Wil Wright’s next chapter in his illustrious game-guru career is a whimsical, anyone-can-play life simulator that goes way beyond the now seemingly simplistic Sim series. Lucky enough to have caught a preview at SXSW last year, Spore promises to deliver a more light-hearted approach to the traditional RPG by it’s use of cartoon-ish graphics and interplay.

On a walkthrough in a Wired article posted today, Wright details the game’s play evolution, from cell life to traveling to the center of the universe. Once called SimEverything, he adds that they “want the easy player to turn it on ‘easy,’ and enjoy just the creativity. It’s more like they’re making these toys and want to play with these toys in a fun way”. This appeals to gaming lackeys like me, who don’t want to spend every waking hour figuring out all the strategies, but who also don’t want to cheat by downloading walkthroughs. This opens the door to the casual gamer and the pros alike. The pros will surely “conquer” the universe and rise to a strata none of us can touch, while leaving the simple pleasures to us peonic folk.

The creature creator looks like a game in and of itself, with a full builder interface that enables the user to assemble and dissect at will. Want a gremlin with a dinosaur head? Have at it. I remember in the demo how fluid the interactions were, with the animation kicking in as soon as an arm was attached. You could also make some pretty odd-looking creatures, say with a dozen legs, that can walk upside down. The combinations are seemingly infinite. Kids will love this game, but I think it will appeal to anyone who is a kid at heart. Serious gamers go elsewhere.