Darkspore
Encyclopedia
Darkspore is a video game in the original Darkspore universe that borrows the award-winning creature editor technology from the 2008 video game Spore
. It is described as "a fast-paced, sci-fi
Action
-RPG
in which the player battles across alien worlds to save the galaxy from the mutated forces of Darkspore." In addition to the creature editor, it features a unique squad-based mechanic, various multiplayer options, and a PvP
arena. The game was released in North America on April 26, 2011 for Microsoft Windows
, and in Europe on April 28, 2011.
Unfortunately, E-DNA proved unstable. All of the subjects who came in contact with it were transformed into genetic nightmares; each connected to the others through a hive mind known as "The Darkspore". Fearing these new creations, the Crogenitors threw Xylan into exile and outlawed the use of E-DNA. Xylan, believing himself able to control these new entities, then injected himself with E-DNA. This act transformed him into the Corruptor: a mentally unstable, but extraordinarily powerful, master of all Darkspore and bent on infecting the planets of the Crogenitor empire through the use of E-DNA bombs.
The first planet to fall was Zelem's Nexus, home of the most brilliant Crogenitor scientist. During the resulting war, almost all genetic heroes were slaughtered, the majority of all Crogenitors were killed, and the Crogenitor empire dissipated, star by star. Retreating to their home planet, the Crogenitors put selected companions into cryogenic pods and launched them into space mere minutes before the Corruptor's final attack. Four of the surviving Crogenitors returned to their base planets and, accompanied by the AI network HELIX, were tasked with constructing new living weapons, untouched by Darkspore, to help support the resistance of the native populations. The final surviving Crogenitor was left sleeping indefinitely in an enormous laboratory spacecraft, awaiting the moment when the HELIX network had stabilized the E-DNA. After 1000 years of calculation, the HELIX succeeded. The 5th Crogenitor awoke and began to gather the surviving genetic heroes, strengthening them with the power of the stabilized E-DNA.
As the game begins, the player takes on the role of this 5th Crogenitor. Starting with only a few brave heroes, your goal is to purge the Darkspore from the galaxy, moving ever closer to your ultimate goal of destroying the Corruptor.
In the end, after building your army of genetic heroes and eliminating Darkspore on each of the base planets, the Corruptor's hideout is located on the ruined desert planet of Scaldron. Ultimately, the Corruptor is defeated, and exploding into a burst of white light. After his demise, all that remains of him is the mask of Xylan, laying lifeless on the ground.
In the closing moments of the game, HELIX then informs the player that without their leader, the Darkspore forces are splintering and life is returning to normal on the various planets that you have aided. The game then zooms back down to Scaldron where Xylan's mask lay dormant on the ground, but one of the mask's eye holes flickers red before the screen fades out...
Plasma genesis deals with fire
and electricity
, Quantum genesis deals with time-space and matter
ability, Bio genesis deals with plant
s, animal
s, poison
s and life-force
, Cyber genesis use bullets and energy
beams
, Necro genesis deals with death
, darkness
, fear
, soul
s, and twisting reality
.
A subdivision of the heroes divided them in Sentinel, Ravager and Tempest heroes. Sentinels are bulky beings with high defense and melee powers but are very slow, Ravagers have balanced stats and high speed, Tempests are heroes with ranged attacks and support abilities. Although there are only 25 basic heroes, the player will be able to unlock 3 other "genetic
variants" of each hero, raising the number of total heroes to 100. Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants exist, each of them with a unique ability different for each genetic types. The Darkspore enemies also follow the genesis division, but have different ranks.
time.
The Destructor that awaits the player at the end of the Nexus is Polaris, the Gravity Manipulator, a black hole-generating mastermind who can manipulate gravity and space time to warp at will.
The Destructor that awaits the player at the end of Nocturna is Nashira, the Shadow Void, the insectoid queen who's fearsome power frightens even the other darkspore on her planet.
The Destructor that awaits the player at the end of Verdanth is Orcus, Devourer of Life, the emperator of all mutated animals. Orcus can summon minions to attack, or consume them to regain health, and long time ago he was a bacteria specialist.
The Destructor that awaits the player at the end of this planet is Arcturus, the Cybernetic Colossus, a hulking robotic being who attacks with missiles and lasers.
The Destructor that awaits the player at the end of this planet is the very first ally of the Corruptor, Merak, the Devastator, a towering golem made of lava that harnesses the power of plasmatic energy to destroy his enemies.
HelpEDNA is a puzzle text adventure, in which you play as a contact that has begun receiving messages from an unknown character. Players must register for the site with a user name and password, and log in before joining the game. Players were at first required to ask questions of the character, which would be answered, before receiving puzzles, one of which revealed the time and location of Darkspore's reveal at the PAX game conference. After many challenging mathematical puzzles were solved by the players, the site was updated, disabling the ability to ask questions or solve new puzzles, instead requiring players to work out genetic calculations, charging them with the task of creating the E-DNA genome for the abilities of the game's heroes. Players had to process 10 000 genes in order to complete all of them. After the completion of Meditron, Magnos, Blitz, Arakna, and Jinx, the website's genetic conversion system went unresponsive for several days, before it reactivated with updated text and two newly completed heroes, Goliath, and Tork. Tork had not yet been revealed on the main Darkspore website at the time. The website soon also featured two short in-game videos of Tork. After Tork's revealing, a new hero, Titan, was revealed, also with two short videos of the hero. Following that, another video was shown that featured an unknown hero. Eventually, on 15 October 2010, the number of genes to be processed reached 55, and stopped. Anyone logging into the site from now on will the usual partially corrupted text before it suddenly gives way to a stream of corrupted text data with a message from the Darkspore, stating that they have conquered yet again. The game is over, but still has an epilogue page containing a message from Maxis, and links to all of the pictures and videos from the website.
