IGN interviewed senior producer Kip Katsarelis of Spore Galactic Adventures to describe the newly added Space Captains feature that will be included in Spore’s first expansion pack.  They also have uploaded a video as well!

IGN: Tell us about this new captain feature in Galactic Adventures. Do you get to create a captain, or are you the captain?

Kip Katsarelis: In Spore Galactic Adventures, you will be able to turn your ordinary creatures into powerful Space Captains. Gain Spore Points (experience) by completing missions either in the Space Stage or through Quick Play and as your Captain rises in rank, they will unlock new parts and abilities. Players will also be able to choose the look and specialty of their Captains using the Captain Outfitter.

IGN: How does this integrate with the game’s online connection? Is it a competition to see who the best captain is? How would you measure that?

Kip Katsarelis: Your Captains will be displayed on your My Spore page on Spore.com. Here, we track a wide array of stats for your Captain. These include things like number of missions completed, missions won/lost, and total time played, just to name a few. Compare your Captain to others and see how it ranks.

Missions are shared online, just like all other Spore creations. Any mission shared online has its own leaderboard to keep track of scores. Completing a mission will automatically place you on that missions’ leaderboard. Ranking in the Top 3 will earn you a medal which is displayed on your My Spore page. Medals can be lost if someone else beats your score. Having the right Captain for the job is key to success. You’ll want to create and level multiple Captains all with varying skills and abilities. You might have one Captain who is specialized in warfare, another who is stealthy, and another who is a social butterfly. You never know what you’ll need to complete a mission in the fastest amount of time.

Missions are pollinated and will appear in your Space game. Missions appear in your game by subscribing to Sporecasts, Buddy Feeds, or by downloading them through the “search online” feature within Spore or from Spore.com directly. If your buddy creates an adventure and publishes it, there’s a good chance it’s going to appear in your Space game.

IGN:  Spore Galactic Adventures’s New Captains Feature