In this long interview Spore and Civilization designer Soren Johnson explains why he has left EA. Apparently he is now working for Zynga (best known for Farmville) designing and coding a new game, which he calls “a big departure for Zynga” and expects Civ players among the first to try it.

Soren Johnson: I’m afraid that it’s too early to reveal much about what I’m currently working on, especially since a lot could change between now and our release date. However, I can say that I am working on a game that would not be a shocking departure from my development history, but one that is multiplayer-focused, free-to-play, persistent, and playable in the browser. Most importantly, the game is one that actually ends, with real winners and real losers. That’s a big departure for Zynga, but it’s a necessary element for many types of strategy games.

Curious to see what it is, bring it on! I will keep you posted on the news.

The relatively new type of fractal, about which I have written here before, are the intriguing 3D version dubbed Mandelbulb. If you like to have a shot at creating your own, there is no better way to start then to download the free program MandelBulber.

Here is a sample that I made today, using MandelBulber:

The nano structure of the glass also does not reflect the light, which makes it very useful in solar panels. These properties together makes the glass almost invisible to the human eye which can be dangerous in some applications.

Image from Wikipedia

The elder went on: “And difficult it was. Only through the hard work and dedication of every colonist here we are where we are today. Something we all can be very proud of!” For a moment the elder seemed not ordinary at all; but straight, strong and somehow eternal. Then he sighed, and the image was gone as quick as it appeared. “Much of what we do every day”, he continued, “involves learning as much about our new home as we possibly can. Only when we understand it thoroughly, we will know what do to make it possible to one day walk outside without suits. That is our dream, our goal.”

“In the effort to learn all that we can, we have also involved people down Earth and their larger pool of research resources helping to analyze what we find. The results are reported daily, and are available for everyone.” River remembered how they had discussed one of those reports in class. The scientific language was sometimes hard to follow at first but after spending time on it, a surprising amount of information could be gathered from even one of those reports.

“The reason I want to speak to you today is the content of the report of today. It arrived later than usual, and that probably has to do with one of the findings in it.” River could feel the tension, which was already considerable, grow even further. They would know soon. “I will leave the technicalities of the report to later, but jump to the crux of the matter immediately: Mars most probably does have indigenous life.”

A month ago Maxis announced they are working on a new Sim City game running the new GlassBox simulation engine. In the last days some more interviews appeared on the ‘net, one of which contained the next quote:

Quigley says the main lessons learned from Spore were that an engaging simulation game needed to have a stronger simulation mechanic under the surface.

Hear, hear! GlassBox & Spore would make a great combination; almost like the Spore we expected. Dare we hope again?

The articles in question are: from the quote vox games, and an interview with Lead Producer Kip Katsarelis in shacknews.

Skye made a gesture and the screen on the wall lit up, showing a countdown clock and a text urging to tell everybody to tune in. The chatter died down at that and they waited silently. After what seemed a very long time the image switched to a room with three of the elders sitting a table. The camera zoomed in on the man in the middle.

The man looked very ordinary, not someone you would notice in a crowd, River thought. The elders where chosen from the colonists, not by spectacular major elections, but by continuous recommendations from the all the colonists. This had subtly changed the type of people in power, shifting political issues from short to longer term.

“Good afternoon everybody, I’m glad you are all here. I am sorry to interrupt your well deserved break, and I will keep it short. And to compensate for the longer wait, there are some extra food options available in the mess.” He smiled.

“As you all know, since man first set foot on this planet, and even before that, there has been search for alien life on or in it. Hopes were never very high since the environment is so toxic. So nobody was really surprised that none was found.” The elder was silent for a moment.

“Although that was disappointing itself, it did make the decision to colonize Mars a relatively easy one. It was very, very difficult, but there were no major ethical objections.” The elder paused again.

To page 9.

In the classroom the fireplace was lit, and most people were already sitting on the couches in the lounging corner. Speculation was rife again, this time about the cause of all the gloom that radiated from the hall. “It can’t be something physical”, a boy named Ocean said, “Or else the alarm would have sounded”. Like any human settlement in a hostile environment there was an elaborate system of warning signals present in the compound.

“Yeah, there isn’t any meteor warning to speak of for the coming weeks either.” River said. Lack of atmosphere had many disadvantages, one of which was a higher likelihood of meteors hitting the surface of the planet. A network of satellites kept close watch for nearby objects; predictions were made based on the data and were fixed part of the news bulletins.

“Nor is there anything on the gossip line”, Piers said looking at his handheld. Now that was really odd. “It must be something to do with the Elders, then”, Ocean said. They would be the only ones who could an apparently big thing like this under such tight wraps. The elders were the closest thing to government the colony had, but they usually kept a low profile since the needs of the colony and its inhabitants were obvious to all of the colonists.

Finally Skye returned with the remainder of the group. “Are we complete? Anyone still missing?” he asked. Everyone looked around but nobody missed someone. “OK. Well… “, Skye looked at his handheld, “I have brought you all in here to tell you that there is a broadcast in… ten minutes in which the Elders will bring some important news. Let me tell you straight away that I don’t know any more about it than that. An announcement like this is a first for me too…”

To page 8.

More pictures can be found on NASA’s Cassini-Huygens image gallery.

Video 1: Core sim
Video 2: Economic loop
Video 3: Environmental
Video 4: Fire