Three cold, chilling words stand out: "WE HAVE YOU - One life, one purpose - Darkspore expands". The mutants had conquered again...
The website now eventually displays the message:
"WE HAVE YOU
one life, one purpose
DARKSPORE EXPANDS"
while the background is filled with white corrupted coding that scrolls down continuously.
It was then revealed on the Darkspore forum that the ARG was designed by some of the Maxis team members to give away small bits of information regarding the game, announce new heroes and plot details, and advertise the game.
Spore (2008 video game)
Spore is a multi-genre single-player god game developed by Maxis and designed by Will Wright. The game was released for the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems in September 2008 as Spore...
. It is described as "a fast-paced, sci-fi
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
Action
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
-RPG
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
in which the player battles across alien worlds to save the galaxy from the mutated forces of Darkspore." In addition to the creature editor, it features a unique squad-based mechanic, various multiplayer options, and a PvP
Player versus player
Player versus player, or PvP, is a type of multiplayer interactive conflict within a game between two or more live participants. This is in contrast to games where players compete against computer controlled opponents, which is correspondingly referred to as player versus environment...
arena. The game was released in North America on April 26, 2011 for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, and in Europe on April 28, 2011.
Plot
The Crogenitors were a race of unrivaled scientists. As masters of genetic manipulation, they used their knowledge to create an army of genetic heroes, often called "living weapons", and established a massive galactic empire. Many of them lived on the planets of their empire and would perform experiments on the populations they oversaw. However, Crogenitor Xylan's discovery of E-DNA—an experimental amino acid that bonds to DNA—changed everything. Capable of achieving a millennium's worth of evolution in a matter of hours, it was used to weaponize life itself.Unfortunately, E-DNA proved unstable. All of the subjects who came in contact with it were transformed into genetic nightmares; each connected to the others through a hive mind known as "The Darkspore". Fearing these new creations, the Crogenitors threw Xylan into exile and outlawed the use of E-DNA. Xylan, believing himself able to control these new entities, then injected himself with E-DNA. This act transformed him into the Corruptor: a mentally unstable, but extraordinarily powerful, master of all Darkspore and bent on infecting the planets of the Crogenitor empire through the use of E-DNA bombs.
The first planet to fall was Zelem's Nexus, home of the most brilliant Crogenitor scientist. During the resulting war, almost all genetic heroes were slaughtered, the majority of all Crogenitors were killed, and the Crogenitor empire dissipated, star by star. Retreating to their home planet, the Crogenitors put selected companions into cryogenic pods and launched them into space mere minutes before the Corruptor's final attack. Four of the surviving Crogenitors returned to their base planets and, accompanied by the AI network HELIX, were tasked with constructing new living weapons, untouched by Darkspore, to help support the resistance of the native populations. The final surviving Crogenitor was left sleeping indefinitely in an enormous laboratory spacecraft, awaiting the moment when the HELIX network had stabilized the E-DNA. After 1000 years of calculation, the HELIX succeeded. The 5th Crogenitor awoke and began to gather the surviving genetic heroes, strengthening them with the power of the stabilized E-DNA.
As the game begins, the player takes on the role of this 5th Crogenitor. Starting with only a few brave heroes, your goal is to purge the Darkspore from the galaxy, moving ever closer to your ultimate goal of destroying the Corruptor.
In the end, after building your army of genetic heroes and eliminating Darkspore on each of the base planets, the Corruptor's hideout is located on the ruined desert planet of Scaldron. Ultimately, the Corruptor is defeated, and exploding into a burst of white light. After his demise, all that remains of him is the mask of Xylan, laying lifeless on the ground.
In the closing moments of the game, HELIX then informs the player that without their leader, the Darkspore forces are splintering and life is returning to normal on the various planets that you have aided. The game then zooms back down to Scaldron where Xylan's mask lay dormant on the ground, but one of the mask's eye holes flickers red before the screen fades out...
Characters
The heroes or "Living Weapons" are divided in five genesis types: Plasma, Quantum, Bio, Cyber, and Necro.Plasma genesis deals with fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
and electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
, Quantum genesis deals with time-space and matter
Matter
Matter is a general term for the substance of which all physical objects consist. Typically, matter includes atoms and other particles which have mass. A common way of defining matter is as anything that has mass and occupies volume...
ability, Bio genesis deals with plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s, animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s, poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
s and life-force
Qi
In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
, Cyber genesis use bullets and energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
beams
Beams
Beams is a Japanese clothing brand, established in 1976, whose chief executive officer is Yo Shitara. Besides stores in many places in Japan, they have branch offices in New York, Milan, London, and Paris....
, Necro genesis deals with death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
, darkness
Darkness
Darkness, in contrast with brightness, is a relative absence of visible light. It is the appearance of black in a color space. When light is not present, rod and cone cells within the eye are not stimulated. This lack of stimulation means photoreceptor cells are unable to distinguish color...
, fear
Fear
Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...
, soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
s, and twisting reality
Reality warping
Reality warping is a superpower in superhero fiction. It is the ability to reshape matter and energy, create or alter life forms, turn a person's thoughts or desires into reality, simulate any and all other powers and abilities, bend time and space, and possibly even rewrite the laws of physics.All...
.
A subdivision of the heroes divided them in Sentinel, Ravager and Tempest heroes. Sentinels are bulky beings with high defense and melee powers but are very slow, Ravagers have balanced stats and high speed, Tempests are heroes with ranged attacks and support abilities. Although there are only 25 basic heroes, the player will be able to unlock 3 other "genetic
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
variants" of each hero, raising the number of total heroes to 100. Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants exist, each of them with a unique ability different for each genetic types. The Darkspore enemies also follow the genesis division, but have different ranks.
