken Denmead at Wired, an invitation to the early preview of Spore's Creature Creator. I immediately downloaded and installed in using my Parallels VM on the MacBook, and was shortly thereafter crestfallen.

It won't run in the VM.

Insufficient graphics card is the diagnosis, and while that's not really surprising, it's a little disappointing. Oh well. EA's people were quick to respond to my request for a Mac installer disc, and sent me an installation code right away. So in a day or so, I should be up and evolving. As it were.

So, EA gets points for fast response. And the thing about it not running in a VM is really kind of neutral, since I don't regard a VM as a good gaming environment to start with. What's missing in this whole equation, though, is a version of the EA download/distribution manager for Mac OS X. If that piece was in place, I'd be busy creating even now, instead of watching the mail for my installer. Beyond that, it speaks to a lack of respect for the Mac market.

Still and all, I'm excited to be a part of the preview, even though I have to wait. Stay tuned, and we'll see what develops.