- Zrin - Zrin was a lowly criminal and was kept in a prisonPrisonA prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
on Cryos until the Darkspore mutatedMutationIn molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
his guards, leaving Zrin to slowly die. When he was at the end, Crogenitor Ptyron appeared before him and painfully transformed him, gaining the power of Plasmagenesis. His left hand and minor circulatory systemCirculatory systemThe circulatory system is an organ system that passes nutrients , gases, hormones, blood cells, etc...
became engulfed in a biological plasma, enabling him to manipulate magmaMagmaMagma is a mixture of molten rock, volatiles and solids that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and is expected to exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and dissolved gas and sometimes also gas bubbles. Magma often collects in...
, lavaLavaLava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
, fireFireFire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
and electricElectricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
plasmaPlasma (physics)In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
, and incinerateIncinerationIncineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of organic substances contained in waste materials. Incineration and other high temperature waste treatment systems are described as "thermal treatment". Incineration of waste materials converts the waste into ash, flue gas, and...
almost any obstacle. He also gained incredible enduranceEnduranceEndurance is the ability for a human or animal to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from, and have immunity to trauma, wounds, or fatigue. In humans, it is usually used in aerobic or anaerobic exercise...
and tough skinSkin-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
. The Darkspore offered Zrin Power, FunFunFun is the enjoyment of pleasure and, according to Johan Huizinga, "an absolutely primary category of life, familiar to everybody at a glance right down to the animal level." Fun may be encountered in many human activities during work, social functions, recreation and play, and even seemingly...
and RevengeRevengeRevenge is a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. It is also called payback, retribution, retaliation or vengeance; it may be characterized, justly or unjustly, as a form of justice.-Function in society:Some societies believe that the...
, with the title of "The SunSunThe Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
Fist", as a Plasma Sentinel. His left hand is constantly aflame while the right hand is crossed by electricElectricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
sparks, and he wears two metallic gauntlets on his forearms. - Vex - Vex worked as a mechanicMechanicA mechanic is a craftsman or technician who uses tools to build or repair machinery.Many mechanics are specialized in a particular field such as auto mechanics, bicycle mechanics, motorcycle mechanics, boiler mechanics, general mechanics, industrial maintenance mechanics , air conditioning and...
in Zelem Nexus' teleporter system, not knowing that a Crogenitor scientist named Zelem was actually observing how the radiationRadiationIn physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
from the reactors would effect the engineers. While he was trying to activate a teleporter, Vex accidentally naturally teleported into the enclave of Zelem. Scared by the horrified appearance of Zelem's hulking size, Vex began teleportingTeleportationTeleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
casually throughout the laboratory, destroying nearly everything and unwillingly making his powers increasingly-stronger on each shift, subsequently becoming a Quantum Ravager. When the Darkspore invaded the nexus, he used this ability to fight them gaining the title "the Chrono Shifter". He fights using two temporal blades set on his forearms that slow down enemies he attacks. - Sage - Sage, a scientist who initially warned the Crogenitors about the power of E-DNA, was forced to watch as his home world, Verdanth, was destroyed by the unstable substance. Re-engineering his bio-technology as a weapon, Sage gained healing powers and control over floraPlantPlants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
and faunaAnimalAnimals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
. He has vowed to free his planet from the Darkspore. He is a Bio Tempest, and appears similar to a mix between a centaurCentaurIn Greek mythology, a centaur or hippocentaur is a member of a composite race of creatures, part human and part horse...
and a treeTreeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
. He is now known as "The Life Forester" and his weapon is an energy cannon fixed in place of his right hand. - Goliath - Goliath is a Cyber Sentinel from the planet Infinity. According to the legend he descended from a tecnomartial order. But the truth is another. Once forced to flee for his life as a fugitive, he was found by Crogenitor Suzu, nearly dead after burning in a pool of acid. Suzu healed him and gave him a weapon, the powerful Electric Sword, and was able to wipe out his chasers, and now defends all innocent fugitiveFugitiveA fugitive is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from private slavery, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals...
s and exiles in his battle against the mutantMutantIn biology and especially genetics, a mutant is an individual, organism, or new genetic character, arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is a base-pair sequence change within the DNA of a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new character or trait not...
s as "The Energy Guardian". - Arakna - One of the many horrific breeding experiments of Crogenitor Ingto, and an esteemed and feared member of the Nocturni Legion, Arakna is known as "the Soul Collector" for her ability to harness the neuro-intellectual energy that holds identities and secrets of her fallen opponents. Feeding her thousands of young in her egg sack, she fights on to fulfill her duty in the Legion. She is a Necro Ravager similar to a spiderSpiderSpiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
and her weapon is a neuro based gun set on her abdomenAbdomenIn vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
. - Meditron - An explorer from Infinity and an ex-medic, Meditron returned from a long trip to find his home infestedInfestationInfestation refers to the state of being invaded or overrun by pests or parasites. It can also refer to the actual organisms living on or within a host.-Terminology:...
by the Darkspore. He fled for safety, trying to spread to news of the invasion and went into hiding in a crevasse called Iktotom's Skull, where he discovered an old refuge of Crogenitor Suzu and used that technology to re-purpose his healing nanobotsNanoroboticsNanorobotics is the emerging technology field of creating machines or robots whose components are at or close to the scale of a nanometer . More specifically, nanorobotics refers to the nanotechnology engineering discipline of designing and building nanorobots, with devices ranging in size from...
to harm and control his enemies and to assist his allies. He then encountered the Insurgency and joined them as the "Repair-Bot". He is a Cyber Tempest with six legs and possesses a laser device that shoots swarms of nano-bots in place of his right hand. - Blitz - Once a simple reptiloid, Blitz, "The StormStormA storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather...
Striker", armed with a pair of clawClawA claw is a curved, pointed appendage, found at the end of a toe or finger in most mammals, birds, and some reptiles. However, the word "claw" is also often used in reference to an invertebrate. Somewhat similar fine hooked structures are found in arthropods such as beetles and spiders, at the end...
gauntlets and possessing control over electroElectricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
plasmaPlasma (physics)In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
, and his twelve sibling were all mutated in powerful and sapiens beings by Crogenitor Ptyron. He has traveled across the frozen lands of Cryos after the shattering of its old civilization because of the ice age, losing almost all of his siblings to start a new life in the equatorial area of the planet. There he become a leader and began to organize a new society creating bands of warriors, hunters and those who had something to contribute to society. He is ever willing to fight against anyone who threatens this newfound peace, and is determined to defeat the Darkspore. He is a Plasma Ravager. - Jinx - Jinx was one of the many Nocturni gifted with Necrogenetic powers, these were "gifted" by the Crogenitor Ingto when he destroyed the web of life between the Bioforms and the Necroform spirits of Nocturna. These powers were far from a blessing, as many of the "Chosen" Nocturni died in their infancy,with only the Strongest surviving;,Jinx was the Strongest of these.Why Jinx joined the Nocturni Legion, the military force that conquered her people, was a mystery,Some believed she was a Traitor,Some believed that she was working as a SpySPYSPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
and some thought that she had been brainwashed by one of the Nocturni Eternals. But eventually she broke with the Legion when she rose to the rank of commander and vowed to destroy its leadership. Jinx, and followers loyal to her, turned on their fellow commanders in a devastating betrayal. Employing powers she'd kept hidden from the Legion, Jinx hurled dark matterDark matterIn astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is matter that neither emits nor scatters light or other electromagnetic radiation, and so cannot be directly detected via optical or radio astronomy...
devastators—darma—like necrotic grenadesHand grenadeA hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
at her former Legion-mates. Taking her finest warriors with her back to their ancestral hives, Jinx sought to liberate her enslaved people. She might have succeeded, had the Darkspore invasion not forced her to change her target from worldly to interplanetary as "The Dark Reaper". She is a Necro Tempest similar to a mosquitoMosquitoMosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
with four large wings and two arms and fights with a dreadful staff to channel her powers. - Magnos - Possessing the natural (and mutatedMutationIn molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
) ability to manipulate massMassMass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
and gravity to be able to absorb radiationRadiationIn physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
and cosmic rays thanks to Zelem, Magnos became the strongest wrestler of his clan, defeating all of opponents in the rings of Zelem's Nexus until the Darkspore attack. He then formed a team with his mightiest opponents (the few who he let survive) to oppose the Darkspore, even being able to rip apart a Darkspore Dreadnought with their armored hands. After, he joined the Insurgency with the title of "The Binary Star Sentinel". He is a Quantum Sentinel who fight only with his physical strength and his clawed hands. - Tork - Tork, also known as "The FungalFungusA fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
King", is a Bio Tempest from the planet Verdanth. He uses a pump-mask on his face to pump spores through a pack on his back that will put enemies to sleep. Before the Darkspore invadedAlien invasionThe alien invasion is a common theme in science fiction stories and film, in which extraterrestrial life invades Earth either to exterminate and supplant human life, enslave it under a colonial system, harvest humans for food, steal the planet's resources, or destroy the planet altogether.The...
, he was a scoundrel and outcast who took whatever he could from anyone until he could overpower. Crogenitor Astra, disgusted by his behavior, kidnapped him and used him as a test subject for a decade to teach him a lesson. After a decade, Astra allowed him to escape and save the rest of Astra's test subjects. He is equipped with a pair of gas cannons set on his forearms. - Titan - Titan, called "The Impenetrable", is a quadrupedal Cyber Sentinel. He has shoulder-mounted machine-guns and large feet powerful enough to cause small earthquakeEarthquakeAn earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s with a single stomp. One of the last of his kind, Titan was an engineer on the super-pollutedPollutionPollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
Infinity. Building soaring towers and vast bridges, delighting in the power of his mind to connect and create, Titan dreamed of resurrecting the ancient factory-cities to make his world alive again. But working alone for decades took its toll on Titan's body, until the day he fell to his death... Only to be resurrected by Crogenitor Suzu. For Titan, it seemed like a nightmareNightmareA nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror...
transformed into a dreamDreamDreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious...
. He remembered plummeting horribly, his body battered against steel and rock before crashing into a toxic tailings pond. And then blackness, and agony...and finally, a symphony of electrical sensation. His body surged with the energy and power of his rebuilt, Cybernetically infused body. Reborn for forces he did not understand, Titan emerged from Suzu's enclave to continue his vast project of rebuilding his word. But the Darkspore descended to incinerate those dreams. Repurposing whatever Reparibots he could find into his own personal legion, Titan shifted from resurrector to destroyer, specializing in guerrilla raids that taunted his enemies. Defended by his personally-designed energy shield and conflicting consultative blasts at will against ensnared enemies, Titan vowed to wipe out the Darkspore on his world, so he could live long enough to put down the weapons of chaos for his beloved tools of order. - Andromeda - Andromeda is a Quantum Tempest. She is very humanoid in appearance, albeit sporting wingWingA wing is an appendage with a surface that produces lift for flight or propulsion through the atmosphere, or through another gaseous or liquid fluid...
-like appendages, tentacleTentacleA tentacle or bothrium is one of usually two or more elongated flexible organs present in animals, especially invertebrates. The term may also refer to the hairs of the leaves of some insectivorous plants. Usually, tentacles are used for feeding, feeling and grasping. Anatomically, they work like...
-like hair, four-jointed legs, and a tail. She carries around a staff and is known as "The Gravatic Warmaster". Before the Darkspore invaded, she was an elite engineer on Zelem's Nexus. She became a hero when she used her experience to avoid the collision between her floating home island Mishina and a dozen of other islands, and since that she was Zelem's favorite apprentice, calling her "his child" until he was killed during the Darkspore attack. She uses a staff to channel her powers. - Wraith - Wraith is a Necro Sentinel known as "the Spectre of Vengeance". He resembles a werewolfWerewolfA werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
with an avianBirdBirds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
skull for a mask. He carries around a large axe as a weapon and can turn transparent to elude attacksInvisibilityInvisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be invisible . The term is usually used as a fantasy/science fiction term, where objects are literally made unseeable by magical or technological means; however, its effects can also be seen in the real...
. Before the Darkspore invaded, he was a necro guardian, one of the energy wielder beings that kept the life and the necrotic energies stable on Nocturna, something that became increasingly difficult as Crogenitor Ingto had ravaged the membrane that separates the two worlds, until the Nocturni Legion conquered his clan and forced him into the hiding in one of the nearby mines. There the enormous concentration of necrotic radiation mutated him, granting him the necro genesis. Wraith then fled, obliterating all who stood in his way. And when the Darkspore toppled the Legion, Wraith fell upon them with even greater fury. - SRS-42 - SRS-42 certainly deserves the titles of Living Weapon and "the Missile Commander ". He is a Cyber Tempest that resembles a walking army tankTankA tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
. He can fire missiles that home in on enemies and cause area damage. After having been nearly killed by a deadly neurotoxinNeurotoxinA neurotoxin is a toxin that acts specifically on nerve cells , usually by interacting with membrane proteins such as ion channels. Some sources are more general, and define the effect of neurotoxins as occurring at nerve tissue...
that was accidentally released into the factoryFactoryA factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
he worked at on Infinity, he was resurrectedResurrectionResurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
by Crogenitor Suzu as a Cyborg. With the powerful missiles equipped on his body he was capable to destroy an armada of Darkspore, even their battle machines. His special abilities allow him to work at a distance or charge in for short periods of time with invulnerability. Being stationary for 5 seconds increases the damage SRS-42 can do to the Darkspore. He is bipedal, has no arms and is considerably less agile than Titan. - Krel - Krel is a Plasma Ravager that resembles a demonDemoncall - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
ic canine-likeCanidaeCanidae is the biological family of carnivorous and omnivorous mammals that includes wolves, foxes, jackals, coyotes, and domestic dogs. A member of this family is called a canid . The Canidae family is divided into two tribes: Canini and Vulpini...
beast. He is known as "The Living Firestorm". Seeing how desperate Krel was to protect his children on Cryos, Crogenitor Ptyron granted him the power of fireFireFire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
and electroplasma. Unfortunately, all of Krel's children were killed by the Darkspore, and Krel is now the last of his kind. He is the only Living Weapon that doesn't belong to a sapient species. He use his teeth and claws as a weapon together with plasma breath and a tri-cannon set on his shoulders that shoot fiery darts. - Viper - Viper is a Bio Ravager known as "The ToxicToxinA toxin is a poisonous substance produced within living cells or organisms; man-made substances created by artificial processes are thus excluded...
Ravager". Originally a guerrilla weapon maker from Verdanth, he see all of the legions he had armed, fall after the Darkspore. He the n was kidnapped by Crogenitor Astra and mutate to be ten times stronger than his kind. He became a guerrilla leader, and after some time his skin evolved to be poisonous. His military success however, prompted The Corruptor to spread a lethal virus on Verdanth. He resembles a cross between a cactusCactusA cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
and a cricketCricket (insect)Crickets, family Gryllidae , are insects somewhat related to grasshoppers, and more closely related to katydids or bush crickets . They have somewhat flattened bodies and long antennae. There are about 900 species of crickets...
with four arms and his weapons are a pair of wrist mounted blades that draw poisonPoisonIn the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
from his skin. - Maldri - Maldri is known as "The QuantumQuantumIn physics, a quantum is the minimum amount of any physical entity involved in an interaction. Behind this, one finds the fundamental notion that a physical property may be "quantized," referred to as "the hypothesis of quantization". This means that the magnitude can take on only certain discrete...
Raider" and is a very special hero. He is an extremely powerful Quantum Ravager and is quite unique in appearance. However, those who pre-order Darkspore will automatically unlock his gamma variant on day one. Once a burglar he is the only one who sees the Darkspore invasion as an occasion... for looting. While raiding Zelem's abandoned enclave on the Nexus, he accidentally activated a laserLaserA laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
device that gave him his Quantum powers. He uses a pair of wrist-mounted sickles and his hind-legs to attack. The "gamma" variant of Maldri is unlocked at the start of the game for players who pre-ordered their copy of Darkspore, while the Alpha variant can be unlocked when you reach the Crogenitor level 11. - Orion - Also known as "The Lightspeed Tempest", Orion was originally a technician on Zelem's Nexus. One Day Zelem sent out a wave of energy from his enclave that heavily hit the Nexus' power plant's center of a near island. All in the building fled except Orion and he was hit by the energy wake granting Quantum Tempest powers. By instinctInstinctInstinct or innate behavior is the inherent inclination of a living organism toward a particular behavior.The simplest example of an instinctive behavior is a fixed action pattern, in which a very short to medium length sequence of actions, without variation, are carried out in response to a...
Orion used his new-found powers to avoid the collision of two highly populated islands, almost losing is life. When the Darkspore attacked he went into hiding and then joined the Insurgency. He travels with a hover-packJet packJet pack, rocket belt, rocket pack, and similar names are various types of devices, usually worn on the back, that are propelled by jets of escaping gases so as to allow a single user to fly....
and two of his four hands hold a pair of celestial blasters that damage enemies greatly, but at the cost of increasing the enemy's speed with every hit. - Lumin - Also called "The Lightning Provoker", Lumin is a Plasma Tempest from Cryos. Lumin was once a hero that led his warriors against the Darkspore. However, many of his warriors and friends were infectedInfectionAn infection is the colonization of a host organism by parasite species. Infecting parasites seek to use the host's resources to reproduce, often resulting in disease...
by the Darkspore virusVirusA virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
and he was forced to kill them. This brought him to the brink of insanityInsanityInsanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
. After finding him, Crogenitor Ptyron realized that the only hope to heal him was to give him another chance to save his people. So he give him PlasmaPlasma (physics)In physics and chemistry, plasma is a state of matter similar to gas in which a certain portion of the particles are ionized. Heating a gas may ionize its molecules or atoms , thus turning it into a plasma, which contains charged particles: positive ions and negative electrons or ions...
lightningLightningLightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
-based powers that Lumin channeled across his staff. - Skar - Skar "The Shadow of Death" is a Necro Ravager from Nocturna. Like many other nocturni he was genetically altered by Crogenitor Ingto. He later joined the Nocturni Legion, and he would have been able reaching ultimate power on Nocturna if not forced into hiding after the Darkspore invaded the planet. He plans to rule Nocturna one day after the Darkspore are all gone. He is similar to centaurCentaurIn Greek mythology, a centaur or hippocentaur is a member of a composite race of creatures, part human and part horse...
-like spiderSpiderSpiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
and his weapon is a pair of small daggers set on his wrists. He is able to turn invisible and his attacks are more dangerous if dealt behind the enemy. - Revenant - Revenant is a member of the Nocturni Legion and is known as "Deathraider of the Stars." He was given his cosmic abilities from Crogenitor Ingto, when he used the orphan as a subject of his experiments. Until the Darkspore invaded, Revenant had never faced defeat before, and now dreams of slaughtering the Corruptor himself. This Necro Tempest has three legs and uses the mystical crystalCrystalA crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
set on his head to channel his necro powers. - Arborus - Arborus is a Bio Sentinel from Verdanth. He is known as "The Veridian Protector", and was granted the power to reshape the natural environment of his world by Crogenitor Astra as like some others verdanthi used as test subjects for an experiments. However he surpasses every else. He is a hulking being, similar to an ogreOgreAn ogre is a large, cruel, monstrous, and hideous humanoid monster, featured in mythology, folklore, and fiction. Ogres are often depicted in fairy tales and folklore as feeding on human beings, and have appeared in many classic works of literature...
or a trollTrollA troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...
mixed with a treeTreeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
with four arms and a heavy spiked wooden club. - Savage - Savage, "Lord of the Beasts", is a Bio Sentinel from Verdanth. After his parents were killedOrphanAn orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
in a massive earthquake as a child, he ran into the rain forests, where he became more like a beast, especially because he possesses the rare ability to communicate with the animalAnimalAnimals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s. One day he was directed by Crogenitor Astra to a field of specifically designed mutagenic fungus, that transformed him, granting him of an enhanced version of his ability and making him similar of his companions. He then became the king of the local wildlife, sometimes saving the lives of missing verdanthi until the Darkspore conquered, where he fought alongside his powerful petPetA pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person's enjoyment, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful...
. His weapon is a pair of gauntlets on his forearms with long curved blades. - Char - Char is a Plasma Tempest from Cryos and is known as "The Blazing Inferno". He was originally a destroyer, a hunter of criminals, but not even he could catch everyone; and when he was left to die from the wounds a team of rebels scarred him with, Crogenitor Ptyron healed him and gave him the ability to use pyrokinesisPyrokinesisPyrokinesis, derived from the Greek words and , was the name coined by horror novelist Stephen King for the ability to create or to control fire with the mind that he gave to the protagonist Charlie McGee in Firestarter...
. He has two eyes, a flat face, five oddly-positioned legs, but no arms. - Seraph-XS - Seraph-XS also called "The Infiltrator", is a Cyber Ravager from the planet Infinity. She is the last surviving Combot, a cyborg war drone used by the Randayn faction in their civil wars, but was reprogrammed by Crogenitor Suzu to have free will and a personality, hoping she'd be able to one day live a meaningful life, free of Darkspore. She has four legs and two arms with a grenade-launching cannon in place of her right hand.
Non-Hero characters
- Zelem - The most brilliant Crogenitor scientist. Along with the other Crogenitors, Zelem in the past created multiple living weapons using the Quantum genesis; unlike many of the other Crogenitor scientists, he had few qualms injuring innocent people while seeking to strengthen the resistance to the Darkspore hordes. Unfortunately, all but four of his quantum heroes perished during the first coordinated attack on Zelem's Nexus by the Darkspore, now known as "The Nexus Massacre". When the Darkspore invaded Zelem's Nexus, he tried to flee, but met his demise in the Outer Rings of the Nexus.
- Ptyron - Crogenitor Ptyron is the surviving Crogenitor that landed on Cryos and is the largest of them. He seemed to be the most kindhearted of them: instead of seeking powerful beings to turn into living weapons, he gave the power of the Plasma genesis to the ones who touched him. Even before the Darkspore invasion he had tried to help the frozen planet, but it is unknown if he is responsible for the white hole incident.
- Astra - Astra landed on Verdanth a long time ago. He appreciated the positive qualities but employed questionable methods for his goals. He created living weapons from the Bio genesis. When the Darkspore attacked he saw it as the perfect excuse for experimentation of new lifeforms.
- Suzu - The Crogenitor that resided on Infinity. He, like Ptyron, has a kind personality helping the suffering people of the super polluted Infinity with his Cyber genesis modifications.
- Ingto - Like Zelem, Ingto had no problems with performing dangerous experiments on the people of Nocturna and on the planet itself, as his goal was to wipe out the majority of the population and then mutate the strongest in powerful soldiers. His plans were however halted by the invasion of the mutants. Long ago he ripped the membrane that separates the living world to the world of dead on Nocturna, making it unstable.
- Xylan - Crogenitor Xylan is the one who discovered E-DNA. After Verdanth fell under siege, Xylan was thrown into exile and tried to transfect himself with E-DNA, but his plan went awry, mutating and becoming The Corruptor, leader of the Darkspore. After the Crogenitors fled Verdanth, Xylan revealed himself to be The Corruptor to all the other Crogenitors, and E-DNA experimentation was then outlawed. After this, Xylan fled to planet Cryos, where he gathered five Crogenitors similar to him and turned them into the Destructors, the game's bosses.
- The Player - The player is the last of the surviving Crogenitors to awaken. He has remained dormant in a cryogenicCryogenicsIn physics, cryogenics is the study of the production of very low temperature and the behavior of materials at those temperatures. A person who studies elements under extremely cold temperature is called a cryogenicist. Rather than the relative temperature scales of Celsius and Fahrenheit,...
capsule aboard of one of the last Crogenitor ships for 1000 years, until he was awoken by the A.I. HELIX, that informed him of his task to create the Insurgency. - HELIX - The A.I. network of the Crogenitor fleet, HELIX was tasked to awaken the Crogenitors and purify the E-DNA, a task that succeeded after 1000 years of elaboration. It awakens the player, one of the last of the surviving Crogenitors. It speaks with a soft feminine voice.
- The Destructors - These five Crogenitors allied themselves with The Corruptor and became the most powerful Darkspore after him. All of them belong to one of the genetic types, and are at the command of one of the five planets presented in the game. Their names are : Merak, Nashira, Orcus, Polaris and Arcturus.
- The Darkspore - These horrible nightmares have a hive mind and an unstoppable instinct to kill everything on sight. They are indeed intelligent but not sentient, and require someone to lead them in a true battle.
Abilities
Each hero possesses one basic attack, used by left-clicking; one unique ability, used by pressing 1; one variant ability, used by pressing 2; a passive ability that is always active; and a squad ability, used by pressing 3,4, or 5. The squad abilities can be used by all members of the squad. Passive abilities of the squad members are available to the current hero (improved during Overdrive), or by using Revenant's Soul Link ability. Some passive abilities, like Tork's Rampant Growth aura, can help the heroes of other players in on the team. Each ability, except the passive, has a cooldownCooldown
Cooldown is, in numerous video games, the minimum length of time that the player needs to wait after using an ability before they can use it again....
time.
Planets
- Zelem's Nexus – Home of Quantumgenesis. Once a peaceful planet called Nakto, it was destroyed when its sun Zee-Nakto collapsed into a black hole, dubbed Wha Nakto. Zelem attempted to preserve this world by creating an artificial gravity-field, but even then the planet was nothing more than a series of floating isles that collided continuously. After their takeover, however, the Darkspore were able to perfect the gravity ring. It currently serves as the main base for the Darkspore. The fearless Crogenitor Zelem resided long time ago on this planet.
The Destructor that awaits the player at the end of the Nexus is Polaris, the Gravity Manipulator, a black hole-generating mastermind who can manipulate gravity and space time to warp at will.
- Nocturna - Home of Necrogenesis. It has three moons and is constantly detached by the sunlight so it is also called the planet of eternal night. Nocturna was the second planet to fall victim to the Darkspore Siege after a barrage of Mutation Agents bombarded the planet. It was the home world of the Nocturni Legion, a fighting force led by the Nocturni Ethernals that have conquered many peoples of the planet. Habituated to fight between each other the population of Nocturna didn' t react immediatily at the invasion, and were easily conquered. The main features of this planet are rivers of liquid plasma, gigantic crystalline formations, and large moving plants. Plasma storms are seen inside the mountains of the planet, and the plants and creatures native to Nocturna are usually bioluminescent. The cruel Crogenitor Ingto resides on this planet.
The Destructor that awaits the player at the end of Nocturna is Nashira, the Shadow Void, the insectoid queen who's fearsome power frightens even the other darkspore on her planet.
- Verdanth - Home of Biogenesis. Verdanth was once a bright, beautiful, lush world full of rainforests of jungles, but after the Darkspore invaded, the civilizations quickly fell into ruin, and the wildlife became a dreadful danger, mutated by the power of E-DNA. The verdanthi are a highly advanced society, both spiritually and scientifically, and once a generation a few of them are born with the ability to comprehend the animals' languages. The mysterious Crogenitor Astra resides on this planet.
The Destructor that awaits the player at the end of Verdanth is Orcus, Devourer of Life, the emperator of all mutated animals. Orcus can summon minions to attack, or consume them to regain health, and long time ago he was a bacteria specialist.
- Infinity - Home of Cybergenesis. Infinity is a heavily-polluted planet covered in poisoned oceans and factories. Many of the inhabitants have either fled or perished due of the pollution, or during the many civil wars that the uncontrolled industrialization brought. The majority of those who remained were either outcasts, bounty hunters, zealots or mobs, competing with each other for whatever resources still remained. Most of the surviving inhabitants are cyborgs, who require neither food or water, and were thus able to survive the supply shortages. As it possessed very few defenses, the Darkspore easily conquered this planet and enslaved all the remaining natives. The kindhearted Crogenitor Suzu resides on this planet.
The Destructor that awaits the player at the end of this planet is Arcturus, the Cybernetic Colossus, a hulking robotic being who attacks with missiles and lasers.
- Cryos – Home of Plasmagenesis, Cryos is a planet currently in a state of extreme ice age that has destroyed nearly all the local fauna, including the planet's population. In an attempt to heat the planet, the Crogenitors placed a "white hole" in its core; a nearly infinite source of heat. However, this only worsened the situation; now the planet is covered with rivers of molten plasma, though it still remains frozen. The Darkspore easily conquered this planet after a combined attack of all the Destructors, whom wiped out all of the escaped Crogenitor residing on the planet. Harboring a unique variety of geological features, Cryos contains ancient Crogenitor technology that the Darkspore have yet managed to discover. The passionate Crogenitor Ptyron resided on this planet.
The Destructor that awaits the player at the end of this planet is the very first ally of the Corruptor, Merak, the Devastator, a towering golem made of lava that harnesses the power of plasmatic energy to destroy his enemies.
- Scaldron – Scaldron was once called Preceptum, the Crogenitor's homeworld, but now is an endless wasteland, containing only a few of ruins of the once glorious civilization. Life had never evolved here, so the Crogenitors made the planet suitable for all 5 genesis types. The Corruptor uses this planet as his hideout.
Hero Editor
The Hero editor in Darkspore has been described as an enhanced version of the one found in Spore. There are thousands of parts to collect, enabling the customization of several aspects of the characters, including body parts, armor, weapons, facial features and coloration. The hero remains recognizable but at the same time unique.Alternate Reality Game
HelpEDNA was a Darkspore ARG that went online in mid 2010. It plays out as a puzzle text adventure which gives clues on the Darkspore game, and is set before the events of the game.HelpEDNA is a puzzle text adventure, in which you play as a contact that has begun receiving messages from an unknown character. Players must register for the site with a user name and password, and log in before joining the game. Players were at first required to ask questions of the character, which would be answered, before receiving puzzles, one of which revealed the time and location of Darkspore's reveal at the PAX game conference. After many challenging mathematical puzzles were solved by the players, the site was updated, disabling the ability to ask questions or solve new puzzles, instead requiring players to work out genetic calculations, charging them with the task of creating the E-DNA genome for the abilities of the game's heroes. Players had to process 10 000 genes in order to complete all of them. After the completion of Meditron, Magnos, Blitz, Arakna, and Jinx, the website's genetic conversion system went unresponsive for several days, before it reactivated with updated text and two newly completed heroes, Goliath, and Tork. Tork had not yet been revealed on the main Darkspore website at the time. The website soon also featured two short in-game videos of Tork. After Tork's revealing, a new hero, Titan, was revealed, also with two short videos of the hero. Following that, another video was shown that featured an unknown hero. Eventually, on 15 October 2010, the number of genes to be processed reached 55, and stopped. Anyone logging into the site from now on will the usual partially corrupted text before it suddenly gives way to a stream of corrupted text data with a message from the Darkspore, stating that they have conquered yet again. The game is over, but still has an epilogue page containing a message from Maxis, and links to all of the pictures and videos from the website.
Plot
Establishing a connection with an unknown source, a contact begins receiving data and messages from a mysterious person who claims to have been isolated in space for more than two million years, and is in danger of being tracked down by another malignant source. After receiving some garbled information, the contact is prompted to ask questions of the person. The person is soon revealed to in fact be a social computer AI known as the HELIX, in a galaxy almost completely conquered by the Darkspore, a strain of aggressive, swarming mutants. Because of these mutants' attempts to track it down, the HELIX was forced to disconnect from the mass network that connected it to all other computer AIs. After completing several puzzles, receiving new information, and processing corrupted text feeds activated by entering select keywords into the HELIX's localized network, the contact is charged with the task of purifying 10, 000 eDNA genes before they mutate into Darkspore strains. The resulting genes were to form the basis for the abilities of the powerful heroes selected to fight the Darkspore. The contact gets to work, assisting the HELIX with processing ten thousand genes. After processing Meditron, Magnos, Blitz, Arakna and Jinx, a virus suddenly causes the HELIX to go into security shutdown mode, rendering the contact unable to finish processing the genomes. But soon the HELIX reactivates, plagued with data corruption but bearing the sequences for two heroes, Goliath and Tork. The contact soon resumes work on the genes, completing the sequences for a hero known as Titan as well as an unknown hero. As the contact processes the final genes, with the gene count down to 55, the contact logs onto the network only to have the message degrade into a stream of unintelligible, corrupted data. The Darkspore's computer virus had finally cracked the HELIX's link to the contact.Three cold, chilling words stand out: "WE HAVE YOU - One life, one purpose - Darkspore expands". The mutants had conquered again...
The website now eventually displays the message:
"WE HAVE YOU
one life, one purpose
DARKSPORE EXPANDS"
while the background is filled with white corrupted coding that scrolls down continuously.
It was then revealed on the Darkspore forum that the ARG was designed by some of the Maxis team members to give away small bits of information regarding the game, announce new heroes and plot details, and advertise the game.